Interaction between Standardisation and Research in Drafting an International Specification on Learning Analytics

Abstract

Interoperability standards are key enablers for widespread adoption of learning
technologies, e.g., new data-driven analytics of learning, an application domain explored in a
case study presented in this paper. Standards-making is a design practice that relies on input
from research and end-users, involving experts that represent diverse stakeholders spread all
over the globe. However, the standards-setting culture and formal rules are sometimes at odds
with the culture and practice of research. Based on previous research identifying lack of
openness and transparency, and a suboptimal interaction with academic research as issues that
could explain lack of success in a European setting, this paper studies how an ongoing
international standards project on privacy and data protection policies for learning analytics has
interacted with an international academic research community. The results of this study show
that establishing feedback loops between standardisation, research, and development is
essential in order to produce results.