Understanding the learner perspective to inform institutional learning analytics strategy and practice

Increasingly, universities are developing strategies for the use of learning analytics to support learning experiences and outcomes. Consultation with key stakeholders, especially learners, is critical in developing such strategies. However, gathering learners' perspectives on a topic they may have little familiarity with can be difficult. In this chapter, three studies are presented which explore different learner perspectives on how learning analytics can be used in higher education. The first explored forms of analytics learners identify as being helpful to their studies. The second examined how learners interpret and act upon data, and the third investigated learners' awareness of how analytics could be (and are) used ethically. Combined, the outcomes of these studies on learners' understanding of capabilities of analytics systems, appreciation of how data can guide approaches to study, and awareness of the ethical use of data inform a set of useful considerations for the development of institutional learning analytics strategies.