Big Data, Small Data, Trendy Data (Moodle)

“BigDataSmallDataTrendyData”Lewis Carr

Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

BackgroundThis presentation and its findings are part of a study I have been conducting for the past year.

With the help from the UK Moodle Community, FE Colleges, ex-colleagues, work-based learning providers, small businesses, friends and well wishers.

Goals of the Project:To find out how we are really using Moodle and how we can use data to make predictions and shape the future of our online delivery.


Big Data and Industry AnalyticsHow my digital profile knows more about me than...me!


Have I sold my soul to the data mining devil?


Supermarket AnalyticsHow my physical footprint leaves a digital footprint

And even how the weather influences what I buy

Supermarket chains now receive detailed data on 2/3 of all shopping baskets.

Such data shapes our spending habits and build customer profiles.


Did you know?

When UK Temperatures rise 4c

Beef burger sales increase by 42%

When UK Weekend Temperatures rise 10c rise

BBQ meat sales increase 300% & Coleslaw by 50%.

Demand for vegetables drops 25%

Cold weather increases sales of cauliflower soup, long life milk, sausages and root vegetables.


Moodle DataMoodle is a data mining beast.

The log files alone provide a wealth of information that allows us to draw conclusions and make learner predictions.

Interest in learning analytics has been fuelled partly by the recent rise in popularity of MOOCs.

MOOCs generate enormous sets of learner activity data that can be used to develop analytics.


What I tried to discover

Which tools are used most?

Which tools are most preferred by learners?

When do teachers create content?

How often do users login to Moodle?

When do learners access courses?

What is the most engaging Moodle tool?

...what does the online behaviour of an active student look like?


Most popular resources (hits)Assignment 46%

File 28%

URL 9%

Forum 8%

Quiz 4%

Folder 3%

Lesson 2%


So we need to create more files and Assignments? And less quizzes and lessons right?

WRONG.Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

Most engaging resources (resource count/no.of resources)

Assignment 29%

Quiz 26%

Lesson 21%

Forum 11%

Folder 6%

File 4%

URL 3%


Building a better picture

Files are popular with students simply due to the sheer number of them.

Often it is all a student has access to.

Quizzes, lessons and forums have a much higher “hit rate” when we compare averages.

(Hits / number of resources)

Students tend to revisit quizzes and lessons more than they do files.

Proving that self-assessment increases learner engagement.


What is the most engaging tool in use on Moodle?


MessagingAstonishingly, Moodle messaging is 4x more engaging for learners than any other course tool


When are teachers building course content?

Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug


When are teachers building course content?


Start of Term

Christmas

Start of Term

Exams

Holidays


Some other useful discoveries

On mature Moodle sites (3 years plus)

Resources (file uploads) decrease annually by 15%

On mature Moodle sites (3 years plus)

The creation of other activities decreases by 2%

-15% -2%


Course Activity by students



Course Activity by students


Assignments!!


Our top 50 learners (most loyal customers)

Our most active/engaged learners access 13 courses on average

13courses

91days

Our most active/engaged learners access Moodle 91 days in the year

(twice per week, more during term time)


Site Logins



Interesting discovery

Logins double in the second year of running Moodle

x2logins

3years

Logins average out on Moodle sites that have been running longer than 3 years.

The trend/shape of the graph is almost a mirror image of the previous year.


What does all this data tell us?

We need to adapt messaging into our teaching practices

and activities

We need more quizzes, lessons

and forums

Moodle usage is driven by term

calendars

We need more student engagement in Dec, April & June

Supermarket Strategies - getting to know your customers better

Strategy 1

Customer-driven offers and promotions.

Strategy 2

Improving aisle layouts and planograms with market basket analysis.

Strategy 3

Shelf life management and replenishment planning.


e-Learning Strategies - getting to know your students better

Strategy 1

Student-driven landing pages, conditional release of content and better notifications.

Strategy 2

Improving course layouts with Moodle usage reports & analysis.

Strategy 3

Course content management and replenishment planning. Deciding what resources suit which learners and when to release them.


Corporate Use of Moodle

Learners enrolled on an average of just 2

courses

Quizzes (70%), SCORM (20%) & forums the most popular tool used

Logins consistent throughout the year except Dec & July

Learners engagement

between 30 and 40 days

End of Presentation


Education

Big Data, Small Data, Trendy Data (Moodle)