The OU Analyse team, which works to identify students at the university who may need extra support, has been awarded the prestigious Educational Dataset Prize by the Educational Data Mining Society for their remarkable work with the ‘OULAD’ dataset.
OU Analyse is a system powered by machine learning methods for early identification of students at risk of failing. All students at risk of failing their next assignment are updated weekly and made available to the course tutors and the Student Support Teams to consider appropriate support.
The OULAD dataset, which consists of anonymised student interactions with the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) at The Open University, combined with demographics and study results, has had a major impact on the field of learning analytics.
It has fostered the development of a global community of researchers, educators, and students who utilise the data set to gain insights into learning processes, evaluate new research ideas, and introduce learning analytics to the next generation of scholars.
Researchers worldwide have used the dataset to develop a wide range of learning analytics tools and technologies.
The OULAD dataset, explored in a paper published in the Nature Scientific Data journal, is freely available for download further contributing to its widespread use and impact in educational research.
The recognition received by the OU Analyse team highlights their ground-breaking contributions to the field of learning analytics and their dedication to advancing educational data mining.
The team members leading this work sit within the OU’s Knowledge Media Institute (KMi), a diverse and multidisciplinary research and development lab that has been at the forefront of innovation since 1995, conducting research in computing technologies for social and environmental good.
Professor Miriam Fernandez, member of the OU Analyse team said
“We are thrilled to have won this award, recognizing the team’s outstanding work in the Learning Analytics field.
“Our dedication over the past decade has placed the OU at the forefront of Learning Analytics, and this award is a testament to the team’s hard work and valuable contributions to the research community.”
