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Using activity data to support your users

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This document discusses using activity data from logs and systems to support students. It provides examples of how activity data could be used for student recruitment, retention, demonstrating research impact, and optimizing resource usage. However, it also notes some potential issues like data protection, licensing, and ensuring the right data is actually being collected and retained to enable these types of analyses. Specific tools and projects are referenced that have successfully used activity data, as well as some cautions around properly addressing privacy, consent, and other legal and ethical considerations when utilizing user activity data.

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Using activity data to support your usersTom FranklinUniversity of Manchester and Franklin Consultingtom@franklin-consulting.co.uk
What is activity data?Short answer: Anything in a log fileLonger answerEvery log inEvery searchEvery access of a resourceEvery submission of a documentEvery access of a web pageAny action in the VLE
BUT
It only matters if:We know who you arewww.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe1Ixd4xd8o
Not quiteA proxy will doLogged in users – we know who you areIP address – we know you are the same personBut proxy servers will cause problemsWhat really matters is the ability to link activities togetherLook at patterns of behaviour
Who is doing it?
What is activity data useful for?Student recruitmentStudent retentionResearch impactResource managementhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/joshmaz/2539433150/http://www.flickr.com/photos/photoplod/5480574102/http://www.flickr.com/photos/48722974@N07/4523952050/
Student recruitmentWhat are potential students doing on your websiteWhere do they go?What are their routes?Can you tie schools’ IP addresses to UCAS applications?How can you use this information to Support candidates while they are on the site?Improve the usability of the site?
Student retentionhttp://www.itap.purdue.edu/tlt/signals/
How are they doing?http://www.itap.purdue.edu/learning/tools/signals/Faculty_Brochure.pdfhttp://farm2.static.flickr.com/1075/565921252_bb01deaedb.jpg
Demonstrating valueLibrary Impact Data ProjectRelationship between library use and resultsUsing a variety of dataTurnstile activityLibrary management systemEZProxy serviceStudent record systemRelationship demonstrated (not causality)http://library.hud.ac.uk/blogs/projects/lidp/
No of books borrowed across degreeYear of graduationBook borrowing and degree classificationhttp://library.hud.ac.uk/blogs/projects/lidp/2011/07/15/huddersfield-borrowing-year-on-year/
Supporting studentsExposing VLE dataIdentify patterns of behaviour associated with successIdentify students who are strugglingChange academics' attitudes towards the institutional VLEhttp://vledata.blogspot.com/
Research impactBeyond Google AnalyticsIncrease use of the institutional repositoryHelp people find the information that they needPeople who accessed x also accessed yPeople who searched for a accessed bhttp://www.jmorganmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/impact_solution_logo.jpg
AEIOUAcross Welsh Repository NetworkRecommender system – people who accessed x also accessed yIncrease number of articles accessed per sessionCombine with similarity based recommendationshttp://techcomtnd.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html
Resource utilisationWhat resources are being used?By whom?What are the patterns?Can you support users to make better use of resources?Are the subscriptions optimal?http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-12391221
So what could go wrong?http://www.scenicreflections.com/download/231908/something,somewhere_went_terribly_wrong_Wallpaper/
Data protectionConsentData sharingAnonymisationCollection purposeshttp://www.biz-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/data_protection-280x300.jpg
LicensingData sharingWho withFor what purposeAppropriate licenseAnonymised data? http://platformx.sourceforge.net/images/license.jpg
404Data not being collectedData not being retainedhttp://media02.hongkiat.com/error_404_01/24-7media.jpghttp://media.smashingmagazine.com/images/404-error-pages/simp.gif
Library Impact Data Project (LIDP)Working with eight universitiesSeveral dropped at start as not collecting the informationOne dropped as not retained the information
Go home and prepareIdentify some real benefits that could be achievedLook at the low costs of using the data you are collectingDetermine the benefitsPersuade your boss to fund itGood luckhttp://www.literalmom.com/.a/6a014e86614612970d01538f587561970b-800wi

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Using activity data to support your users

  • 1. Using activity data to support your usersTom FranklinUniversity of Manchester and Franklin Consultingtom@franklin-consulting.co.uk
  • 2. What is activity data?Short answer: Anything in a log fileLonger answerEvery log inEvery searchEvery access of a resourceEvery submission of a documentEvery access of a web pageAny action in the VLE
  • 3. BUT
  • 4. It only matters if:We know who you arewww.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe1Ixd4xd8o
  • 5. Not quiteA proxy will doLogged in users – we know who you areIP address – we know you are the same personBut proxy servers will cause problemsWhat really matters is the ability to link activities togetherLook at patterns of behaviour
  • 7. What is activity data useful for?Student recruitmentStudent retentionResearch impactResource managementhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/joshmaz/2539433150/http://www.flickr.com/photos/photoplod/5480574102/http://www.flickr.com/photos/48722974@N07/4523952050/
  • 8. Student recruitmentWhat are potential students doing on your websiteWhere do they go?What are their routes?Can you tie schools’ IP addresses to UCAS applications?How can you use this information to Support candidates while they are on the site?Improve the usability of the site?
  • 10. How are they doing?http://www.itap.purdue.edu/learning/tools/signals/Faculty_Brochure.pdfhttp://farm2.static.flickr.com/1075/565921252_bb01deaedb.jpg
  • 11. Demonstrating valueLibrary Impact Data ProjectRelationship between library use and resultsUsing a variety of dataTurnstile activityLibrary management systemEZProxy serviceStudent record systemRelationship demonstrated (not causality)http://library.hud.ac.uk/blogs/projects/lidp/
  • 12. No of books borrowed across degreeYear of graduationBook borrowing and degree classificationhttp://library.hud.ac.uk/blogs/projects/lidp/2011/07/15/huddersfield-borrowing-year-on-year/
  • 13. Supporting studentsExposing VLE dataIdentify patterns of behaviour associated with successIdentify students who are strugglingChange academics' attitudes towards the institutional VLEhttp://vledata.blogspot.com/
  • 14. Research impactBeyond Google AnalyticsIncrease use of the institutional repositoryHelp people find the information that they needPeople who accessed x also accessed yPeople who searched for a accessed bhttp://www.jmorganmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/impact_solution_logo.jpg
  • 15. AEIOUAcross Welsh Repository NetworkRecommender system – people who accessed x also accessed yIncrease number of articles accessed per sessionCombine with similarity based recommendationshttp://techcomtnd.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html
  • 16. Resource utilisationWhat resources are being used?By whom?What are the patterns?Can you support users to make better use of resources?Are the subscriptions optimal?http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-12391221
  • 17. So what could go wrong?http://www.scenicreflections.com/download/231908/something,somewhere_went_terribly_wrong_Wallpaper/
  • 18. Data protectionConsentData sharingAnonymisationCollection purposeshttp://www.biz-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/data_protection-280x300.jpg
  • 19. LicensingData sharingWho withFor what purposeAppropriate licenseAnonymised data? http://platformx.sourceforge.net/images/license.jpg
  • 20. 404Data not being collectedData not being retainedhttp://media02.hongkiat.com/error_404_01/24-7media.jpghttp://media.smashingmagazine.com/images/404-error-pages/simp.gif
  • 21. Library Impact Data Project (LIDP)Working with eight universitiesSeveral dropped at start as not collecting the informationOne dropped as not retained the information
  • 22. Go home and prepareIdentify some real benefits that could be achievedLook at the low costs of using the data you are collectingDetermine the benefitsPersuade your boss to fund itGood luckhttp://www.literalmom.com/.a/6a014e86614612970d01538f587561970b-800wi