Category: Zonder categorie

Creating Learning Analytics

The usefulness and purpose of learning statistics and analytics (aka Learning Analytics) with H5P

In modern society, learning is evolving very rapidly. Knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer are becoming increasingly necessary "on the job" and "du moment". As a result, learning is also becoming more social, less formal and very mobile. Learn more from each other than from the "sage on the stage". Learning experiences are no longer limited to a classroom, but often even take place entirely online. We can see this from the rapid rise of video based learning, for example based on 360 degree video. More and more, learning experiences are visual, interactive and immersive to approach reality closely than with text, images and questions, increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the learning result. So that eventually the difference between reality and learning will fade also supported by artificial intelligence. Learning by doing on the job, supported by real or artificial coaches and mentors and all the necessary information. Learning and working environment will eventually be fully integrated into a hybrid environment of artificial and human intelligence. This is also called blended or modern learning.

The why of xAPI in H5P

This increasing diversity and complexity of learning experiences creates major challenges for the suppliers and users of learning solutions. How can students be kept informed of their blended learning process, and how is knowledge transfer recorded within blended learning? How do we track achieved learning goals, and how is all the essential data on learning outcomes recorded, analyzed and reported in any necessary form? Learning technology has evolved very rapidly over the past 20 years, which is why standards and standards for learning technology have been continuously updated, especially in the field of data tracking and storage. Several white papers were already written in 2007 at the invitation of LETSI (Learning-Education-Training Systems Interoperability) to reflect on the future of learning technology and what is needed for the foreseeable future. This input based on both learning technology suppliers and users has led to the idea of putting the learning experiences at the heart of the learning experiences for real people and to reduce them as little as possible in terms of tracking them. Whether it's reading a book, watching a video to a simulator of a Joint Strike Fighter. A new standard or API (Application Programming Interface, i.e. a method of linking different systems) was devised based on all this input. That is why this standard is called Experience API or xAPI, nicknamed Tin Can. You can use a string and two cans to listen to each other. This interface is about linking all possible learning experiences in a standardized way and storing and using the data without too many restrictions and open to the future. This xAPI was published in 2014 and is actually only now really being put into use in 2019.

What can be done with xAPI in learning with H5P?

xAPI is designed for every conceivable learning experiences, including traditional classroom learning and the most advanced online or offline learning, where the results are can be compared. The central idea behind xAPI is that all possible learning activities such as video, mobile, social, offline, traditionally can be captured to be able to report on it at an individual level, or to collect the data aggregate at any level to better understand how learning works in the the entire organization and to be able to combine these results with other system and correlate with, for example, business results.

The origin of xAPI in H5P

In 2016 I did my first xAPI project for a customer in the US to create a previously created SCORM architecture (SCORM) replaces the previous standard which has a number of serious disadvantages especially in terms of collecting accurate data for analysis. This project was based on a combination of xAPI and H5P for the creation and delivering e-learning content, mainly video-based. The most important thing the advantage is that a lot of accurate data is now collected for immediate aggregation and for further analysis and business use such as for example, for individual support of students, predictive analysis and adaptive learning. It is much easier to share data between different systems and different content providers to provide insights that were previously not possible or took a lot of time. For example, combining learning outcomes with customer relationship management data or HR systems. For this project, xAPI was integrated for the first time in the H5P authoring and content management system. For example, when watching interactive video, creating questions and watching Presentations. After that, it quickly became apparent that there was a lot of demand for xAPI in H5P and xAPI in H5P evolved rapidly. For example, in education, the used as a kind of recording recorder allowing learning experiences to be played and analyzed for mentoring and coaching. just like H5P, xAPI is a relatively new standard, also open source and therefore it fits well together. There is a good reason why H5P was developed as an alternative to Flash and xAPI as an alternative to SCORM. H5P has therefore never supported SCORM. But LTI and xAPI. This allows systems to be linked by means of APIs monolytic LMS is no longer needed. Of course, H5P can be with an LMS that supports LTI and also with an LRS (Learning Record Store) so that the learning results from the LMS (such as Moodle, ILIAS, Canvas, Brightspace) based on H5P learning experiences flow back to an LMS and can be viewed there using dashboard and there may even be aggregated data is sent back to an LMS without anyone there notice. It's completely transparent. In addition, the H5P.com server variant also has its own reporting system based on the xAPI data, so that it is not always necessary to implement an LRS.

