Big Data + Libraries

Also known as learning analytics, the potential of big data has created a great hope to transform education. Big data tracks interaction and direct feedback between learners and teachers, continuous monitoring of progress and attendance, more opportunities for personalized learning and guided pathways to the students’ interests. The users generate all kinds of data, and from those choices, they can be taken from one activity to the next. It is the learning analytics factor of big data that can guide the students and teachers to better understand the trajectory of the learner’s progress, to adapt to the learner’s understanding of a subject, analyze his/her social relationship and network, as well as evaluate not only the quantity, but also the quality of the learner’s input. At the macro level, the analysis of this data can contribute to sound policy development by providing access to numerous factors from the environments, approaches, and pedagogies that bring about actual results.