Project Goals/Deliverables
Evaluate the efficacy of Performance+ to determine how it can be used to better support UW students in their learning.
Engage in consultation with UW community to address current and future uses of learner data that could be supported with Performance+.
Determine whether Performance+ should be licensed long-term at the University of Waterloo.
Project Team
Pam Fluttert, Director (Instructional Technology and Media Services)
Scott Anderson, Supervisor, Learning Environment (Instructional Technology and Media Services)
Project Summary
The University of Waterloo is currently developing initiatives to improve LEARN (D2L's Brightspace), our learning management system (LMS), based on feedback received in the LMS Review. The version of LEARN that we use at UW has many pedagogical features that are used frequently by instructors and to great effect. There are, however, additional features available that we have not yet licensed, nor have we investigated their potential efficacy for our institution. Performance+ provides tools and dashboards that unlock insights into course and learner data and effectiveness.
Throughout this pilot, we will be seeking individuals who are either actively engaged in using similar tools already, or individuals whose role supports instructors using LEARN to accomplish similar goals. Please watch for opportunities to participate or contact Pam Fluttert (fluttert@uwaterloo.ca) if interested.
What is Performance+?
Performance+ is an embedded analytical tool in the LEARN system that provides instructors insights into course and student learning analytics. Performance+ comprises of a variety of tools and dashboards that course instructors can use to gain insight into learner data, effectiveness, and key performance indicators. These analytics can be used to inform teaching and learning decisions within a class, department, program, and faculty.
Key features include:
- Adoption Dashboard: Provides a comprehensive understanding of course usage with visualization of login trends, course access, tool usage, and enrollments.
- Engagement Dashboard: Identifies success and at-risk students and groups through visualizations related to course access, assignment completions, and content engagement.
- Learner Engagement Dashboard: Provides instructors with metrics regarding individual learner engagement across the course.
- Assessment Quality Dashboard: Evaluates assessment quality with quiz and question statistics, including reliability and average grade.
- In-course Reporting Tools: Enables instructors to see a course overview related to class engagement through visual tools.
- Insights Report Builder: Instructors can create custom visualizations, reports, and alerts using course data for their course needs.
- Student Success System: Provides instructors with predictive analytics to identify at-risk students and provides actionable insights.
To learn more about Performance+, watch a demo of the tool by D2L from September 14, 2023.
Project Timeline
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2023
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Aug
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Beta project approved for Teaching Innovation Incubator
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Recruitment of faculty and staff to test Performance+ (first phase)
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Oct
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Initial testing of Performance+ wraps up
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ITMS signs 5-year agreement with D2L with Performance+ feature
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Nov
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Feedback on Performance + collected, summarized, and shared with EdTech Advisory team
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Dec
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Received budget approval to do thorough pilot of Performance+
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Aug
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2024
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Jan
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ITMS reviews Performance+ functionality before winter 2024 pilot begins
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Jan
Project Updates
Seeking participants to join the Winter 2025 Creator+ Pilot
The Incubator Project, Evaluating LEARN Tools: Creator+ is seeking interested faculty and staff to participate in the Creator+ pilot. Please complete the Expression of Interest form for consideration in the Winter 2025 pilot.
Call for interested faculty, instructors and staff to pilot Creator+
Following the initial round of testing on the efficacy of the Creator+ and Performance+ tools, the project team received budget approval to proceed with a two-year pilot of both tools. We are seeking interested individuals from across the faculties to join the pilot.
Performance+: Project Team wraps up consultations
The Performance+ project team continues to investigate the functionality of the tool for accessing and assessing student data in LEARN. Consultations have taken place with user-groups including academic advisors and faculty across campus about potential use cases of the tool.
Performance+: Small Pilot Begins
The Performance+ project team has begun piloting the tool with a small group of instructors using live student data in LEARN to determine its efficacy and utility for faculty at Waterloo.