Paper Title
A Preliminary Study: Using LMS Log Data to Evaluate the Effectiveness of A Professional Development Course in Blended Learning

Abstract
There is an increasing trend in the adoption of blended learning in higher education. The provision of continuous professional development is important and its effectiveness to success in teaching and learning is always dubious and difficult to be demonstrated. Typically, self-report method is used to measure the effectiveness of professional development training via surveys, interviews or human observation by asking participants’ views such as usefulness and applicable to teaching. Other objective measures are always lacking. In this study, usage log data from Learning Management System, (LMS) is used to provide evidence of the effect of the training course on teachers. LMS usage is retrieved before and after teachers who have undergone a 16-week of professional development course on blended learning. Results suggests that there is a positive effect of training including a substantial increase in the adoption of blended learning in the curriculum, the use of a wider variety of online features in blackboard (Bb), and further implementation of other interactive tools in LMS (e.g. Discussion Board) after the training course in facilitating student learning. Index Terms - Blended learning, data log, learning management system, staff development