xAPI differs significantly from previous standards such as SCORM and AICC. Unlike SCORM and AICC, xAPI not limited to eLearning material or Learning Management Systems (LMS). There generates Statements stored in a Learning Record Store.

The ultimate goal of xAPI in H5P

The purpose of the xAPI is to save and provide access to all possible learning experiences, both digital and real World. Both mobile and offline. The xAPI makes tracking learning experiences possible with statements, including traditional records such as scores or completion. It also stores records of students' actions, such as reading an article or watching a training video and how they deal with it. This can go as far as saving all keystrokes or mouse clicks if necessary. Basically any action that is important for the the learning process can be saved. xAPI also makes it possible to track activities that people do using computers such as the performing work tasks, producing work results, interacting with others using social media, achieving milestones in games and simulations, and just about any other activity that can be observed or recorded.

How it works in H5P

The xAPI describes learning activities as a flow of semantic data. Each instruction consists of an actor, an action and an object. I (actor) did (action/verb) something (object)

A few Examples:

  1. James Read an article from the Harvard Business Review called "the employer-LED Health Care Revolution"
  2. Mary answered a test question.

People learn from interactions with other people, content and tasks. In principle, these learning activities can be and referencing an event where learning can occur. All these activities and events can be recorded with the xAPI. When a activity must be registered, the application sends secure instructions in the form of "I did this" or "noun, verb, object" to a Learning Record Store (LRS). The LRS registers all statements made and may share these statements with other LRSs or with a compatible LMS, including SCORM and AICC systems. The LRS can also work 'smarter' by adding statistics and the resulting aggregation data can be used for further analysis. for example, advanced Multilevel statistical modelling and correlation analysis or machine learning techniques can be applied to Predictions about Real-World performance related to training data to automate. Nothing special needs to be done in H5P. All activities in all H5P content types are automatically and almost immediately dynamically sent to the LRS as xAPI data. Control some content types more data than others, but this is constantly being Updated. In principle, everything is possible also mouse clicks, pause in videos, keystrokes (this is already used in the Surveys when people have an open question).

The benefits of xAPI in H5P

All learning experiences in an H5P interactive Video Content type are tracked: from starting a video, stopping, answering a question, using embedded content such as a PDF, answering a question, searching for a video clip, completing a closing key to the total display time is tracked using the Experience API and can be used for analysis and reporting. But you don't have to use all that. There may be filtered and aggregated. It also does not require a fixed order of Learning. People can choose their own path that makes for H5P and xAPI not out.

Through all these data from H5P learning activities combined with company, personnel or customer data, it may be possible to started by identifying learning pathways that lead to the most successful results, the effectiveness of training programs can be and the so-called return on investment are measured. This can be measurable KPIs in healthcare, effectiveness education content, sales performance, talent or performance management or the improve learning experiences. In the example below, the progress against the involvement of one of the most important predictors of learning effectiveness and efficient learning.

With xAPI, these types of analyses are easier to make by combining data from different sources. There xAPi is pre-made. So in H5P, with the built-in reporting system, work for learning experiences started from an LMS or portal via LTI, and at the same time the data is transmitted to an LRS, aggregated, forwarded to an LMS and forwarded to an HR system.

In the project I did for a Corporate University in the US collected all xAPI data through H5P learning activities in order to provide progress linked to motivation. Predict. This allows them to give the right interventions to individual students, value for money, but also for planning up and cross selling activities and even for marketing and this has contributed to improved business results through greater transparency and insight. All this due to the combination of H5P with xAPI

Why does H5P fit so well with xAPI and the Modern Learning in general?

