Abstract:

The increasing availability of data on educational activities and student interaction with learning management systems (LMS) provides higher education institutions (HEIs) the opportunity to improve learning and teaching processes through the application of learning analytics (LA). A greater understanding of learning habits and teaching designs that best meet learners' needs can contribute to the academic success satisfaction of students, improve teachers' quality and innovation, and, consequently, facilitate institutional success and competitiveness. Although the benefits of LA are multiple, the collection of data by monitoring students in a virtual environment raises students' privacy issues as well as issues related to the transparency and accountability of LA usage at HEIs. The complexity and scope of consideration of ethical and legal issues that educational institutions must consider are significant. Therefore, HEIs are still striving to formulate and find best practices in this area. Despite some general guidelines for the protection of subjects (e.g., European General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR), there is a lack of exhaustive insight into how to face and address ethical challenges of LA management in HEIs. This discussion paper aims to explore key ethical issues and challenges regarding the implementation of LA and identify approaches to their effective resolution on HEIs, from the perspective of all relevant stakeholders in the educational process.

Keywords:

Learning analytics, privacy, ethics, higher education.