From Data to Insights: A Layered Storytelling Approach for Multimodal Learning Analytics

Significant progress to integrate and analyse multimodal data has been carried out in the last years. Yet, little research has tackled the challenge of visualising and supporting the sensemaking of multimodal data to inform teaching and learning. It is naïve to expect that simply by rendering multiple data streams visually, a teacher or learner will be able to make sense of them. This paper introduces an approach to unravel the complexity of multimodal data by organising it into meaningful layers that explain critical insights to teachers and students. The approach is illustrated through the design of two data storytelling prototypes in the context of nursing simulation. Two authentic studies with educators and students identified the potential of the approach to create learning analytics interfaces that communicate insights on team performance, as well as concerns in terms of accountability and automated insights discovery.