  • H5P and xAPI are open and flexible
  • H5P and xAPI are future-oriented
  • H5P and xAPI are becoming more and more Used
  • H5P and xAPI are dynamic rather than Static
  • H5P and xAPI are robust and expandable
  • H5P and xAPI support modern learning on the basis of state-of-the-art technologies
  • Learning outcomes and content are complete Interchangeable
  • H5P and xAPI make it possible to make learning results completely interchangeable and analyseable

This combination fits very well with the requirements of Modern Learning: flexible, forward-looking, interactive, immersive, international, dynamic, robust, mobile, interchangeable, focused on big data, focused on learning analytics, predictive analytics, personalized learning. This does not happen by itself, of course, but something has to be done for it. But at least it's possible. They are actually large building boxes with LEGO for Learning that basically can do everything necessary for Learning

Contact us to create Learning Analytics with H5P in your own learning environment.

Göran Kattenberg (goran@theblendedgroup.nl)

Meetup Interactive Video for Blended Learning

What exactly is that interactive video, and why use it?

On 13 March 2019 there was a Meetup about Interactive Video, organized by the Losmakers. An interactive video is a video where the viewer has to take action. He can choose how to proceed or answer questions. There were about 25 to 30 people from different organizations present, particularly interested in the application of interactive video in online learning. Using interactive video for learning has been around for a long time. Think of Philips CD-i and the interactive image plate. The U.S. Army used it during World War II. Due to the good video quality and the possible interactivity, training programs and training courses were already made and used in the 1990s, e.g. in the roll-out of new car models, but also for training personnel at waste treatment plants. Interactive video was considered particularly suitable in vocational education or training, in combination with more textual learning materials.

With the rise of the Internet, the quality of video a lot lower due to the limited bandwidth and took the application of video in the first instance. That problem hardly exists now. more and therefore the interest in using interactive video for training, training and learning have increased again. Partly due to the rise of new technologies such as 3D, 180 and 360 video and the relatively inexpensive equipment to create and deliver videos through accessible platforms.

In the last few years, tools have been added to create and deliver interactive videos online. This is mainly due to the rise of online video platforms such as Youtube and Vimeo. These platforms already include tools to make videos more interactive, such as creating Bookmarks.

Learning with multimedia such as interactive videos often goes better

Isabelle Langeveld (educational and educational technologist) gave an introduction on the use of multimedia in learning. The drawings in this blog are by her hand. Isabelle's contention is that if properly applied, i.e. taking into account learning psychological and educational principles (e.g. David Merrill's First Principles of Learning), the combination of video or generally multimedia material with text, questions and hotspots in a specific order has a positive effect on the learning effect and retention over a longer period of time and in addition the cognitive load (i.e. the intensive use of short-term memory) decreases.

From scientific research (e.g. Nassi &Amp; Callaway, 2009) shows that visual and spatial information processing is parallel while auditory and textual information processing via short-term memory is sequential. Because video already offers the right context, the cognitive load can be reduced and, as it were, the essential information to be learned is processed and stored in the right way, place and way. In other words, a more brain-friendly way of learning. By placing textual and auditory sequential information in the right audiovisual context. That is what is happening in reality, it is a more immersive, immersed way of learning in this case made possible and supported by technology.

An example of interactive video created in H5P

A valid comment from the audience was whether music or audio can also be meaningful or counterproductive. Of course, a distinction can be made between speech (voice-over), ambient sound (background sounds) and music (background music). The answer is that it can help provided that it is applied in a brain-friendly way, i.e. provided that it does not lead to an overload of working memory but is used to connect textual information and visual information by applying more context and also by clarifying the text (for reading text). This applies to a special extent to so-called accessible content, when students have, for example, a visual disability or, conversely, an auditory disability. In the latter case, it may also make sense to work with subtitles in addition to speech.

