The ethical implications of using Multimodal Learning Analytics: Towards an ethical research and practice framework

Abstract

Learning analytics research is increasingly using multimodal data (MMD) streams and complex Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques to support the learning and teaching processes. However, due to the nature of MMD and certain AI techniques used to process them, Multimodal Learning Analytics (MMLA) may present significant ethical challenges. This paper is aimed at examining the ethical issues associated with the use of MMLA in higher education to develop a practical framework for researchers and practitioners to mitigate them. In this study, eight practitioners and researchers were interviewed regarding ethical concerns associated with the use of MMLA in higher education. The interviews resulted in eight themes and ten considerations which are employed in the development of the first version of an ethical MMLA research and practice framework. The initial draft will be further improved in future iterations with inputs from various key stakeholders including practitioners, researchers and learners.