Olga Viberg

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Learning analytics can improve learning practice by transforming the ways we support learning processes. This study is based on the analysis of 252 papers on learning analytics in higher education published between 2012 and 2018. The main research question is: What is the current scientific knowledge about the application of learning analytics in h...

Digital technologies are increasingly used in assessment. On the one hand, this use offers opportunities for teachers to practice assessment more effectively, and on the other hand, it brings challenges to the design of pedagogically sound and responsible digital assessment. There is a lack of validated instruments and models that explain, assess a...

Applications of learning analytics (LA) can raise concerns from students about their privacy in higher education contexts. Developing effective privacy-enhancing practices requires a systematic understanding of students’ privacy concerns and how they vary across national and cultural dimensions. We conducted a survey study with established instrume...

A key goal of educational institutions around the world is to provide inclusive, equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all learners. Achieving this requires contextualized approaches to accommodate diverse global values and promote learning opportunities that best meet the needs and goals of all learners as individuals...

Background Study Peer feedback has been used as an effective instructional strategy to enhance students' learning in higher education. Objectives This paper reports on the findings of an explorative study that aimed to increase our understanding of the nature and role of peer feedback in the students' learning process in a computer‐supported colla...

With LLM-based applications now widely accessible, students increasingly leverage them to support their studies, especially in programming education. From completing specific tasks to managing their study routines, students can use LLMs to self-regulate their learning. However, while LLMs have the potential to support students and improve education...

Cases provide a practical resource for learning regarding the uses and challenges of AI applications. Cases give insight into how principles and values are implicated in real contexts, the trade-offs and different perspectives held regarding these contexts, and the—sometimes hidden—relationships between cases, relationships that may support analogi...

Peer feedback (PF) is essential for improving student learning outcomes , particularly in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) settings. When using digital tools for PF practices, student data (e.g., PF text entries) is generated automatically. Analyzing these large datasets can enhance our understanding of how students learn and help i...

Reading skills are crucial for students' success in education and beyond. However, reading proficiency among K-12 students has been declining globally, including in Sweden, leaving many under-prepared for post-secondary education. Additionally, an increasing number of students have reading disorders, such as dyslexia, which require support. Generat...

This editorial looks back at the Journal of Learning Analytics (JLA) in 2024 and forward to 2025. The first section of this editorial considers how learning analytics and Generative AI might be used to help students to develop a broad range of skills and competencies and identifies some promising directions for research in this area. The second sec...

Background Emerging technologies and societal changes create new ethical concerns and greater need for cross-disciplinary and cross–stakeholder communication on navigating ethics in research. Scholarly articles are the primary mode of communication for researchers, however there are concerns regarding the expression of research ethics in these outp...

With growing expectations to use AI-based educational technology (AI-EdTech) to improve students’ learning outcomes and enrich teaching practice, teachers play a central role in the adoption of AI-EdTech in classrooms. Teachers’ willingness to accept vulnerability by integrating technology into their everyday teaching practice, that is, their trust...

With growing expectations to use AI-based educational technology (AI-EdTech) to improve students' learning outcomes and enrich teaching practice, teachers play a central role in the adoption of AI-EdTech in classrooms. Teachers' willingness to accept vulnerability by integrating technology into their everyday teaching practice, that is, their trust...

Artificial intelligence (AI) holds significant promise as a technology that may improve the quality of educational practices. This includes specialized AI-powered technologies tailored for education and general AI-based technologies , including recently popular generative AI tools that stakeholders are increasingly adapting for teaching and learnin...

Culture fundamentally shapes people's reasoning, behavior, and communication. As people increasingly use generative artificial intelligence (AI) to expedite and automate personal and professional tasks, cultural values embedded in AI models may bias people's authentic expression and contribute to the dominance of certain cultures. We conduct a disa...

Background Cases provide a practical resource for learning regarding the uses and challenges of AI applications. Cases give insight into how principles and values are implicated in real contexts, the trade-offs and different perspectives held regarding these contexts, and the – sometimes hidden – relationships between cases, relationships that may...

This article presents a case study, in which ChatGPT has been integrated into the writing assignment of a course in a Dutch university whereby the students co-wrote an essay with the AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT 3.5. We examined 1) how the students used it, 2) their experienced challenges and benefits, 3) their view of its responsible use, and 4) th...

