Preface: Connecting Learning Design and Learning Analytics

Learning Design (LD) and Learning Analytics (LA) are both domains of research and action that aim to improve learning effectiveness. The fact of sharing a common aim raises the potential of the synergies that may emerge between them. Indeed, there has been a growing interest and some initial effort in bringing them together. For example, learning design offers a representation of the learning activity, providing a contextualization framework for LA. Learning Analytics, in turn, supports the study of designs by gathering evidence during the learning process, and may inform future design decisions based on previous data. Despite their common goal, the collaboration between LD and LA is limited. Making these links operational and coherent is still an open challenge. This special issue brings together eight papers proposing approaches and discussing concerns that illustrate the benefits and challenges of the alignment between learning design and analytics.