Episode 19: Multimodal Learning Analytics: Opportunities & Challenges

This episode of the SoLAR Spotlight podcast features Assistant Professor Catherine Manly (Fairleigh Dickinson University), Full Professor Blazenka Divjak (University of Zagreb), and Professor Emerita Rebecca Ferguson (The Open University), hosted by Rogers Kaliisa (University of Oslo) and Maurice Boothe Jr. (New York University). They discuss why, after 15 years of rapid growth in research and commercial practice, the SoLAR Executive launched a Task Force to revisit and redefine Learning Analytics. Our guests, all key members of this Task Force, reflect on how the field has evolved at the intersection of learning, analytics, and human-centred design, and what a renewed definition means for the community. What is your takeaway from this episode? And which “lie” did Catherine, Blazenka, and Rebecca tell in the two truths and a lie game? Let us know using the hashtag #SoLARspotlight on LinkedIn. Learn more at solaresearch.org or contact us at [email protected].

This episode of the SoLAR Spotlight podcast series features Dr Aneesha Bakharia, Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland in Australia, and Professor Barbara Wasson, Director of the Centre for The Science of Learning and Technology (SLATE), University of Bergen, Norway as guests, hosted by Shibani Antonette & Rogers Kaliisa. They converse about the recent advances in generative AI and tools like ChatGPT and how they relate to work in learning analytics that aims to improve teaching and learning with data. What is your takeaway from this podcast? What is the lie that Aneesha & Barbara tell in the 'two truths and a lie' game? Let us know on Twitter using the hashtag #SoLARspotlight on Twitter. If you want to know more about SoLAR, get in touch via solaresearch.org or tweet us @SoLAResearch.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the field of multimodal learning analytics (MMLA), which focuses on collecting data from physical & online teaching contexts by analysing learning artefacts, traces, and natural human signals, such as gestures and facial expressions. However, despite advances in MMLA, there remain many conceptual, theoretical, methodological, analytical, and pedagogical challenges. In this episode, Dr Rogers Kaliisa discusses the topic of MMLA with Dr Mutlu Cukurova from the University College London and Dr Sambit Praharaj from the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS)and Ruhr University Bochum in Germany.

This episode of the SoLAR Spotlight podcast series features Judy Kay and Giora Alexandron as guests, hosted by Shibani Antonette. They talk about the distinctive needs for explainable algorithmic models in education and ways to deploy them for learning analytics. What is your takeaway of this podcast? What is the lie that Judy and Giora tell in the 'two truths and a lie' game? Let us know on twitter using the hashtag #SoLARspotlight on Twittter. If you want to know more about SoLAR, get in touch via solaresearch.org or tweet us @SoLAResearch. Specific feedback may be sent to [email protected].

Learning analytics is about learning, but what does learning means? How do researchers in the learning analytics community and those in the learning sciences community understand learning? What approaches do they take to investigating learning? In this episode, we spoke to A/Prof Jason Lodge and Prof Nancy Law about the intersection of learning analytics and learning sciences. What is your takeaway of this podcast? What is the lie that Jason and Nancy told in the 'two truths and a lie' game? Let us know using the hashtag #SoLARspotlight on Twitter.

This episode is all about bias. Our hosts Maren Scheffel and Nia Dowel talk to Shamya Karumbaiah and Rene Kizilcec about bias in learning analytics and some of the work they are doing in that area. What do you think is Shamya's lie? And which of Rene's statements wasn't true? Let us know on twitter using the hashtag #SoLARspotlight. If you want to know more about SoLAR, get in touch via solaresearch.org or tweet us @SoLAResearch. Specific feedback may be sent to [email protected].

This episode of the SoLAR Spotlight podcast series features Andrew Krumm as guest, hosted by Shibani Antonette and Rogers Kaliisa. They converse about the implementation of learning analytics in schools - where we are now, what challenges we face and how we can look toward the future. What is your takeaway of this podcast? What is the lie that Andy tells in the 'two truths and a lie' game? Let us know on twitter using the hashtag #SoLARspotlight on Twittter. If you want to know more about SoLAR, get in touch via solaresearch.org or tweet us @SoLAResearch.

Dashboard is a prominent artefact that users interact with when it comes to learning analytics. What is a learning analytics dashboard ? Who is it for? What is the key to effective adoption of learning analytics dashboard? Listen to Martin Hlosta and Fabio Campos sharing their experience in supporting the use of learning analytics dashboard on a large scale. Can you guess the lies that Martin and Fabio told about themselves? Let us know on Twitter using the hashtag #SoLARspotlight. If you want to know more about SoLAR, get in touch via solaresearch.org or tweet us @SoLAResearch. Specific feedback may be sent to [email protected].

This episode is all about SoLAR's Executive Committee (or "exec" for short). Four current members of the executive board Yi-Shan Tsai, Rogers Kaliisa, Nia Dowell, and Roger Azevedo talk about their experience of serving on the Executive Committee. Are you also interested in joing SoLAR's Executive? The call for nomination opens every November as executive members serve two-year terms, staggered every two years. So half the board is vacated and up for election biennially. There are usually 12 members on the board: five office bearers and seven members at-large. Who do you think told the lie in the 'three truths and a lie' game? Yi-Shan, Rogers, Nia or Roger? Let us know on twitter using the hashtag #SoLARspotlight. If you want to know more about SoLAR, get in touch via solaresearch.org or tweet us @SoLAResearch. Specific feedback may be sent to [email protected].

This episode of the SoLAR Spotlight podcast series features Leah Macfadyen and Danny Liu as guests, hosted by Shibani Antonette. They converse about the importance of learning analytics practitioners and the pragmatisms in translating learning analytics research into real classroom practice. What is your takeaway of this podcast? What is the lie that Leah and Danny tell in the 'two truths and a lie' game? Let us know on twitter using the hashtag #SoLARspotlight on Twittter. If you want to know more about SoLAR, get in touch via solaresearch.org or tweet us @SoLAResearch.