An Italian University dashboard: a tool for monitoring learning

This essay reports the initial results of an exploratory study conducted with a group of undergraduate students who were asked to describe their ideal university Dashboard. The interest in the topic lies in the fact that data collected by distance learning tools (LMS, Moocs, Webinars) have had a major proliferation recently. Potentially useful, they are difficult to interpret if a user doesn't have a visualization tool to summarize the data. We wondered what type of visualization is usually offered and which is preferred and considered useful. Do students prefer a summary description of their accomplishments and activities, or do they appreciate a system based on iconic alerts and monitoring tools? Space on screen is scarce. It seems imperative to identify the most important information and deliver it efficiently. Preliminary results from our survey show widespread interest in gathering of information and in monitoring tools. However, the problem is complex and would require integrative collaboration between different actors in the teaching and study context.