A Framework to Identify Non-Achievers in eLearning Business Informatics Lab Courses

Abstract

Learning Management Systems store valuable data in their repositories. Analyzing such data could contribute to identifying non-achievers in eLearning courses. This study presents an integrated framework (encompassing stages from a risk management process) to predict non-achievers in eLearning Business Informatics Lab Courses through a discriminant function analysis of student engagement data. In detail, data regarding with student interaction with the learning activities were elicited from the Moodle LMS log files. The paper also presents a specific eLearning Business Informatics Lab Course, designed upon Business Informatics competencies, tailored to a Business Informatics Curriculum for undergraduate Accounting Students. A discriminant function analysis was used to develop a competent prediction model. Linear discriminant functions were generated for achievers and non-achievers respectively. Students were classified into non-achievers or achievers according to the maximum score of the discriminant functions. The high classification percentage of our model indicates that our framework could be used to identify non-achievers in any eLearning Business Informatics Lab course sharing the same structure. A linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was also employed to indicate the training potential of our model. The evaluation metrics of our trained model indicate that our model could potentially be used to develop an alert system.