CALL FOR PARTICIPATION - 2016 Learning Analytics Summer Institute
June 27-29, 2016
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

The sheer amount of data that we generate in the course of our lives is growing exponentially as technology plays a larger and larger part in what we do every day. Nowhere is this fact more important than how information technology has become part of the basic infrastructure for education– in formal and informal settings, playing a role whether we are face-to-face with others or interacting solely online. The "data exhaust" that is generated by the systems used today to support how we teach and how we learn provides an unprecedented opportunity to better understand and support learning, and to question the impact of these technologies on individuals, institutions and culture. This effort, however, is necessarily interdisciplinary and requires the use of a diverse methodological toolset.

Goals

The 2016 Learning Analytics Summer Institute (LASI 16 - lasi.solaresearch.org) will directly address the challenge multidisciplinary and multi-methodology. Continuing the momentum of prior summer institutes, LASI 16 will have two primary goals:

Build the field of Learning Analytics through the advancement of LA methods, cross disciplinary interactions, and connecting researchers and research communities.
Develop the skills and knowledge of doctoral students and academics, equipping them to engage actively in LA research and teaching.
After the 1st such event in Stanford in 2013 , LASI has become a strategic event held annually, organized by the Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR - solaresearch.org). The 2016 institute will be held in Ann Arbor, Michigan in cooperation with the Office of Digital Education and Innovation (http://digitaleducation.umich.edu/) at the University of Michigan (https://www.umich.edu/). In parallel a global network of LASI-Locals (http://lasi.solaresearch.org/lasi-locals/) will run their own gatherings that will be interactive with the participants in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA as well as with each other.

Format

Over the course of three days, participants will engage in a combination of activities, including presentations, hands-on tutorials, group work and ample opportunity for informal interactions.

For the first time at LASI – the hosting university, the University of Michigan, is making a real, yet synthetic (to protect identities) dataset available to the workshop leads to enable participants to learn analytic strategies and techniques and think about the results in context. Activities include presentations from leading researchers, innovative start-ups, and experts from related fields, coupled with panels and workshops... all designed to define the needs of the LA field, identify research gaps and needs, forge the community and demonstrate how a LA research can have meaningful impact on teaching and learning. Participants will leave better equipped to actively engage in advancing the LA field through their teaching and research activities.

We will strive for a careful balance between disciplines, skillsets and seniority in the selection of participants.

Organizing Committee

- Stephanie D Teasley, University of Michigan, USA (Program Co-Chair)
- Tim McKay, University of Michigan, USA (Program Co-Chair)
- Simon Buckingham-Shum, University of Technology Sydney (LASI-Locals chair)
- Phillip Long, University of Texas, Austin, USA
- Grace Lynch, University of New England, Australia
- Srećko Joksimović, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
- Leah Macfadyen, University of British Columbia, Canada
- Xavier Ochoa, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, Ecuado
Enquiries

For updates on currently scheduled LASI-locals, see http://lasi.solaresearch.org/lasi-locals/ for more details.