Background
Melbourne Polytechnic enhanced Learning Management System with eWorks and IntelliBoard
Melbourne Polytechnic (MP) offers a different way to learn. It has been delivering vocational training since 1912 and is one of the largest providers in Victoria. Melbourne Polytechnic offers a wide range of innovative TAFE (VET) and higher education (degrees) that prepare students for the workplace. With courses that focus on practical skills and hands-on experience, students graduate with the knowledge they need to thrive in their careers.
“As an educator at Melbourne Polytechnic, my primary focus is always on fostering an environment where our students can thrive and succeed in their vocational pursuits,” says Shaun Boyd, Manager of Educational Technologies. MP achieved this goal by partnering with eWorks, a provider of learning management systems (LMS) tailored to vocational education. Through eWorks, MP integrated IntelliBoard into its LMS, introducing powerful data analytics capabilities that have “fundamentally changed the way we understand and support our students' learning journeys,” says Shaun.
The Challenge
What was the problem?
Frequently educators would approach the Learning Environments team with questions on how to “get better reports” of student interactions across all their programs of study in the LMS. While educators were happy with the inbuilt reporting mechanisms available within units of study in the LMS, they were seeking to better understand the broader picture of the student engagement.
Why was learning analytics the solution?
Melbourne Polytechnic’s approach was to use the rich data set of student interactions that the LMS provides the educator and aggregate those data touch points to provide a more holistic report on the student journey.
This gives educators the ability to gain quantitative insights into the student learning journey so they can make data-informed decisions and more confidently measure the impact of student success.
What data sets and or reports were MP unable to track and report on prior to IntelliBoard?
The ability for educators to see the student journey holistically is a crucial element in supporting the student through their learning journey but MP had found it challenging to aggregate all student interactions across the LMS.
Once Intelliboard was implemented, Melbourne Polytechnic was able to successfully aggregate a number of reports including the assignment submissions, detailed activity progress, student success and progress, gradebook overviews and student logins to courses to better understand and view the whole student learning journey through the LMS.
Why did you go with eWorks and IntelliBoard?
The seamless integration of Intelliboard into the eWorks LMS platform made for a compelling use case. This combined with the ability to enable educators to extract near-real-time reports on student interactions from within the LMS contributed to the Intelliboard platform being recognised as a valuable data resource.
The Solution
With the eWorks LMS platform and IntelliBoard, Melbourne Polytechnic can now view detailed engagement metrics such as student assessment submission status, assessments that require grading and report on student success and progress across the LMS in near real-time. “This helps us to better understand how and where learners are engaging within their program,” says Shaun.
The institution can now aggregate, analyse, and visualise learner data in unlimited ways, providing role-based access to all institutional stakeholders (faculty, advisors, administrators, students) so they see only the data they need. Being able to correlate, calculate, and analyse current and historical learner metrics to “predict” which students are trending as “at risk” means MP can engage in early intervention strategies to prevent students from becoming retention risks.
The Outcomes
“As educators, this integrated system has empowered us to take a more proactive and personalised approach to teaching,” says Shaun. “With near real-time access to actionable data, we're better equipped to identify students who may be struggling and provide them with the targeted support they need to succeed.”
With comprehensive reports conveniently accessible on a single dashboard, end users gain insights into students' progress, performance trends, and areas for improvement.
“The convenience and efficiency of having all this data readily available in one centralised location has transformed the way we interact with our students and tailor our teaching strategies.”