The development and prevalence of technology has not only facilitated favorable conditions for self-directed learning but also made it a core competence of today's world. Thus, cultivating K-12 learners' capability of utilizing technology to engage in self-directed learning becomes an essential task in education. In this editorial of the special is...

Self-regulated learning (SRL) plays an important role in academic success. However, many students struggle to effectively self-regulate their learning and they need support to improve their SRL as well as their learning outcomes. Research shows that SRL supports are generally effective but often do not benefit the students who need them the most. O...

AI-powered education technologies can support students and teachers in computer science education. However, with the recent developments in generative AI, and especially the increasingly emerging popularity of ChatGPT, the effectiveness of using large language models for solving programming tasks has been underexplored. The present study examines C...

Learning Analytics (LA) is an established field of research and practice. Yet, there is still scarce evidence of LA on improved learning and teaching. In this regard, researchers highlight a need to involve not only students but also teachers in the development of LA systems to ensure that LA is implemented effectively. Earlier research has pointed...

This editorial looks back at the Journal of Learning Analytics (JLA) in 2023 and forward to 2024. Considering the recent proliferation of large language models such as GPT4 and Bard, the first section of this editorial points to the need for robust Generative AI (GenAI) analytics, calling for consideration of how GenAI may impact learning analytics...

AI-powered education technologies can support students and teachers in computer science education. However, with the recent developments in generative AI, and especially the increasingly emerging popularity of ChatGPT, the effectiveness of using large language models for solving programming tasks has been underexplored. The present study examines C...

In this article, we focus on the cognitive presence element of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework. Cognitive presence consists of four categories: Triggering Event, Exploration, Integration, and Resolution. These categories have been described as phases following an idealized logical sequence, although the phases should not be seen as immutab...

To promote cross-community dialogue on matters of significance within the field of learning analytics (LA), we as editors-in-chief of the Journal of Learning Analytics (JLA) have introduced a section for papers that are open to peer commentary. An invitation to submit proposals for commentaries on the paper was released, and 12 of these proposals w...

The adoption of Extended Reality (XR) technologies for supporting learning processes is an increasingly popular research topic for a wide variety of domains, including medical education. Currently, within this community, the metrics applied to quantify the potential impact these technologies have on procedural knowledge acquisition are inconsistent...

Peer feedback has been widely used in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) setting to improve students’ engagement with massive courses. Although the peer feedback process increases students’ self-regulatory practice, metacognition, and academic achievement, instructors need to go through large amounts of feedback text data which is muc...

Online learning has become an everyday form of learning for many students across different disciplines, including STEM subjects in the setting of higher education. Studying in these settings requires students to self-regulate their learning to a higher degree as compared to campus-based education. A vital aspect of self-regulated learning is the ap...

Report

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) settings for academic writing have become a staple in foreign language classrooms in higher education. These settings allow learners to discuss their output, assist others and dialogically assess their learning progress. To successfully do so, however, learners need to be able to effectively self-reg...

This book is about practicable learning analytics, that is able to become a successful part of practice, ultimately leading to improved learning and teaching. The aim of the book is to shift our perspective on learning analytics creation and implementation from that of “designing of” technology to that of “designing for” a system of practice. That...

Learning analytics have been argued as a key enabler to improving student learning at scale. Yet, despite considerable efforts by the learning analytics community across the world over the past decade, the evidence to support that claim is hitherto scarce, as is the demand from educators to adopt it into their practice. We introduce the concept of...

This chapter aims to stress the importance of addressing culture when designing and implementing learning analytics services. Learning analytics have been implemented in different countries with the purpose of improving learning and supporting teaching; yet, largely at a limited scale and so far with limited evidence of achieving their purpose. Eve...

Student engagement has been identified as a critical construct for understanding and predicting educational success. However, research has shown that it can be hard to align data-driven insights of engagement with observed and self-reported levels of engagement. Given the emergence and increasing application of learning analytics (LA) within K-12 e...

The focus of ethics in learning analytics (LA) frameworks and guidelines is predominantly on procedural elements of data management and accountability. Another, less represented focus is on the duty to act and LA as a moral practice. Data feminism as a critical theoretical approach to data science practices may offer LA research and practitioners a...

Learning analytics have been argued as a key enabler to improving student learning at scale. Yet, despite considerable efforts by the learning analytics community across the world over the past decade, the evidence to support that claim is hitherto scarce, as is the demand from educators to adopt it into their practice. We introduce the concept of...

Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) research includes examination and development of second language learners' cognitive and metacognitive self-regulated learning skills, but the affective learning component of self-regulation in this context remains largely unexplored. Support for affective learning, which is defined by learners' beliefs, att...

Student engagement has been identified as a critical construct for understanding and predicting educational success. However, research has shown that it can be hard to align data-driven insights of engagement with observed and self-reported levels of engagement. Given the emergence and increasing application of learning analytics (LA) within K-12 e...

This chapter aims to stress the importance of addressing culture when designing and implementing learning analytics services. Learning analytics have been implemented in different countries with the purpose of improving learning and supporting teaching; yet, largely at a limited scale and so far with limited evidence of achieving their purpose. Eve...

Protection of student privacy is critical for scaling up the use of learning analytics (LA) in education. Poorly implemented frameworks for privacy protection may negatively impact LA outcomes and undermine trust in the discipline. To design and implement models and tools for privacy protection, we need to understand privacy itself. To develop bett...

Privacy is one of the key challenges to the adoption and implementation of online proctoring systems (OPS) in higher education. To better understand this challenge, we adopt privacy as contextual integrity theory to conduct a scoping review of 17 papers. The results show different types of students' personal and sensitive information are collected...

This introduction to the section on ‘machine learning and human learning’ presents a short overview of machine learning in higher education, including recent developments such as deep learning approaches in the field. It also highlights a need for the further development of human-centered approach to the design of machine learning support tools. Fu...

In order to successfully implement learning analytics (LA), we need a better understanding of student expectations of such services. Yet, there is still a limited body of research about students' expectations across countries. Student expectations of LA have been predominantly examined from a view that perceives students as a group of individuals r...

Understanding students' privacy concerns is an essential first step toward effective privacy‐enhancing practices in learning analytics (LA). In this study, we develop and validate a model to explore the students' privacy concerns (SPICE) regarding LA practice in higher education. The SPICE model considers privacy concerns as a central construct bet...

The potential of learning analytics (LA) to improve learning and teaching is high. Yet, the adoption of LA across countries still remains low. One reason behind this is that the LA services often do not adequately meet the expectations and needs of their key stakeholders, namely students and teachers. Presently, there is limited research focusing o...

Migrant professional language learners need to be supported in acquiring a second language effectively beyond the classroom. These learners frequently lack opportunities to participate in language classes due to full-time jobs. Yet, quick acquisition of the target language is a needed prerequisite for their successful integration into job settings...

Predictors of student academic success do not always replicate well across different learning designs, subject areas, or educational institutions. This suggests that characteristics of a particular discipline and learning design have to be carefully considered when creating predictive models in order to scale up learning analytics. This study aimed...

Learning analytics (LA) have been implemented in various countries, often in different ways and on a limited scale. This makes the transfer of LA solutions from one country to another challenging due to varying contextual, technical, and cultural factors. This interactive workshop aims to explore the role of stakeholders' cultural values and prefer...

The proposed special issue is a response to the call, and aims to publish the latest theoretical, methodological, or empirical studies on self-directed- and self-regulated learning in the technology-enhanced learning environments in K-12 contexts. It is hoped that through embracing scholarly discussions from diverse disciplines, including learning...

The importance of providing mechanisms and tools that effectively support the transition from implicit to explicit representations of Learning Design has been emphasised by previous research in the field of Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL). In addition, the benefits of Game-based learning approaches have been long documented in the educational re...

This paper discusses the possibilities of using and designing mobile technology for learning purposes coupled with learning analytics to support self-regulated learning (SRL). Being able to self-regulate one's own learning is important for academic success but is also challenging. Research has shown that without instructional support, students are...

Writing in an academic context often requires students in higher education to acquire a new set of skills while familiarising themselves with the goals, objectives and requirements of the new learning environment. Students’ ability to continuously self-regulate their writing process, therefore, is seen as a determining factor in their learning succ...

Proceedings of the 4th Nordic Learning Analytics Summer Institute, 2021

The widespread interest in learning analytics (LA) is associated with increased availability of and access to student data where students' actions are monitored, recorded, stored and analyzed. The availability and analysis of such data is argued to be crucial for improved learning and teaching. Yet, these data can be exposed to misuse, for example,...

