Progressing Towards Open Textbooks Learning Analytics System

Authors

  • Deepak Prasad
  • Rajneel Totaramb University of the South Pacific
  • Tsuyoshi Usagawa Kumamoto University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14297/jpaap.v4i3.190

Abstract

Textbook prices have been soaring at an unprecedented pace for the last four decades with no signs that this trend will end anytime soon. Several studies have suggested that a solution to this problem comes in the form of open textbooks. As a result, the growth of open textbooks is rapid and sustained. However, though the advent of open textbooks is encouraging, whether, how, and to what extent students are using their open textbooks remains unclear. Learning analytics for open textbooks can provide answers to these questions plus many others, and thereby offers the potential for improving planning, development, monitoring, evaluation and revision of open textbooks.

Learning analytics applied to open textbooks has received little attention to date. This on the horizon paper presents and describes developmental work of a method to collect data produced as a result of students’ online and offline interactions with their open textbooks, the first part of a three-step process of learning analytics (the remaining two being data processing and reporting functionalities). The paper concludes with a presentation of future work, in line with the nature of this paper, which is work-in-progress towards developing learning analytics system for open textbooks.

Author Biographies

  • Deepak Prasad

    Deepak Prasad is a learning designer at the University of the South Pacific and a PhD student in the Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University. His research is on open textbooks: teacher acceptance, student preference, and learning analytics. He tweets as @deepakvprasad.

  • Rajneel Totaramb, University of the South Pacific

    Rajneel Totaram is a learning systems developer at the University of the South Pacific, and is interested in the association between learning and technology.

  • Tsuyoshi Usagawa, Kumamoto University

    Tsuyoshi Usagawa is a professor in e-learning at Kumamoto University, and is interested in e-learning contents and systems. Address for correspondence: Deepak Prasad, Centre for Flexible Learning, University of the South Pacific, Private Mail Bag, Suva, Fiji. Email: deepak.v.prasad@gmail.com

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Published

2016-06-20

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 3 (2016)

Section

On the Horizon

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