Alumni Member
Simon Buckingham Shum (Alumni) 
Professor of Learning Informatics
My work is inspired by the vision and >40 years’ work of pioneer Doug Engelbart: to develop technologies which “augment human intellect”, our “collective capability for coping with complex, urgent problems.”
My current work revolves around these separate but also intersecting fields:
* Collective Intelligence infrastructure (technologies and ways of working that pool what is known) for contested knowledge (these days most claims are contestable, and in any serious dilemmas, there is disagreement about the way forward).
* Learning Analytics (how do you know if someone is learning from the digital traces they leave behind?), in particular, for 21st century qualities (the personal skills and dispositions that citizens need to thrive in an age of turbulence and complexity — starting at primary school).
Keys: Learning Analytics, Collective Intelligence, Argument Visualization
Team: Michelle Bachler, Anna De Liddo, Simon Knight, Brian Pluss, Duygu Bektik
Projects
Technologies
News
Publications
Ferguson, R., Gopalan, Y. and Buckingham Shum, S. (2025). What’s the Value of a Doctoral Consortium? Analysing a Decade of LAK DCs as a Community of Practice. In: The 15th Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference, 3-7 Mar 2025, Dublin, Ireland. https://oro.open.ac.uk/102161/.
Ferguson, R., Khosravi, H., Kovanović, V., Viberg, O., Aggarwal, A., Brinkhuis, M., Buckingham Shum, S., Chen, L.K., Drachsler, H., Guerrero, V.A., Hanses, M., Hayward, C., Hicks, B., Jivet, I., Kitto, K., Kizilcec, R., Lodge, J.M., Manly, C.A., Matz, R.L., Meaney, M.J., Ochoa, X., Schuetze, B.A., Spruit, M., van Haastrecht, M., van Leeuwen, A., van Rijn, L., Tsai, Y.S., Weidlich, J., Williamson, K. and Yan, V.X. (2023). Aligning the Goals of Learning Analytics with its Research Scholarship: An Open Peer Commentary Approach. Journal of Learning Analytics, 10(2), pp. 14–50. https://oro.open.ac.uk/92113/.
Buckingham Shum, S., Ferguson, R. and Martinez-Maldonado, R. (2019). Human-Centred Learning Analytics. Journal of Learning Analytics, 6(2), pp. 1–9. https://oro.open.ac.uk/62742/.
Iandoli, L., Quinto, I., De Liddo, A. and Buckingham Shum, S. (2016). On Online Collaboration and Construction of Shared Knowledge: Assessing Mediation Capability in Computer Supported Argument Visualization Tools. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 67(5), pp. 1052–1067. https://oro.open.ac.uk/51115/.
Simsek, D., Sandor, A., Buckingham Shum, S., Ferguson, R., De Liddo, A. and Whitelock, D. (2015). Correlations between automated rhetorical analysis and tutors’ grades on student essays. In: 5th International Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference (LAK15): Scaling Up: Big Data to Big Impact, 16-20 Mar 2015, Poughkeepsie, NY, USA. https://oro.open.ac.uk/42042/.
Knight, S., Wise, A.F., Arastoopour, G., Williamson Shaffer, D., Buckingham Shum, S. and Kirschner, P.A. (2014). Analytics for learning and becoming in practice. In: International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS 2014), 23-27 Jun 2014, Boulder, Colarado. https://oro.open.ac.uk/39733/.
Okada, A., Buckingham Shum, S. and Sherborne, T.E. (2014). Knowledge Cartography: Software Tools and Mapping Techniques (2nd ed). Advanced Information and Knowledge Processing. London: Springer. https://oro.open.ac.uk/41789/.
Okada, A., Tomadaki, E., Buckingham Shum, S. and Scott, P. (2007). Combining knowledge mapping and videoconferencing for open sensemaking communities. In: Open Education 2007: Localizing and Learning, 26-28 Sep 2007, Utah State University. https://oro.open.ac.uk/40596/.
Simsek, D., Buckingham Shum, S., De Liddo, A., Ferguson, R. and Sándor, Á. (2014). Visual analytics of academic writing. In: 4th International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference, 24-28 Mar 2014, Indianapolis, Indiana. https://oro.open.ac.uk/40056/.
