The effects of using dashboards in e-learning on the learners' interface interaction and academic achievement

The digital footprints of learners are used to improve their learning processes through transferring learning environments to digital environments. Studies carried out for this purpose are considered within the realm of Learning Analytics. The number of studies on theoretical foundations and applications has increased rapidly. However, there is a dearth of research in the literature regarding the dashboards, which are concrete components of learning analytics, and the effects of these components. It has been observed that some of the few applications were mainly for faculty members and administrators. Conducting a study for students in open and distance education institutions providing mass education is of great importance in terms of students' reflection on their own processes. For this reason, this research aims to develop, apply and evaluate the dashboard in the Anadolu University Open Education System e-learning environment called Anadolum eKampüs. Also, the research seeks to investigate the effect of using the dashboard on learners' interface interaction and academic achievement. The thesis study adopted design-based research. Three improvement cycles were carried out in design-based research processes. During the improvement cycle, the dashboard was completed in accordance with the comments and suggestions received from 8 experts and 37 students. Significant findings were reached regarding the design and features of the Dashboard with the applications carried out. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to determine the effects of using Dashboard on students' e-learning interactions. As a result of the test based on the data of 15321 students, a statistically significant difference was found between the e-learning interactions of the students who used the dashboard during the semester and the e-learning interactions of the students who did not use the dashboard in favor of the students using the dashboard. However, in terms of academic achievement, the t-test results revealed no statistical differences between the averages of the students who use the dashboard and those who do not use based on the comparison of the midterm pilot test grades of 1858 students, the final pilot test grades of 950 students and the final test grades of 15392 students. The reason for this may be that the dashboards require longer interaction to settle at a level that can affect academic achievement. As a result of the studies conducted within this thesis, suggestions for the dashboard design processes and future research have been presented.