Collaborative Learning Analytics: Centring the Ethical Implications Around Teacher and Student Empowerment. A Systematic Review

This article systematically reviews the role of learning analytics (LA) in collaborative learning, particularly exploring how it can empower both teachers and students. Based on the analysis of 87 articles, selected by adopting the PRISMA workflow, the study discusses the intersection of LA with collaborative learning (CL), emphasizing the potential benefits of such integration in enhancing educational processes and outcomes. The review highlights that though the research in collaborative LA (cLA) is mature and the need to liaise technology with pedagogical theory is clear, the research practices mapped in the literature still show critical gaps in empowering teachers and students in the use of cLA systems. Indeed, our study spots the problems of informed consent and data privacy issues in cLA research but makes a step forward in the direction of analyzing participant appropriation of LA technologies from their design and deployment. On these bases, we contend that user empowerment through cLA usage is not only relevant for learning, but it is also part of an overall ethical approach to LA. Overall, the article makes a compelling case for the careful and thoughtful integration of LA into collaborative learning environments, both from the research and the educational practice sides.