Introduction to Academic Analytics (10 pts)

This assignment introduces the notion of academic analytics by starting with the very traditional notion of institutional research.  This is a well established notion in higher education and is embodied in the work of the Association for Institutional Research Links to an external site. which was established long before universities became awash in data. This reading was recommended by Victor Borden, who also indicated he would try to join us for the discussion.

 Upon completing this assignment you should be able to

• Articulate and discuss the three established form of institutional analytics and their relevance to you and other educational professionals.
• Articulate and discuss the notion of institutional analytics as it relates to you and other educational professionals.
• Locate articles and other resources about institutional analytics that are relevant to your goals and roles.

ENGAGE WITH THE READING  (REQUIRED, BY DUE DATE)

1.  Access and read/review the paper.  Click here to access Terenzini (1993) Download Terenzini (1993)
    Try to read the paper straight through.  If you have trouble following it then just skim it and come back to the assignment. 
2.  Summarize the Types of institutional Analytics deployment and rank relevance. Terenzini (1993)  discusses three form of institutionally oriented analytics: 1. Technical and analytical intelligence, 2. Issues intelligence, 3. Contextual intelligencey.   Write at least a paragraph about each tier and how they might be relevant to you.  Then arrange the summaries in order of perceived relevance (most-relevant to least-relevant) and justify. At minimum explain why the first appears most relevant and the last appears least relevant. If you disagree with this classification, please say so and justify your claims.
3. Summarize and Rank Relevant Specifics. .For the most relevant tier of academic analytics, locate at least two relevant specifics (ideas, concerns, references etc.) and work them into the paragraph you already wrote. If anything is missing from the discussion from your perspective or if you have to stretch the authors ideas to make them relevant to you than feel free to say so.
4. Reflect on the nature of the preparation of institutional analytics and academic analytics. There is a section in the paper on what sorts of graduate coursework necessary to prepare someone to do this kind of analysis.  Given that it was written in 1993 and given that many of you are not planning careers in academic analytics, this section may or may not be relevant to you.  If it is not say way; if is say so and update what sort preparation you have had so far and what you would need, given newer technologies and your own goals and contexts.  Then say a bit about the larger notion of academic analytics and whether it makes sense as a distinct branch or community within Educational Data Sciences.
5.  Complete the survey for this assignment.  There is a brief multiple choice survey used to provide participatory analytics.  It is not optional and it is located here.  If you change your ranking please retake the survey.
6. Save.  

LOCATE AND SHARE EXTERNAL RESOURCES, PUBLISH, AND SUBMIT (BY THE DUE DATE)

1. Search the Internet for relevant resources.  Use Google Scholar and the links on the Resources Classwiki and begin searching for external resources that are relevant to your EDS Challenge and your professional roles and goals.  These can be articles, podcasts, websites, slideshares, etc. Spend enough time to find ones that are relevant and then engage with them.  If you find useful directories to multiple resources, please insert them at the top of the classwiki.

2.  List and annotate least three relevant external resources.  IInsert the URLs for at least three external resource that are particularly relevant to your challenge, roles, and goals. Add an annotation indicating how the article is relevant to you and more generally.  List them in order of relevance and make it clear why the first one is most relevant. If you plan to write the optional literature review paper, write these as paragraphs closer to how they might appear in a literature review paper.
3.  Share your most relevant resource.  Copy and past your most relevant resource and annotation with the class and paste it under the appropriate header for this week on the classwiki.
4.  Refine your EDS Challenge.  You should be able to further refine your EDS challenge using insights gained from interacting with the paper.
5.  Save, publish, and submit (by the due date).  

INTERACT WITH PEERS (REQUIRED, BEFORE AND AFTER THE DUE DATE)

1. Consider posting a question to the instructor and your peers.  Try to come up with a question that this assignment raised for you.  Post it as a comment to your wikifolio. It is best to write the question in a way that leads others to read your wikifolio.
2.  Read and discuss peer wikifolios.  Examine and comment on at least four of your peers.  Be sure to read their introductions on their homepage before reading their wikifolios. Post questions, get discussion going, etc.
3.  Respond to comments and questions.  Be sure to go back to your own wikifolio and respond to comments and questions.
4. Like at least five classmate comments.

REFLECT ON YOUR ENGAGEMENT (REQUIRED FOR BADGES AND CREDIT, WITHIN ONE WEEK OF THE DUE DATE)

1.  Critical engagement: How suitable was your EDS challenge and professional context for learning the big ideas this week?  Did your classmates have a challenge and a context that were more directly relevant?    You are not being asked to criticize your understanding or your work; rather you are critiquing the suitability of your professional context for learning to use the knowledge of EDS that we were introduced to this week.
2.  Collaborative engagement.  Review the comments from your classmates and reflect on any insights that emerged in the discussions, anything particularly useful or interesting.  Single out the peers that have been particularly helpful in your thinking, both in their comments and from reading their wikifolios.  Your goal each week should be to get recognized in the reflection on collaborative engagement by your peers.
3. Consequential engagement.  What are the consequences of what you learned this week for your professional role and for educational professionals in general. What are the broader consequences of these ideas?  Try to be specific in your examples but general in your thinking.