Applying social learning analytics to message boards in online distance learning: A case study

Visualizations of Online Course Interactions for Social Network Learning Analytics

“…An increasing number of scholars -e.g. [2,[17][18][19][20][21][22]-have already validated the usefulness of social network learning analytics for instructors based on the use of social network metrics.…”

“…In order to show the full capabilities of Gephi for social network learning analytics, and following [22], three different datasets were generated from the original data extracted from the system log: 1) in Dataset1, each node represents an actor -student or instructor-, and each directed edge from node (user) a to node b has a weight that represents the number of times that node a replies to a post created by node b; 2) Dataset2 is similar to Dataset1, but with edges representing the number of times that node a reas a message posted by node b; both datasets include node attributes for further filtering capabilities, such as the classroom that each actor -node-was assigned to, as well as his or her final grade and role -student or teacher-, total number of reads, number of messages opening a discussion, and number of replies; and 3) Dataset3, where each node represents a forum post, and directed edges -with a weight of one-show the relation between messages -i.e., which message was written as a reply to another message; this third dataset includes additional information for each node (message) as attributes, such as number of times that a message has been read, the classroom where the message was posted, the type of message board, and the day when it was posted.…”

Exploring Student Interactions: Learning Analytics Tools for Student Tracking

“…The main idea behind GraphFES is that social network analysis is best done outside of the learning platform, using SNA specialized tools such as Gephi. Some advantages and applications of Gephi to the analysis of higher education courses from a social learning analytics approach can be found in [18,19].…”

A Web Services-Based Application for LMS Data Extraction and Processing for Social Network Analysis

“…In formal educational settings SNA focuses mainly in the interactions that take place in bounded spaces for collaboration, primarily course forums. The main uses of SNA of educational data include identification of relevant learning agents, such as at-risk students, knowledge brokers or influential students [9].…”

“…[7]-, more recent research on this field has brought novel approaches that try to go beyond statistical analysis and offer other informative and decision-oriented perspectives, such as visualization-e.g., [8]--or social learning analytics-e.g., [9].…”