Learning analytics for open learning environments: connection to 21st century skills

This paper presents the design and development process of an innovative learning analytics tool tailored to address the challenge of generating analytics for diverse, constructionist, open learning tools. The paper outlines the preparatory phase, which informs a co-design component aimed at eliciting data requirements and establishing a shared conceptual framework among educators regarding the monitoring of 21st-century skills using open learning tools. Through this process, common understandings and agreed-upon metrics for assessing skill cultivation were identified. Subsequently, the paper delineates how these insights were translated into functional and technical specifications for the development of a learning dashboard. Finally, a report is given on the results of a preliminary evaluation, giving promising indications that the designed tool effectively addresses the identified challenges. This paper contributes to the advancement of learning analytics by offering a systematic approach to designing tools that support the cultivation of 21st-century skills in diverse learning environments.