ISO/IEC TR 20748-2:2017

TECHNICAL ISO/IEC TR
REPORT 20748-2
First edition
2017-08
Corrected version
2017-10
Information technology for learning,
education and training — Learning
analytics interoperability —
Part 2:
System requirements
Technologies de l'information — Éducation, formation
et apprentissage — Interopérabilité de l’analytique de
l'apprentissage —
Partie 2: Exigences relatives au système
Reference number
ISO/IEC TR 20748-2:2017(E)
©
ISO/IEC 2017

---------------------- Page: 1 ----------------------
ISO/IEC TR 20748-2:2017(E)

COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DOCUMENT
© ISO/IEC 2017, Published in Switzerland
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on the internet or an intranet, without prior
written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below or ISO’s member body in the country of
the requester.
ISO copyright office
Ch. de Blandonnet 8 • CP 401
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva, Switzerland
Tel. +41 22 749 01 11
Fax +41 22 749 09 47
copyright@iso.org
www.iso.org
ii © ISO/IEC 2017 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 2 ----------------------
ISO/IEC TR 20748-2:2017(E)

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Abbreviated terms . 3
5 Issues and concerns . 3
5.1 General . 3
5.2 Accessibility . 4
5.3 Interoperability . 4
5.4 Privacy . 5
5.5 Identity federation . 5
5.6 Data life cycle . 5
6 System requirements . 5
6.1 General . 5
6.2 Privacy policy . 6
6.3 Data protection . 7
6.4 Learning and teaching activity . 8
6.5 Data collection . 8
6.5.1 General. 8
6.5.2 Accessibility . 8
6.5.3 Aggregation/integration of data . 8
6.5.4 Data interoperability . 9
6.5.5 Data flow and exchange . 9
6.6 Data processing and storing . 9
6.6.1 General. 9
6.6.2 Data storing . 9
6.6.3 Data translating/filtering .10
6.7 Analysing .10
6.7.1 General.10
6.7.2 Privacy .10
6.7.3 Analysis interface .10
6.7.4 Scalability for data input .10
6.8 Visualization .11
6.8.1 General.11
6.8.2 Accessibility .11
6.8.3 Privacy .11
6.8.4 Data interface .11
6.9 Feedback actions .11
6.9.1 General.11
6.9.2 Analysis query interface .12
6.9.3 Data interpretation and response .12
Bibliography .13
© ISO/IEC 2017 – All rights reserved iii

---------------------- Page: 3 ----------------------
ISO/IEC TR 20748-2:2017(E)

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are
members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical
committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical
activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the
work. In the field of information technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee,
ISO/IEC JTC 1.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see the following
URL: www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittee SC 36, Information technology for learning, education and training.
A list of all parts in the ISO/IEC 20748 series can be found on the ISO website.
This corrected version of ISO/IEC TR 20748-2:2017 incorporates the following corrections:
— headers have been corrected and now read “ISO/IEC TR” instead of “ISO/TR”.
iv © ISO/IEC 2017 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 4 ----------------------
ISO/IEC TR 20748-2:2017(E)

Introduction
The increasing amount of data being generated from learning environments provides new opportunities
to support learning, education and training (LET) in a number of new ways through learning analytics.
Learning analytics is a composite concept built around the use of diverse sub-technologies, workflows
and practices and applied to a wide range of different purposes. For instance, learning analytics is
being used to collect, explore and analyse diverse types and interrelationships of data, such as learner
interaction data related to usage of digital resources, teaching and learning activity logs, learning
outcomes and structured data about programmes and curriculum and associated competencies.
Learning analytics is an emerging technology addressing a diverse group of stakeholders and covering
a wide range of applications. Learning analytics raises new interoperability challenges related to data
sharing; privacy, trust and control of data; quality of service, etc. The following issues are identified as
general requirements for learning analytics applications:
For the learner:
— tracking learning activities and progression;
— tracking emotion, motivation and learning-readiness;
— early detection of the learner’s personal needs and preferences;
— improved feedback from analysing activities and assessments;
— early detection of learner non-performance (mobilizing remediation);
— personalized learning path and/or resources (recommendation).
For the teacher:
— tracking learners/group activities and progression;
— adaptive teacher response to observed learner’s needs and behaviour;
— early detection of learner disengagement (mobilizing relevant support actions);
— increasing the range of activities that can be used for assessing performance;
— visualization of learning outcomes and activities for individuals and groups;
— providing evidence to help teachers improve the design of the learning experience and resources.
For the institution:
— tracking class/group activities and results;
— quality assurance monitoring;
— providing evidence to support the design of the learning environment;
— providing evidence to support improved retention strategies;
— support for course planning.
In addition, learning analytics practice can build upon prior work in LET standardization and innovation
but there are several factors that require special attention. These factors include:
— requirements arising from the analytical process;
— data items required to drive operational LET systems are not always the same as desired for learning
analytics;
© ISO/IEC 2017 – All rights reserved v

