How To Install Cairn In Tutor Palm: A Comprehensive Tutorial

As online learning platforms continue to evolve, the need for robust analytics has become more critical than ever. Understanding learner behavior, course effectiveness, and platform engagement is essential for educators and administrators to optimize their offerings and create successful learning experiences. That's where Cairn comes in.

Cairn is a game-changer Tutor plugin that provides unified datalake of learner events and stateful data, giving you a real-time, comprehensive view of your Open edX platform. With Cairn, you can:

• Track learner engagement and identify areas for improvement
• Analyze course performance and make data-driven decisions
• Gain insights into student behavior and personalize the learning experience. And much more!

To unlock the full potential of Cairn, you must correctly install it. That's where this comprehensive tutorial comes in. In this tutorial, we will walk you through every step of the process to install Cairn in Tutor Palm and also explain each function of the Cairn dashboard. Let’s start the comprehensive guide by delving into the fundamental aspects of Cairn, encompassing its definition and procedural intricacies.

What is Cairn?

Cairn, a powerful analytics plugin for the Open edX platform, grants you real-time insights into learner behavior and platform performance. By unifying learner events and stateful data, it empowers you to understand your audience, optimize course design, and ultimately improve learning outcomes. This comprehensive tutorial guides you through installing Cairn within your Open edX environment running on Tutor Palm, equipping you with valuable data-driven insights.

Think of Cairn as a flashlight in the dark of educational data. It illuminates user behavior, course performance, and engagement patterns, empowering you to make informed decisions that improve the learning experience for your students.

Here are some key features of Cairn:

• Unified Datalake: Combines learner events and stateful data into a single, accessible repository.

• Real-time Dashboards: Visualize key metrics and track learner progress in real-time.

• Advanced Analytics: Perform complex analyses and identify trends to understand learner behavior.

• Customization: Tailor dashboards and reports to your specific needs and interests.

Cairn integrates seamlessly with Tutor Palm, a popular Open edX deployment and management tool. This makes it easy to install, configure, and use Cairn within your existing Open edX environment.

How to install Cairn in Tutor Palm Open edX Platform

Also Read: Step-by-Step Installation of Tutor Using Palm Release

To install Cairn successfully, you need to follow the given steps.

Step 1: Stop All Running Services

Before installing any new plugin, it's essential to ensure no existing services are running to avoid conflicts or unexpected behavior. This might involve stopping the Open edX platform and any other related services running in your Tutor environment.

Step 2: Install the Cairn Plugin

$ tutor plugins install cairn

This command downloads and installs the necessary files for the Cairn plugin within your Tutor environment.



Step 3: Enable the Cairn plugin

$ tutor plugins enable cairn

This activates the Cairn plugin, making its functionalities and services available within your Open edX platform.



Step 4: Run the local development server

With the plugin installed and enabled, you can start the local development server using the given command:

$ tutor dev launch

This launches all necessary services including Cairn and allows you to access the interface for configuration and use.



Step 5: Access the Cairn Interface

http://data.local.overhang.io:2247/login/

Open this URL in your web browser to access the Cairn login page.



Step 6: Login with Open edX credentials

Click "SIGN IN WITH OPENEDX" and log in with your Open edX platform administrator credentials. This allows Cairn to access and analyze your platform's data.

[Note: Here, It requires access through Admin Credentials.]




Step 7: Create a User With Default Dashboards

$ tutor dev do cairn-createuser --bootstrap-dashboards admin [email protected]

Use the given command to create a new user account in Cairn with the provided username and email address. The --bootstrap-dashboards option adds the default dashboards provided by Cairn to the new user's account.



Step 8: View the Default Cairn Dashboard

Click on "Course overview" under the dashboard section. This will display the default dashboard provided by Cairn, offering insights into your platform's learner activity and course performance.

Cairn Default Dashboard

After successfully install Cairn in Tutor Palm, let's see what the Cairn dashboard looks like in the Open edX platform Palm and what features it shows.

This dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of learner activity and course performance within your Open edX platform.

Let's break down each section:

Select Course ID and Time Range

Choose specific courses (multiple allowed) and adjust the time frame for analysis. You can filter by day, week, month, or year for granular insight.

Course Filter

This section provides another way to filter data by choosing specific courses from a dropdown list. This can be helpful if you have many courses and want to quickly focus on a few for detailed analysis.

Data Display Based on Selection

The remaining sections of the dashboard will display data based on your selections in the above filters. Here's a breakdown of each section:

1. Enrolled Students:

This section shows the total number of students currently enrolled in the chosen courses.



2. Active Students:

This shows the number of students currently engaged with the platform based on browser events. It indicates active learning within the selected courses.



3. Average Time in Course:

This displays the average amount of time users spend on the chosen courses. It gives an overall sense of student engagement and course length.



4. Watched a Video:

This shows the number of unique users who have watched at least one video within the selected courses.



5. Tried a Problem:

This displays the number of users who have attempted at least one problem within the selected courses, indicating active participation in assessments.



6. Course Completion:

This section uses a bar chart to show the number of unique users who have completed different percentages of the chosen courses. It allows you to track learner progress and identify potential areas of difficulty.



7. Enrolled Learners Gender:

This section shows a pie chart representing the gender distribution of students enrolled in the selected courses. It provides insight into your learner demographics.



8. Enrolled Learner's Level of Education:

This section displays a chart showing the distribution of enrolled learners based on their educational background. It helps understand your target audience and tailor your content accordingly.



9. Enrollment History:

This section shows a graph depicting the number of enrolled students over time within the chosen time range. It provides insights into user acquisition trends and platform engagement.



10. Course Grade:

This section uses a bar chart to show the distribution of grades for unique enrolled users in the selected courses. It helps assess learner performance and identify areas that need improvement.



11. Video Analysis (if the course has a video):

This section provides a detailed analysis of a specific video within the chosen courses.



Select the video ID from the dropdown list to view the following:

• Unique Viewers: Number of unique users who have watched the video.




• Average Learner Watch Time: Average time spent watching the video by those who have viewed it.




• Total Watch Time: Total accumulated watch time for the video.




• Video X-Ray: This section offers two advanced visualizations:

• Stacked View: Shows second-by-second user engagement with the video, indicating start/stop points and replayed sections.




• Grouped View: Similar to stacked view, but groups user engagement by specific time intervals (e.g., 30 seconds, 1 minute) for easier analysis.



• Filter Options: You can further filter the X-ray data by "Only unique viewers"

  

  or "Only replay views" for specific insights.

  

Refresh The Data

If you don't see updated results on a specific graph, you can click the three dots in the top right corner and select "Force Refresh" to update the data.

Overall, the Cairn default dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of learner activity and course performance within your Open edX platform. By using the various filters and data visualizations, you can gain valuable insights into your learners and make informed decisions about course content, design, and delivery.

Final Words

Cairn Open edX Plugin provides valuable insights into learner engagement, progress, and course effectiveness. By analyzing these metrics, educators and platform administrators can gain valuable insights to improve learning experiences and optimize course design.

We hope this comprehensive tutorial helps you install Cairn in Tutor Palm Open edX Platform setup and gain valuable insights into your platform's performance. We, at CodeTrade, a leading Open edX agency in India have highly experienced developers who can help you to make your Open edX project successful. Get in touch with CodeTrade today…!