Due to the change in location of LASI'14, which is now Harvard Graduate School 
of Education in Cambridge, MA, USA, the second call for participation is 
issued. 



2nd Call for participation

2nd Learning Analytics Summer Institutes (LASI 2014)

Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA, USA, June 30 – July 2, 2014
http://www.solaresearch.org/events/lasi-2/lasi2014/
 
Organized by the Society of Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR) with assistance 
of the International Educational Data Mining Society (IEDMS). 


Important dates

* Application for participation (first call): January 31, 2014
* Application for participation (second call): May 4, 2014
* Notification of acceptance: May 8, 2014
* Summer institute: June 30 - July 2, 2014



Important notes

* LASI 2014 will not charge any registration fees. 
* LASI 2014 does not have a call for presentation and/or talk proposals. 
* Only applications that will have provided the information requested in the 
application form outlined in the call will be considered. 



Introduction

Learning Analytics as both a research topic and emerging marketplace has 
recently received attention of faculty, educational researchers and 
administrators, policy makers, data scientists and learning technology 
entrepreneurs. Unprecedented quantity of, and access to, learner-generated data 
has opened up new opportunities, for instance, for researchers to better 
understand how learners learn, for educators to assess the impact of teaching 
activities and interventions, and for learners to receive personalized, 
real-time, automated support for their learning advancements.

Learning Analytics (LA) as a field is related to disciplines such as 
educational data mining, machine learning, information visualisation and 
computer science in general, various branches of psychology, learning sciences, 
psychometrics, and systems theory.  LA aspires to integrate cognitive, social, 
pedagogical, technical, and organizational components to advance a holistic 
view of learners and their learning processes. Cross-disciplinary research, 
publications, and documented socio-technical systems, designs and algorithms 
are important for advancing these goals.

For the past four years, the Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR) 
has hosted open online courses, the international LAK conference and national 
meet-ups, initiated a distributed research lab for PhD students, and 
established the Journal of Learning Analytics. During this timeframe, 
researchers from learning sciences, computer supported collaborative learning, 
and related disciplines have found research affinity with the emerging LA field.

Leading international universities have initiated programs and enacted 
strategies to use LA to improve learner success and organizational efficiency. 
Numerous schools have adopted personalization and adaptive learning systems to 
support learners. Corporations and start-ups have also turned their focus to 
learning analytics, resulting in numerous entrants into the LA market.

This bricolage of research, intersecting fields of study, and corporate 
activity has created an exciting, albeit sometimes confusing, landscape for 
academics, PhD students, and the diverse users of LA products and projects



Summer Institutes

A critical window of opportunity is opening as we stand on the threshold of 
what may be a new discipline with disruptive potential for educational research 
and practice. Bringing the right mix of people together for an intensive 
‘summer camp’ can serve as an intellectual and social springboard to accelerate 
the maturation of the discipline — as was the case for other young disciplines, 
such as cognitive neuroscience.

After the 1st such event in Stanford in 2013, the 2nd Learning Analytics Summer 
Institute (LASI 2014) is a strategic event organized by the Society for 
Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR) in cooperation with the Harvard Graduate 
School of Education. The International Educational Data Mining Society is also 
assisting with event organization. LASI 2014 will be held in Cambridge, MA, USA 
from June 30, 2014 to July 2, 2014.

As we did last year, in parallel a global network of LASI-Locals will run their 
own gatherings. Last year we had: LASI-Hong Kong, LASI-Denmark — Aalborg, 
LASI-Latin America — Online, LASI-France — Lyon, LASI-Netherlands — Amsterdam, 
LASI-South Africa — Pretoria, LASI-Spain — Granada, LASI-Spain — Madrid, 
LASI-UK — Edinburgh, LASI-USA — Boston, and A-LASI – Sydney. So get inspired, 
and self-organise! This year, we are planning ways in which the activities of 
LASI-Locals will be more visible to Cambridge, MA, USA and to each other.

The objective is that participants will leave better equipped to actively 
engage in advancing the LA field through their teaching and research 
activities. More specifically, LASI has two goals:

* Build the field of Learning Analytics through cross disciplinary 
interactions, identification of research and teaching needs, advancement of LA 
methods, and connecting isolated researchers and research communities. 

* Develop the skills and knowledge of doctoral students and academics, 
equipping them to engage actively in LA research and teaching.


In the selection of participants, we will strive for a careful balance between 
disciplines, skillsets and seniority — see the application criteria for details.



Format

LASI2014’s goals of building the LA field and developing the skills of 
researchers, educators and students will be achieved through a combination of 
lectures, hands-on tutorials, group work and ample opportunity for informal 
interactions. Activities include presentations from leading researchers, 
innovative start-ups, and experts from related fields, coupled with panels and 
workshops… all designed to define the needs of the LA field, identify research 
gaps and needs, forge the community and establish a research agenda.



Organizing Committee

Ryan S.J.d. Baker, Teachers College, Columbia University, USA
Simon Buckingham Shum, The Open University, UK (LASI-Locals chair)
Shane Dawson, University of South Australia, Australia
Erik Duval, KU Leuven, Belgium (program co-chair)
Dragan Gasevic, Athabasca University, Canada (program co-chair)
Garron Hillaire, Harvard University, USA (Local Organizer)
Charels Lang, Harvard University, USA (Local Organizer)
Philip Long, University of Queensland, Australia
Grace Lynch, University of New England, Australia
Xavier Ochoa, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, Ecuador
Mykola Pechenizkiy, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), The Netherlands  
(program co-chair)
Salvador Ros, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Spain
George Siemens, University of Texas at Arlington, USA
Llanos Tobarra, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Spain



Enquiries

Enquiries about participating in, or sponsoring, LASI may be emailed to 
<lasi2014.madrid atsign gmail.com> with the subject line containing: LASI 
Enquiry

If you are interested in connecting with the others running a regional/local 
event, please contact Simon Buckingham Shum <s.buckingham.shum atsign 
gmail.com> with the subject line containing: LASI Local

Speakers in Cambridge, MA, USA are by invitation, with the program now being 
designed. Queries around the program should go to Dragan Gasevic 
<dragan.gasevic atsign gmail.com> with the subject line containing: LASI 
Program. Regional/local satellite events will design their own schedules and 
programs.




How to participate
 
To apply for participation in LASI 2014 in Cambridge, MA, USA please complete 
the following application form available in the EasyChair site of LASI 2014  
(https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=lasi2014.). The details about the 
application process can be found at 
http://www.solaresearch.org/events/lasi-2/lasi2014/

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