The widespread interest in learning analytics (LA) is associated with increased availability of and access to student data where students' actions are monitored, collected, stored and analysed. The availability and analysis of such data is argued to be crucial for improved learning and teaching. Yet, these data can be exposed to misuse, for example...

Digitalizing school is a process that comes with challenges. It requires strategic leadership and transformational change to work processes. Nevertheless, some succeed, and it is useful to understand what makes for success. This paper studies the challenges of leading digitalization of education in a city which decided to implement an IT-supported...

Learning analytics (LA) is argued to be able to improve learning outcomes, learner support and teaching. However, despite an increasingly expanding amount of student (digital) data accessible from various online education and learning platforms and the growing interest in LA worldwide as well as considerable research efforts already made, there is...

Learning programming is a complex and challenging task for many students. It involves both understanding theoretical concepts and acquiring practical skills. Hence, analyzing learners’ data from online learning environments alone fails to capture the full breadth of students’ actions if part of their learning process takes place elsewhere. Moreover...

Ethical considerations and the values embedded in the design, development, deployment, and use of Learning Analytics (LA) systems have received considerable attention in recent years. Ethical frameworks, design guidelines, principles, checklists, and a code of practice have contributed a conceptual basis for focused discussions on ethics in LA. How...

Learning programming is a complex and challenging task for many students. It in-volves both understanding theoretical concepts and acquiring practical skills. Hence, analyzing learners’ data from online learning environments alone fails to capture the full breadth of stu-dents’ actions if part of their learning process takes place elsewhere. Moreov...

Mobile Assisted Language Learning through Learning Analytics (MALLAS) is a conceptual framework to aid learning designers in developing effective support for second- and foreign language (L2) learners through the application of learning analytics to facilitate self-regulated language learning across learning settings. Designing sound support mechan...

This positioning paper raises several critical issues related to the protection of children’s privacy in K-12 education and calls for a need for more empirical research in this regard. In this paper, we argue that the protection of children’s privacy in K-12 schools is a moral and legal obligation for school leadership, teachers and parents. In lig...

Students’ ability to self-regulate their individual and collaborative learning activities while performing challenging academic writing tasks is instrumental for their academic success. Presently, the majority of such learning activities often occur in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) settings, in which students generate digital lea...

Many language learners need to be supported in acquiring a second or foreign language quickly and effectively across learning environments beyond the classroom. The chapter argues that support should focus on the development of two vital learning skills, namely being able to self-regulate and to collaborate effectively in the learning process. We b...

The current generation of dedicated Mixed Reality (MR) devices can be considered as the first generation, which is truly mobile while also being capable of sufficient tracking and rendering. These improvements offer new opportunities for the on-set use of MR devices enabling new ways of using MR. However, these new use cases raise challenges for th...

Many language learners need to be supported in acquiring a second or foreign language quickly and effectively across learning environments beyond the classroom. The chapter argues that support should focus on the development of two vital learning skills, namely being able to self-regulate and to collaborate effectively in the learning process. We b...

Recently, students have become networked in many ways, and evidence is mounting that networking plays a significant role in how students learn, interact, and transfer information. Relationships could translate to opportunities; resources and support that help achieve the pursued goals and objectives. Although students exist, interact, and play diff...

Mobile Assisted Language Learning through Learning Analytics (MALLAS) is a conceptual framework to aid learning designers in developing effective support for second- and foreign language (L2) learners through the application of learning analytics to facilitate self-regulated language learning across learning settings. Designing sound support mechan...

Many adult second and foreign language learners have insufficient opportunities to engage in language learning. However, their successful acquisition of a target language is critical for various reasons, including their fast integration in a host country and their smooth adaptation to new work or educational settings. This suggests that they need a...

Students' ability to self-regulate their individual and collaborative learning activities while performing challenging academic writing tasks is instrumental for their academic success. Presently, the majority of such learning activities often occur in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) settings, in which students generate digital lea...

Recently, students have become networked in many ways, and evidence is mounting that networking plays a significant role in how students learn, interact, and transfer information. Relationships could translate to opportunities; resources and support that help achieve the pursued goals and objectives. Although students exist, interact, and play diff...

There is a lack of technology that facilitates disciplinary-specific knowledge dissemination in the medical sector specialties. In several countries there is a shortage of medical staff with the proper education to take care of patients. However, modern mobile-and web technology pave the way for new online knowledge sharing platforms which could he...

