Education & Academia / Education Systems / Online Education & EdTech

Why More Student Data Isn't Making Schools Smarter (And How to Fix It)

Educational Data Analytics for Teachers and School Leaders

Sofia Mougiakou

Schools are drowning in student data—every click, pause, and login creates a digital footprint. Yet dropout rates and disengagement remain stubbornly high. Why? Because raw data isn't insight. This video, based on the book *Educational Data Analytics for Teachers and School Leaders* by Sofia Mougiakou and colleagues from the Erasmus+ Learn2Analyze project, reveals the hidden truth behind the 'Big Data Illusion.' We explore the five Vs of educational data (Volume, Velocity, Variety, Veracity, Value), the critical but overlooked role of data cleaning (that 60% of a data scientist's time), and how to climb the analytics ladder from descriptive to prescriptive insights. Learn how teachers can use digital body language—like cursor hesitation and time-on-task—to intervene before students fail, without needing a computer science degree. But we also tackle the ethical minefield: when does personalized support become surveillance? And can algorithms ever replace human empathy? This is your guide to turning data pollution into actionable teaching power.