Problematizing feedback loops: 'on', 'with', and 'beyond' analytics dashboards in MOOCs

This paper examines the enactment of feedback in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), focusing on analytics dashboards. Building on scholarship that recognizes data practices as entangled and 'messy', the paper problematizes the model of the feedback loop that assumes that analytics dashboards 'feed back' data to instructors and/or learners through a singular flow of data processing. By setting out an empirical study that focuses on four MOOCs, in two universities and on two platforms, the paper maps where, when, and how design teams, instructors, and learners are involved in the enactment of feedback through and beyond analytics dashboards. The findings draw on visualizations that highlight complex relations among people and technologies, which include multiple 'loops'. The paper concludes with questioning the need to capture feedback in a singular loop and suggests prioritizing continued attention to the roles and responsibilities of people - educational designers, instructors, and learners - in MOOCs.