Abstract:

As stated by the NMC in the “Horizon 2014” report, schools and – more in general – education are fertile grounds to apply Learning Analytics (LA).
LA aims to fully exploit the potential of conventional educational methodologies and tools (Fulantelli & Taibi, 2014). It is defined as “… the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for the purpose of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs” (Siemens & Baker, 2012). More specifically, LA makes an effort to merge data mining (Baker & Inventado, 2014), information retrieval (Berland et al., 2014), and technology-mediated learning (Gašević et al., 2015), in order to turn educational research in a data-driven science (Knight et al., 2014).
From this standpoint, LA intends to enhance the ability of educational institutions to address educational management challenges in light of reliable evidence obtained by dependable data analysis. This implies the advancement of students’ experiences and, consequently, a better functioning of the educational system as a whole (Lockyer et al., 2013).
Embracing a LA-based perspective, this study discusses the FaD (“Remote Education”) model, i.e. an innovative, technology-based education approach implemented by the National Institute of Documentation, Innovation and Educational Research (INDIRE) embedded in the GPU (“Unified Management Platform”).

FaD’s main purpose is to train educational managers and teachers, providing them with the competencies and skills that they need to be effective in designing and submitting timely proposals to the call for applications issued by the PON “For the School: Competencies and Environments for Learning”.

FAD metodology consists of (at the time of writing) 5 learning modules, 2 of which mandatory; educational activities are addressed to teachers and managing staff of educational institutions established in Italy. Users have to complete at least 3 modules to accomplish the whole learning process. Users are free to craft their own learning activity, by choosing to follow one or more optional modules, alongside mandatory ones. Every module is composed of two (for the optional) or four (for the mandatory) steps: 1) video lessons to explain contents; 2) self-assessment test (only for mandatories); 3) webinar discussions (only for mandatories) and 4) final test. Every user activity is recorded through tailored web-based tracking systems and algorithms; each module is completed only after the successful completion of all the steps.

The results obtained in 2019 were encouraging. The FaD network included: 6,807 schools (i.e. more than 8 in 10 Italian educational institutions); 36,000 individual users (27,866 Teachers; 2,836 Senior Administrative Managers; 2,356 School Managers; 2,868 Administrative Staff Members), who participated to learning activities and webinar provided by INDIRE.

FAD paved the way for the achievement of four innovations:
1. The implementation of a LA-based approach to trigger hard and soft improvements in the educational system;
2. Ad-hoc developed platform to provide consistent and best UX;
3. Ad-hoc developed video tracking algorithms;
4. Transparent integration of third-party softwares;

It is worth noting that FAD has a flexible layout, that permits to apply it to other contexts (i.e. health care, social care, public utilities), at both the national and the international levels.

Keywords:

Innovation, Learning Analytics, Education.