In the field of learning analytics, mining the regularities of social interaction and cognitive processing have drawn increasing attention. Nevertheless, in MOOCs, there is a lack of investigations on the combination of social and cognitive behavioral patterns. To fill in this gap, this study aimed to uncover the relationship between social…

Background: Online discussion is one of the commonly used tools to enhance students' interactions and engagements in online courses, but it is not clear how social presence in online discussions impacts students' learning and what kinds of interactions we should encourage. Social network analysis provides a new methodology to investigate how…

This paper focuses on evaluating a socio-cultural activity design (SCAD) model for using discussion-based social networking tools as a means to support the development of an online community of learners. Participants included 38 undergraduate students enrolled in a human-centered design course at a large, US university. The SCAD model includes…

This study investigated the impact of using a discussion strategy with learning analytics on the level of student cognitive presence and interaction. The study used a quasi-experimental design with control and experimental groups. The experimental group applied open-ended discussion and elaborated feedback with learning analytics while the control…

This study draws on the authors' first-hand experience of designing, developing and delivering (3Ds) a massive open online course (MOOC) entitled "Understanding Research Methods" since 2014, largely but not exclusively for learners in the humanities and social sciences. The greatest challenge facing us was to design an assessment…

Computer Supported Collaborative Learning literature relates high levels of collaboration to enhanced learning outcomes. However, an agreement on what is considered a high level of collaboration is unclear, especially if a qualitative approach is taken. This study describes how methods of Social Network Analysis were used to design a collaboration…

This paper presents two novel network methods developed for education research. These methods were used to investigate online discussions and the structure of students' background knowledge in a blended university course for pre-service teachers (n = 11). Consequently, these measures were used for correlation analysis. The social network analysis…

In this research we present a new design component for online learning communities (OLC); one that integrates Twitter with an online discussion board (ODB). We introduce our design across two sections of upper-division information systems courses at a university located within the U.S. The first section consisted of full-time online learners,…

This study investigated the dynamics of complex interactions within inquiry-based (IB) discussions by visualizing patterns using social network analysis. Researchers explored network measures when learners participated in inquiry-based discussions with Practical Inquiry Model (PIM) and non-PIM questions while playing the weekly moderator's role.…

This iterative study examined factors that influence student engagement in an online asynchronous discussion forum (DF), which is a standard feature of most learning management systems (LMSs) and thus of most online courses at the university level. DFs are a principle way to enable online participation and interaction on a student-to-student and…

There has been a long-standing issue of sparse discussion forums participation in online learning, which can impede students' help seeking practices. Researchers have examined AI techniques such as link prediction with network analysis to connect help seekers with help providers. However, little is known whether these AI systems will treat…

There are few studies devoted to analyze the relationships between the structure of the social network and performance in the online learning process as group. In this study, the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model is used as an analytical framework, along with quantitative content analysis and social network analysis, in order to identify the effect…

Diagrams illustrating research on discussion forum content in online education practices can assist to clarify an author's thoughts and assist with the reader's comprehension. A review of past practices in the use of diagrams to explain, demonstrate or propose research findings shows a diversity of practices emerging from naturalistic settings.…

An ego network is an individual's social network relationships with core members. In this study, the ego network parameters in online discussion spaces of high- and low-performing students were compared. The extent to which students' ego networks changed over the course were also analyzed. Participation in 7 weeks of online discussions were…

Learning in computer-mediated setting represents a complex, multidimensional process. This complexity calls for a comprehensive analytical approach that would allow for understanding of various dimensions of learner generated discourse and the structure of the underlying social interactions. Current research, however, primarily focuses on manual…