Using Google Analytics to Measure Engagement with a Teaching and Learning Centre During COVID-19

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1FqskSL_w4NnQWTPq1hbksE22InttgGWa&usp=drive_fs

Postsecondary educators and students were among the first affected by COVID-19 pandemic safety protocols and were required to transition quickly from face-to-face to unfamiliar remote teaching and learning environments. To support this transition, support staff at teaching and learning centres (TLCs) also pivoted their support strategies and developed and delivered more online resources and virtual professional development workshops. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the demands for online and remote teaching and learning support was evident in the Google Analytics data of the TLC webpages of a research-intensive Canadian university. To facilitate interpretation of observed trends, we aligned the timing of messages emailed to faculty and new resource launches on the TLC webpages to the analytics data. Results confirmed that TLC webpages are vital sources of information for faculty development, and targeted communications increased faculty engagement with teaching resources and professional development opportunities. As pandemic safety protocols ease and educators and students return to their postsecondary campuses, they will face new challenges. In response, TLCs must continue to monitor faculty engagement and their changing support needs, and they must continue to adjust approaches to offering information and professional development opportunities as necessary. The examination of website analytics data is just one measure that can support evidence-informed decision making for this purpose.