An image of Canvas' New Analytics Weekly Online Activity dashboard: one line on the graph representing a particular student is much higher than the line representing their peers' average participation, indicating that the student's activity is much higher than their peers'. — *New Analytics Weekly Online Activity dashboard: the green line represents a student whose Page Views and Participations are consistently higher than their peers.*

While learning analytics data can indicate potential increases and decreases in student engagement, they aren't perfect indicators, and not all engagement is created equal. For an example of the ways that representations of engagement can differ from our expectations, read the story below.

I had a student whose page views were ridiculously high compared to their classmates. At the time I thought, wow, great student! They’re very engaged. I assumed that the more my students engage with the learning management system the better they do. In time I learned that this students was very anxious about the class - that this was driving their engagement. I learned this only after they had already suffered.

Learning analytics helped me identify at a glance something out of the ordinary: a students with very high page views in relation to their peers. Looking back, I could have taken a moment and sent them a message asking, “hey, I noticed that you’ve really been going through the course. I commend your diligence, but do you have questions that weren’t answered in the syllabus? Or, any concerns?” I could have reached out to them sooner than I did. This would have communicated that I cared about them – something we know helps students learn better.

Sydney Brown, Assistant Director, Center for Transformative Teaching, University of Nebraska

Get help

Review the following Canvas Guides for more information:

How do I send a message to all students based on specific course criteria in New Analytics?