Where is the Learner in Your Analytics?

This paper discusses one part of the findings of the Flexible Ecosystems project, undertaken in partnership between Advance HE and the Queen Mary Academy, which aims to review the higher education sector’s capacity for flexible learning provision. The piece addresses participant responses to surveys, roundtable discussions and interviews related to questions about learning analytics and student data literacy. While it is clear that many institutions are using learning analytics to inform decisions about curriculum development, assessment, wellness, and other forms of student engagement, much less work is being done to develop students’ data literacy. We follow these findings with a discussion of why resources should be created that enable students to understand the data they are producing, how to use it, and why their input is vital for creating learning analytics outputs that best serve all stakeholders.