Descriptive Analytics Dashboard for an Inclusive Learning Environment

Abstract

The educational community continuously seeks ways to improve the learner-centered learning process through new approaches like Learning analytics and its dashboard, which is helpful to enhance the teaching and the learning process. It involves a process whose final goal is presenting results to support decision-making about improving the learning process. However, a descriptive Learning analytics interface for analyzing learning data of students, including the disadvantaged, where to view and interpret learners' historical data is -in general- missing in this research domain. Hence, more research is still required to establish the philosophy of learning analytics on inclusion with an interface for the stakeholders to understand learning and teaching in an inclusive learning environment. This paper fills this gap by providing an inclusive educational learning analytics dashboard to support teachers and students. This study aimed to present a learning analytics implementation in the context of a smart ecosystem for learning and inclusion. We gave the inclusive educational needs and discussed the workflow followed during the descriptive learning analytics dashboard development. Therefore, the study improved existing learning analytics dashboards with a descriptive approach and inclusiveness of students with disabilities. Owing to the software development nature of this study, agile methodology based on five stages was applied: requirement elicitation; data gathering; design and prototyping; implementation; and testing and integration. We performed an initial evaluation, which indicated that the dashboard is suitable for understanding teachers' and students' needs and expectations. Besides, the visualization of inclusive learning characteristics improves engagement and attainment of learning goals.