Learning Analytics Hackathon

Event Date & Time

Event Description

 

**Registration is full. Please sign up for the waitlist HERE 

 

Have you ever wanted to explore the UBC Course Calendar data? Did you know that Canvas has an API that allows you to access and explore your learning data with code? Please join us for the UBC Learning Analytics Hackathon November 2 – 3 that seeks to explore ways of using and integrating the Course Calendar and Canvas data to benefit students.

Participants will work on proposing, designing, and building applications and dashboards that could be used to improve student learning and experiences. Innovative proposals or designs could become part of Learning Analytics at UBC.

For the first time, we will provide access to the UBC Course Calendar data, which includes descriptions, pre/co-requisites, the number of student registrations, instructor names, buildings/rooms, and more, for every course offered at UBC from 2014-2018. Using the Course Calendar data, you could:

• Conduct analysis to determine patterns in course offerings.
• Visualize the changing number of enrolments over time.
• Visualize the hierarchy of course prerequisites to help plan your degree.
• Make a tool to help students discover interesting courses.

And by integrating data from Canvas and the Course Calendar data, you could:

• Create a degree planning tool by matching course completion data.
• Build a course recommendation engine.

The examples above should begin to spark ideas, but you are by no means limited to them. During this two-day hackathon, participants will form teams, work hands on with UBC’s Course Calendar data (and optionally, Canvas’ REST and GraphQL APIs), and then analyze, design and build apps visualizations, and dashboards. Participants will show off what they accomplished at the end of the weekend with a brief presentation. 

If you have the desire to explore educational data, or to even just learn more about learning analytics, data analysis and/or visualizations then this hackathon is for you!

We will provide data, space (this event will be hosted in the Sauder Learning Labs), mentoring, as well as delicious breakfast, coffee, snacks, and lunch on both days. Participants should have some programming experience, but beginners are welcome. 

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More Event Details

Don’t see what you’re looking for here? Feel free to contact Alison Myers (alison.myers@sauder.ubc.ca) or Craig Thompson (craig.thompson@ubc.ca)! Closer to the event we will let you know how to register in a Canvas course that will have more event details, let you ask questions, and begin to e-meet the organizers and your fellow hackathoners. 

Organized by: 

• UBC Learning Analytics Pilot

• UBC LAVA

• CAPICO 

Want to learn more? Read and watch about the last hackathons here. 

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Schedule

Saturday, November 2

• 9:30am – Doors Open (coffee and pastries)
• 10:00am – Introduction and Welcome to the Hackathon! This session will provide information on how the hackathon will run as well as provide an overview of the UBC Course Calendar data.
• 10:30am – Icebreaker and team forming activity. 
• 11:00am – Start hacking!
• 12:30pm – Lunch.
• 5:00pm – End of day 1.

Sunday, November 3

• 9:30am – Doors Open (coffee and pastries).
• 12:30pm – Lunch.
• 3:30pm – Presentations.
• 4:45pm – Awards.

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Awards:

• First Place: $300 in UBC bookstore gift cards.
• Runner Ups (x2): $100 in UBC bookstore gift cards.

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Preparing for the Hackathon

What do you need to bring?

• Laptop and power cables.
• A coffee mug! (and/or water bottle)
• Tupperware (our events often have leftover food!) 

Things you might want to do beforehand?

• Learn more about the UBC Learning Analytics Project
• Check out the CAPICO website and github repo.
• Guide for getting started with the Canvas API.
• If you plan to use Tableau, you can download a trial of Tableau: Tableau Trial. (Students! You can register for a FREE 1-year license of Tableau Desktop: Student Trial ).
• We will be setting up a Canvas course for the Hackathon – keep an eye out closer to the event for access and more details.