“There is an old expression, ‘a Dutch uncle,’ which refers to a person who gives you honest feedback. Pausch (2008) There was an interesting discussion about learning analytics today. Should you do it in an academic context? For example, track students progress with the aim to improve courses, but also to provide students with individual feedback or even more direct interventions? It raises the specter of the always watching policemen, checking whether students actually do their job (after all, studying is their job). But on the other hand, it might provide students with a necessary reality check. For me, it’s a no-brainer: Of course you should. I agree with the second position in this overview on Analytics: «On one hand, institutions might be vulnerable to charges of “profling” students when they draw conclusions from student data; on the other, they could be seen as irresponsible if they don’t take action when data suggest a student is having difficulty.» Thing is, technology is value neutral: Scientific and technological progress themselves are value-neutral. They are just very good at doing what they do. If you want to do selfish, greedy, intolerant and violent things, scientific technology will provide you with by far [...]
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