Student Reports Data Analytics API and Tableau

[h_jones]

Hi,

We have started looking into building a student progress report for our students to access. 

I believe Canvas' student analytics and reporting is only accessible to students through the people menu item. But then with this option they can also have access to the analytics of all the other students in the course. 

We are therefore looking at a couple of other options. 

One option is to use a third party tool like Tableau to extract the data and present it in a way that conveys to the student/parent their progress, engagement and outcomes - possibly with broad comparisons to other students in the class - some kind of 'flightpath' diagram.

Can Tableau access this data and display it to the student within their course or outside of the course?

I see that you can gather LMS wide data and present it within a course: Tableau Workbook Examples  but really I am more interested in how a user's data can be packaged and securely presented back to that user in an informative and visually appealing way. 

Another option we are looking at is to use the Analytics API Analytics - Canvas LMS REST API Documentation to extract the user data and present that in a responsive HTML5 formatted page - using some form of graphing js like Sparkline or Flot charts.

Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations on how we could/should proceed? Any help would be most appreciated

[wjlane]

We are currently looking at doing something very similar to this.  I'm wondering have far you progressed with this project.  Did you end up using Tableau or did you take a different path.  What were the pros and cons of the different approaches you considered?

[h_jones]

Hi Bill,

We did look at Tableau but was put off by the cost. So as a work-around we built an LTI which gathers student progress data via a couple of API's (Canvas and our SIS) and then displays it in an HTML dashboard format within each of the subjects they are enrolled in.

The student accesses their progress report via a menu item in their course called 'Your Progress'. Parents can also access their child's report via their observer account. 

As our students are K-12 - parents are now requesting feedback reports to be more accessible (they struggle with the observer account sign up and then finding the report in the menu) so we are now streamlining that process by creating the parent observer accounts automatically via API then providing the student feedback reports via email every two weeks.

In a few months we will launch a mobile app where students and parents will be able to access their reports via a mobile portal (along with other school based 'self-service' tools.

Good luck with your implementation - let me know if you have any questions and hopefully I can help.

all the best

Huw

[wjlane]

Thanks Huw,

that is very helpful to know and may end up being close to what we do ourselves. It may be a little while before we actually get this done.  I'll try to remember to post an update when we do.  @sadenniston ‌

[shuggin]

Besides the cost, was there any other reason for not using Tableau?

[pmiller6]

We are new to Canvas and are looking for similar LTI interface to send Tableau reports to faculty and students.  Has anyone made progress with the Tableau approach?   Tableau is used a lot on our campus.  Our plan would be to just distribute static reports updated daily and sent back via LTI.  So any details on the LTI tool some have developed to distribute reports would be appreciated. 

[melanie2]

How is that report working for you? We are interested in the same thing. A visually appealing, quick way parents and see if their students are where they should be in the course.

[shermanm]

Can you share more about how you accomplished this. We are looking at multiple solutions to this very issue. Additionally we are looking for an effective way to both provide parents and students an overview of progress via traditional gradebook information and being able to see outcome data across all courses.

We use infinite campus and currently have been unable to unitize  the grade passback, due to its limitations.

So we currently use a script to post current grade each evening. (this works but is not ideal).

Infinite Campus also does not have a way to share outcome data...

How can we learn more?