Towards Smart Asynchronous Discussion Activity: Using Social Network Analysis to Investigate Students’ Discussion Patterns

Abstract

Abstract. This study analyzed students' interaction patterns in asynchronous online discussion forums by using log files left in the LMS. In taking Social Network Analysis (SNA) and Learning Analytics (LA) approach, the centrality of participants, their networking patterns, characteristics of networks among multiple topics, and changed patterns by time were reviewed within a case study. Additionally, this study found that the instructor's initiation, students' autonomy to select topics, together with the use of sample essays influenced the online discussion patterns, which is effectively illustrated by SNA results. Finally, this study discussed that not only the use of SNA as an analytics tool but also the display of the SNA outputs as a presentation tool can facilitate their smart and effective discussion activity.