We're at UCI Waypoints 2024 on Monday 3/25!
Did you learn about Spark from our Waypoints poster session? You can download our poster or read on for more information.
What is Spark?
Spark is a student-centered, mobile-first web application combining rich student data, Canvas data, and UCI student support resources into a secure, timely, and personalized dashboard aimed squarely at helping students succeed in their desired academic pathways.
Built in-house by UCI, Spark incorporates broad campus input from students to faculty to staff, informing the design, roll-out, and resources provided by the tool.
The UCI Office of Information Technology is developing this tool under the sponsorship of the Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching & Learning, under the leadership of Vice Provost Michael Dennin.
Spark aims to empower our undergraduates with personalized data about their learning journey. By coupling interim LMS information with curated links to UCI resources, Spark encourages students to take actions that support their academic goals. We hope to “spark” students into enriching their undergraduate experience through self-efficacy and partnership with student support resources across the campus.
About the Project
Using activity data from UCI’s Canvas learning management system, Spark will provide our students with a previously unavailable view into their progress during the quarter. Spark is centered on student activity within their courses, allowing students to understand how their interactions with course content throughout the term correlate with their class peers, and pairs this information with encouraging links from Spark’s Empowerment Library to connect students to campus resources to help them meet their learning goals.
- Meets biweekly with defined agendas with IT coordinating
- Shared Google Drive with agendas, presentations, and more
- Brainstorming what makes a successful spark
- Suggests features and improvements for Spark
- Future: Act as champions within units to encourage usage
Topics have included:
- Overview of the Unizin Data Platform and UCI data sources
- Group exercises to generate sparks
- Calculating various metrics using the UDP
- Spark technical feasibility assessment
Through a partnership with the UCI MUST Project and the UCI School of Education, Spark is informed by research, driven by
research, and designed to support future research.
- Purpose-built research data mart to facilitate timely data sharing
- Research projects focused on effective spark design
Designed from the ground up to be shareable and extensible, Spark leverages common technologies to streamline
development and facilitate code- and knowledge-sharing:
- Authentication via Shibboleth
- LMS & SIS data via the Unizin Data Platform
- Leverages common technologies, including Microsoft SQL Server, Google Big Query, Microsoft .Net, Shibboleth, and more
- Mobile-first web application built in Microsoft .NET using Tailwind CSS framework
- Modular architecture to support varying campus needs
Outreach & Opportunities
For students:
We will have some upcoming opportunities for students to participate in group co-design sessions and 1 on 1 user testing/user interviews. And, we plan on holding focus groups later this year.
In Summer 2023, OIT held multiple user interviews with students to gather initial requirements, thoughts on the student experience, and more. These interviews have formed a key foundation to the UCI Spark project.
For faculty & staff:
The Spark cross-functional team has held dozens of meetings over the past 12 months for UCI Spark. Meetings have included:
- Various Student Affairs units
- Various Division of Undergraduate Affairs units
- Academic Senate – Council on Teaching, Learning, and the Student Experience
- UCI Compass student success analytics group
- Undergraduate Council
If you would like to schedule a time to chat with our team, please contact us.