Every supplier present was given the opportunity to present and explain his product briefly. My explanation as an innovation consultant, including some large projects with interactive video and learning analytics, was about H5P (HTML5 Package). H5P is a complete web-based environment for creating immersive e-learning content. Comes from Norway and has been around for about 6 years. It is made to be very accessible, so anyone can use it effectively, both teachers and students. The intention is that many users will share and use knowledge and information. There are many possibilities to create e-learning content. Not only interactive video, but there are also many other possibilities. Interactive video is one of the content types that can be used to aggrrate content, i.e. an existing question can be added to a video or existing text, graphics and also video. It is now being applied in the Netherlands at Radboud University within a pilot for a year linked to their Brightspace LMS. The intention is that both teachers and students will contribute and share knowledge and skills. There are also two new content types, branching scenario, and virtual tour that can be applied in a different way to aggregate content. The four other tools in this evaluation are specific tools for creating only interactive video. In addition, the other four tools in the evaluation have a commercial model, while H5P is an open source project. However, there is a professional SAAS variant with SLA and processor agreement that meets the strictest requirements, which is used by larger organizations such as universities, companies and NGOs. In that case, the hosting takes place by the creator of H5P, Joubel, via Amazon servers. For example, for larger numbers of users, the performance of video is guaranteed.

Two group evaluation sessions took place. This looked at the interactions that can be made within videos, how user-friendly the tools are. And what exactly is the didactic added value, compared to a 'regular' video where you interactions before, next to or below? This was assessed within the model below (quality web)

A method to compare the different tools on dimensions such as costs, user-friendliness, navigation/branching and interactivity. H5P scores very well here, but IV is just one of many possibilities

It immediately becomes clear that H5P is made for user-friendliness both for creators (teachers, students, professionals) and for the end users (students, employees, stakeholders). The cost of H5P is low, both for the free version, which only requires a WordPress or Drupal server and for the professional version where one pays for the hosting for a specific number of users linked to the LMS and with built-in analysis tools and reports. In terms of functionality, H5P is very extensive in the field of interactive video. Hotspots and 9 question types or surveys can be added. Adaptive branching is possible, based on the answer to a question one jumps to a certain position in the video. The same goes for hotspots. The end result is offered in a user-friendly player with navigation and branching that can be seamlessly integrated within any website or LMS.

What's interesting to mention is that H5P also offers content types where interactive video can be aggregated or combined. For example, a branch where one jumps from one video to another in an adaptive learning path that can be followed with xAPI statements with Learning Analytics. Finally, it is interesting to mention that H5P also goes along with the current trend to be able to work with 360 degree content type, Augmented Learning. The so-called Virtual Tour supports 360 photos, where paths can easily be created to be able to walk around a building (such as a workshop, garage or factory) to create realistic scenarios. The next step in this will also be 360 video that can be viewed with VR glasses such as the Oculus Go or Google Cardboard glasses. The immersion goes a step further here.

The next Meetup will therefore be on the subject of Virtual Reality go. Interactive video recorded and played in 360 degrees is the first step. By the way, this content can also be laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Example of 360 interactive video This can be used for guided tours, onboarding, awareness training, realistic training in difficult locations

Applications are in the field of sales training, onboarding, standard procedures, work instructions, product training, technical training, with an emphasis on bringing reality closer to education. H5P is the key to success. A number of visitors to the meetup have already come forward to see how they can use H5P to share and exchange knowledge with and for their target group faster, easier, better and more fun.

An important aspect is that interactive videos can be easily made in an online environment and can also be easily used in any learning environment (e.g. via LTI). In addition, a lot of relevant data is produced in interactive videos, much more than, for example, in regular e-learning content. And that in addition to the standard learning progress such as completion, score and success/success, it should also be possible to use and store all user data to immediately analyze or use further control for, for example, personalizing existing and new learning paths. This can be based on the Experience API that produces semantic data as Vera has pressed this Button (actor – verb – object data with context). For example, that was to answer a question in a quiz whether that was in a simulation of a nuclear power plant. In other words, interactive videos can also be used very well for generating data for Learning Analytics.