Knight, S., Arastoopour, G., Williamson Shaffer, D., Buckingham Shum, S. and Littleton, K. (2014). Epistemic networks for epistemic commitments. In: International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS), 23-27 Jun 2014, Boulder, Colarado. https://oro.open.ac.uk/39254/.
Knight, S., Buckingham Shum, S. and Littleton, K. (2014). Epistemology, assessment, pedagogy: where learning meets analytics in the middle space. Journal of Learning Analytics, 1(2), pp. 23–47. https://oro.open.ac.uk/39226/.
Iandoli, L., Quinto, I., De Liddo, A. and Buckingham Shum, S. (2014). Socially-augmented argumentation tools: rationale, design and evaluation of a debate dashboard. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 72(3), pp. 298–319. https://oro.open.ac.uk/38551/.
De Liddo, A. and Buckingham Shum, S. (2013). The Evidence Hub: harnessing the collective intelligence of communities to build evidence-based knowledge. In: Large Scale Ideation and Deliberation Workshop, 29 Jun - 02 Jul 2013, Munich, Germany. https://oro.open.ac.uk/38002/.
De Liddo, A. and Buckingham Shum, S. (2013). Improving online deliberation with argument network visualization. In: Digital Cities 8, 29 Jun - 02 Jul 2013, Munich, Germany. https://oro.open.ac.uk/38003/.
Taibi, D., Sandor, A., Simsek, D., Buckingham Shum, S., De Liddo, A. and Ferguson, R. (2013). Visualizing the LAK/EDM literature using combined concept and rhetorical sentence extraction. In: Proceedings of the LAK Data Challenge, 3rd Int. Conf. on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK '13), 8-12 Apr 2013, Leuven, Belgium. https://oro.open.ac.uk/37820/.
Simsek, D., Buckingham Shum, S., Sandor, A., De Liddo, A. and Ferguson, R. (2013). XIP Dashboard: visual analytics from automated rhetorical parsing of scientific metadiscourse. In: 1st International Workshop on Discourse-Centric Learning Analytics, 8 Apr 2013, Leuven, Belgium. https://oro.open.ac.uk/37391/.
Schreurs, B., Teplovs, C., Ferguson, R., De Laat, M. and Buckingham Shum, S. (2013). Visualizing social learning ties by type and topic: rationale and concept demonstrator. In: Third Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK 2013), 8-12 Apr 2013, Leuven, Belgium. https://oro.open.ac.uk/36891/.
Ferguson, R., Wei, Z., He, Y. and Buckingham Shum, S. (2013). An evaluation of learning analytics to identify exploratory dialogue in online discussions. In: Third Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK 2013), 8-12 Apr 2013, Leuven, Belgium. https://oro.open.ac.uk/36664/.
Knight, S., Buckingham Shum, S. and Littleton, K. (2013). Epistemology, pedagogy, assessment and learning analytics. In: Third Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK 2013), 8-12 Apr 2013, Leuven, Belgium. https://oro.open.ac.uk/36635/.
Knight, S., Buckingham Shum, S. and Littleton, K. (2013). Collaborative sensemaking in learning analytics. In: CSCW and Education Workshop (2013): Viewing education as a site of work practice, co-located with the 16th ACM Conference on Computer Support Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW 2013), 23 Feb 2013, San Antonio, Texas. https://oro.open.ac.uk/36582/.
Tech Reports
Epistemic Networks for Epistemic Commitments
Techreport ID: kmi-13-03
Date: 2013
Author(s): Simon Knight, Golnaz Arastoopour, David Williamson Shaffer, Simon Buckingham Shum, Karen Littleton
Social Learning Analytics
Techreport ID: kmi-11-01
Date: 2011
Author(s): Simon Buckingham Shum,Rebecca Ferguson
Designing the Ontological Foundations for Knowledge Domain Analysis Technology: An Interim Report
Techreport ID: kmi-08-02
Date: 2008
Author(s): Neil Benn, Simon Buckingham Shum, John Domingue, Clara Mancini
