This paper presents two interactive visualization tools for learning management systems (LMS) in order to improve learning and teaching in online courses. The first tool was developed at the Intelligent Information Systems Laboratory (IISLab) at the Tampere University of Technology (TUT). The tool is used to analyse students' activity from automatically recorded user log data and to build interactive visualizations. They provide valuable insights into the learning process and participation of students in a course offered to teachers and students. The second tool was developed at the Unitelma Sapienza University. It extends navigation and search functionalities in the discussion forum of an LMS with a topic-driven paradigm. The tool analyses forum content and automatically identifies discussion topics. It then enhances the original forum with a topic-driven navigation structure and an interactive search graph. Both tools have been developed as plug-ins for the Moodle LMS, but their analysis processes and techniques can be adopted into any LMS.

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Social media enhanced learning systems bring new challenges to evaluate learning environments. Many features are common with any websites and can be evaluated with common criteria. But with social media users can also contribute content, change opinions and create communities for different needs, which bring new dimensions to a quality evaluation. This research focused on finding out which are the most important characters and functions in social media enhanced learning system in the context of higher education. The paper also reports the former research results that were used as a background for this study. Earlier researches were carried out in 2008-2009 and they focused on how to evaluate social media sites, what are the students' expectations and what motivates them to use social media in higher educational context.

Abstract-In this article, we introduce the results of a study concerning user data visualizations in the context of the TUT Circle, a social media enhanced web service for learning, networking, and communication at the Tampere University of Technology (TUT). Well-designed visualizations can provide valuable insight into student activity and participation in an online course, and therefore support both teachers' and students' strategic decision making. We found social network analytics and visualizations useful in providing information to improve the pedagogical practices of online courses, as well as the students' overall engagement in their studies and study lives. However, to be useful, the visualizations need to have enough hints so that the users can interpret the different elements in them in the right way.Index Terms-Learning, learning analytics, social network services, visualization of user data.

TUT Circle, a dedicated social media service for students at Tampere University of Technology (TUT), was used as a learning environment for the purpose of enhancing students‘ collaboration, communication and networking skills required in business and working life and for promoting peer learning in small groups. Unfortunately, active conversation was limited. The students intensively read content created by other students, but they did not actively present their opinions, arguments or comments. Another reason for the lack of real conversation was procrastination. The students seemed to need more encouragement to comment on or question the ideas of others, more support to promote intergroup interaction and more assistance with time management