E-Learning Social Network Analysis for Social Awareness

Dr Niki Lambropoulos

London South Bank University HCI Education Research Fellow

Images of Virtuality, Athens, 23-24 April, 2009Images of Virtuality, Athens, 23-24 April, 2009

http://www.imagesofvirtuality.org/

Agenda

• HCI Design & ResearchHCI Design & Research• SNA MethodologySNA Methodology• Case StudyCase Study• ResultsResults• ConclusionsConclusions

HCI Design & Research

• Context: GR Context: GR Teachers’ Passive/Active Participation in E-learning Courses

• Ensuring Human Values:Ensuring Human Values:– Social Awareness in E-Learning– Hypothesis: if they see they might

• Study: Study: SNA Software • Design: Design: Prototypes• Build: Build: Prototypes• Evaluate:Evaluate: Real Users & Developers

Conceptual Analysis• Human Values: Human Values: Social Awareness in E-

Learning

Concepts towards requirements

Social Awareness + Collaborative e-Learning >SNA

Bakharia, 2008

Study: Context - SNAContext - SNA

• Greek Teachers perceptionsperceptions• Greek School Network operationoperation• Greek Ministry of Education e-learning e-learning

legislation & e-readinesslegislation & e-readiness (poor) • SNA Theories & Software

– Global (set) & Local SNA (subset)Global (set) & Local SNA (subset)– Visualisation, quantification, structural explorationVisualisation, quantification, structural exploration– SoNIA, Pajek, UCINET– JUNG: JUNG: Java Universal Network/Graph Framework

to support Local SNAsupport Local SNA

Design & Build: PrototypesPrototypes

VIT CentralityVIT Nodes

Tie (dual coding)

Evaluate: Change on PrototypePrototype

Passive Passive participants participants

VIT Centrality

Teachers & Developers (case study & focus group, overall Pedagogical Usability score = 4.2)

2 Case Studies

• Started on 01/03/2007 and finished on 31/03/2007, 2 environments,

40 participants• 9 Female (22.5%) & 31 Male (77.5%)• 1 participant between 20-30 years old

(n=1, 3%), 14 between 30-40 years old (n=14, 36%), and 24 older than 40 years old (n=24, 61%) (1 missing).

SNA on Forum Interface

Active Participation!

Correlations between Messages for Analysis, Richness of Text, & Discussion Depth

1

10

100

1000

10000

Subjects & Dates

Messages for Analysis

Richness of Text

Discussion Depth (Participants)

Discussion Depth (E-Tutors)

Global SNA: Set (study)

– Density– Reciprocity– Cliques– Structural equivalence

The Matrix - UCINETThe Matrix - UCINET

Density (Quantiification)

GROUP NETWORK COHESION: DENSITY & RECIPROCITY

GSN Research Pool

All E-learners All E-learners

Total nodes 698 122 81 73

Density (matrix average) 1.0872 0.0256 0.0470 0.0418

Standard deviation 2.0167 0.1819 0.2376 0.2226

Table 6.5.7.1-1. Group Network Cohesion: Density & Reciprocity

Fahy’s density does not consider interaction time and is highly sensitive to group size (2a/N(N-1))

Reciprocity (Visualisation)

E-learners’ Reciprocal ties

Cliques (Structural exploration)

CLIQUES

Minimum set size of participants

Moodle@GSN Research Pool

All E-learners All E-learners

6 2 0 0 0

5 33 0 0 0

4 58 0 2 1

3 68 4 15 12

Structural equivalence (Visualisation)

Structural equivalence dendrogram

Results on Global SNA

• Global SNA helps triangulating the textual, numerical and visual data

• Convergence on:– Interaction patterns – Levels of activity (low, medium, high)– Information pathways– Influential behaviour

Global SNA Global SNA provides a macro view to identify the knowledge brokers & e-learning community leaders

Local SNA: Subset (forum)

Pedagogical Usability: low learnability (2.7), thus low use (2.4)

VIT Nodes & Centrality

Results on Local SNA

• Local SNA helps triangulating the textual, numerical and visual data

• Convergence on:– Collaborative learning– Active learners – Influential behaviour– Interaction patterns

Local SNA VIT Local SNA VIT provides a micro view for insights in e-learners behaviour

Conclusions

• If we see we might If we see we might – Favourable conditions

•Prior knowledge, other e-learners, e-tutors, tools

• SNA in Educational Social Software SNA in Educational Social Software – Community management and tools for changing

needs, interaction styles & learning – Support learning cues

• Social IntelligenceSocial Intelligence– act wisely in human relations (Thorndike, 1920)

Any Questions??

Thank you! Thank you!

Dr. Niki Lambropouloslampron2@lsbu.ac.uk

Community-based Innovation: Community-based Innovation: Designing Shared Spaces for Collaborative CreativityDesigning Shared Spaces for Collaborative Creativity

A Special Issue for International Journal of Web Based Communities (IJWBC) Editors: Editors: Lambropoulos & Romero

Euro-CAT CSCL

Collaboration Awareness tool (CAT) for CSCL users

THE EURO-CAT CSCL PROJECT http://www.cat-cscl.eu

Find VITFind VIT@ www.intelligentQ.NET/e-learning