---------------------- Page: 5 ----------------------
ISO/IEC TR 20748-2:2017(E)

— volume, velocity and variety of the data collected for analytics indicate different IT architectures,
which imply different interoperability requirements;
— the use of learner data for analytics introduces a range of ethical and other socio-cultural issues
beyond those which arise from exchanging data between operational systems.
Therefore, this document gives a conceptual description of the behaviour of components related to
learning analytics interoperability. In particular, this document specifies terms as well as proposes a
reference model for the learning analytics process and interoperability.
vi © ISO/IEC 2017 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 6 ----------------------
TECHNICAL REPORT ISO/IEC TR 20748-2:2017(E)
Information technology for learning, education and
training — Learning analytics interoperability —
Part 2:
System requirements
1 Scope
This document specifies system requirements for learning analytics systems and services. Learning
analytics systems and services are assumed to be composed of independent processes and applications
having diverse purposes. To improve efficiency for communication and operation between systems
and/or services, the system requirements identify each system’s role, capability and recommended
performance, etc. The system requirements are based on ISO/IEC TR 20748-1 and additional use cases
came from the National Bodies and Liaison Organizations (NBLOs).
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp
3.1
accessibility
usability of a product, service, environment or facility by individuals with the widest range of
capabilities
Note 1 to entry: Although “accessibility” typically addresses users who have a disability, the concept is not
limited to disability issues.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 24751-1:2008, 2.2]
3.2
assessment
means of measuring or evaluating learner understanding or competency
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC TR 20748-1:2016, 3.2]
3.3
curriculum
standard that refers to learning outcomes aligned to specific topics or units of learning
© ISO/IEC 2017 – All rights reserved 1

---------------------- Page: 7 ----------------------
ISO/IEC TR 20748-2:2017(E)

3.4
dashboard
user interface based on predetermined reports, indicators and data fields, upon which the end user can
apply filters and graphical display methods to answer predetermined business questions and which is
suited to regular use with minimal training
[SOURCE: ISO/TS 29585:2010, 3.3]
3.5
data analysis
systematic investigation of the data and their flow in a real or planned system
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 2382:2015, 2122686]
3.6
data collection
process of bringing data together from one or more points for use in a computer
EXAMPLE To collect transactions generated at branch offices by a data network for use at a computer centre.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 2382:2015, 2122166]
3.7
data flow
movement of data through the active parts of a data processing system in the course of the performance
of specific work
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 2382:2015, 2121825]
3.8
data source
functional unit that provides data for transmission
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 2382:2015, 2124348]
3.9
data storage
means for storing information from which data is submitted for delivery, or into which data is put by
the delivery authority
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 13888-1:2009, 3.7]
3.10
individual
human being, i.e. a natural person, who acts as a distinct indivisible entity or is considered as such
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 24751-1:2008, 2.20]
3.11
interoperability
capability to communicate, execute programs, or transfer data among various functional units in a
manner that requires the user to have little or no knowledge of the unique characteristics of those units
[SOURCE: ISO/TS 19101-2:2008, 4.17]
3.12
learning analytics
measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes
of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC TR 20748-1:2016, 3.11]
2 © ISO/IEC 2017 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 8 ----------------------
ISO/IEC TR 20748-2:2017(E)

3.13
learning outcome
what a person is expected to know, understand or be able to do at the end of a training programme,
course or module
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 17027:2014, 2.57]
3.14
workflow
depiction of the actual sequence of the operations or actions taken in a process
Note 1 to entry: A workflow reflects the successive decisions and activities in the performance of a process.
[SOURCE: ISO 18308:2011, 3.52]
4 Abbreviated terms
API application programming interface
LET learning, education, and training
LMS learning management system
LRS learning record store
LTI learning tools interoperability
SSO single sign-on
VLE virtual learning environment
5 Issues and concerns
5.1 General
In use cases of ISO/IEC TR 20748-1 and additional comments from NBLOs, there are some of issues
and concerns related to data used for learning. For learning analytics interoperability, data gathered,
analysed and visualized need to comply with stakeholders’ requirements and concerns listed in this
document. As shown in Figure 1, stakeholders expect several features within data flows, such as
accessibility, data interoperability, privacy protection, interpretation for data, etc. Prior to defining
specific system requirements for learning analytics, this clause identifies general issues and concerns
for learning analytics
© ISO/IEC 2017 – All rights reserved 3

---------------------- Page: 9 ----------------------
ISO/IEC TR 20748-2:2017(E)

Figure 1 — Data flows and requirements
5.2 Accessibility
Adaptive technologies supporting individual accessibility are now well-integrated into operating
systems and tools. This means that a single resource may be accessed and used in different ways. For
example, a text reading activity could be turned into a listening activity when text to speech function is
activated by, for example, a visually impaired learner. Inversely, a video demonstration could be partly
turned into a reading activity when subtitles are used by a h
...