With globally increased migration and mobility across countries, it has become critical for many people to acquire a language of the host country. This study focuses on the case of adult migrant workers who are i) enrolled in second language education and ii) faced to a challenge of balancing between their professional and private lives and their s...

Self-regulated learning (SRL) is associated with students' academic performance, but it is difficult for learners. It can be learnt and taught. This study investigates how we can support second language learners in fostering affective learning skills needed for the successful acquisition of the targeted language. In the research literature, the aff...

The analysis of CSCL needs to offer actionable insights about how knowledge construction between learners is built, facilitated and/or constrained, with the overall aim to help support knowledge (co-)construc-tion. To address this, the present study demonstrates how network analysis - in a form of diffusion-based visual and quantitative information...

Academic writing is a complex and challenging language learning activity, in which self-regulation is a key critical factor for learner success. Today, a large number of academic writing activities occur in digital learning spaces, including computer-supported collaborative learning settings. Recent advances in the fields of learning analytics (LA)...

Large organizations often constrain their innovation quests only inside the silos of dedicated departments. However, in the rapidly changing world, innovation processes need to be opened to wider circles suggesting involving virtual environments in workplaces that trigger employees’ to be highly engaged. This empirical study investigates the facili...

The increasing use of digital learning tools and platforms in formal and informal learning settings has provided broad access to large amounts of learner data, the analysis of which has been aimed at understanding students' learning processes, improving learning outcomes, providing learner support as well as teaching. Presently , such data has been...

The analysis of CSCL needs to offer actionable insights about how knowledge construction between learners is built, facilitated and/or constrained, with the overall aim to help support knowledge (co-)construction. To address this, the present study demonstrates how network analysis in a form of diffusion-based visual and quantitative information ex...

The increasing use of digital learning tools and platforms in formal and informal learning settings has provided broad access to large amounts of learner data, the analysis of which has been aimed at understanding students' learning processes, improving learning outcomes, providing learner support as well as teaching. Presently, such data has been...

Integrating digital technology in education is challenging. This study reports on three high school mathematics classes where teachers attempted to improve their teaching and student learning by using a digital tool. For analysis we use the Information System Artifact model Lee et al. (2015) which distinguishes between three integrated sub-artifact...

Self-regulated learning (SRL) can predict academic performance. Yet, it is difficult for learners. The ability to self-regulate learning becomes even more important in emerging online learning settings. To support learners in developing their SRL, learning analytics (LA), which can improve learning practice by transforming the ways we support learn...

A learning process involves interactions between learners, teachers, machines and formal and/or informal learning environments. These interactions are relational, interdependent and temporal. The emergence of rich multimodal learner data suggests the development of methods that can capture time-stamped data from multiple sources (e.g., heart rate d...

The aim of this workshop paper is to propose Mobile Multimodal Learning Analytics Methodology (MOLAM). The methodology is suggested to be developed through the lenses of multidisciplinary and multichannel data research approaches, based on the theoretical foundations of Self-Regulated Learning (SRL). MOLAM is theory supported, driven by learning an...

In order to effectively integrate digital technology into education it is necessary to examine and understand teachers’ preparedness to use digital technology in education. The objective of this pilot study is to validate a self-reported instrument to measure teachers’ preparedness to use Information and Communication Technologies for learning and...

In today’s era of digitalization of education, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning is becoming increasingly important in higher education. This type of learning has been frequently associated in the recent research literature with student regulation, feedback from peers and a student assessment schema which can incorporate both formative and...

The topic of digitalisation of education attracts interest of the research community worldwide owing to unprecedented capabilities provided by technology to capture digital traces of today’s students who, being ‘digital natives’, are active in technology-rich learning environments. The aim of this report is to present solutions on the topic that ca...

Using digital technology effectively in schools requires profound changes in traditional teaching and learning activities. Pedagogical innovations often start small-scale and developing good ideas into shared practice across schools is challenging in many ways, especially if the innovation requires second-order change, i.e. challenges to fundamenta...

The roles of self-regulation and structuration in mobile learning are poorly understood. This study therefore examines these aspects in relation to the design and use of mobile technology in an online language learning setting. The online self-regulated learning (SRL) instrument was adopted to measure students' perceived level of self-regulation. S...

Information and communication technologies are increasingly mediating learning and teaching practices as well as how educational institutions are handling their administrative work. As such, students and teachers are leaving large amounts of digital footprints and traces in various educational apps and learning management platforms, and educational...