Interpersonal online interactions are key to digital learning pedagogies and student experiences. Researchers use learner log and text data collected by technologies that mediate learner interactions online to provide indicators about interpersonal interactions. However, analytical approaches used to derive these indicators face conceptual,…

The effective use of self-regulation strategies has been considered significant in online learning environments. It is known that learners must be supported in this context. Academic help-seeking (AHS), as one of the main self-regulated learning strategies, is associated with academic success. However, learners may avoid seeking help for…

Analyzing how participants learn from each other during online forums on discussion boards or social media platforms is often challenging. One of the predominant methods of analyzing such learning is through qualitative content analysis or interaction analysis. The Interaction Analysis Model (IAM), developed by Gunawardena, Lowe and Anderson which…

In this study, we examined interaction behaviors between a small number of participants in two massive open online courses (MOOCs) and an FAQ chatbot, focusing on the participants' native language markers. We used a binary native language marker (non-native English user vs. native English user) to distinguish between two groups in this multiple…

Game Learning Analytics can be used to conduct evidence-based evaluations of the effect that serious games produce on their players by combining in-game user interactions and traditional evaluation methods. We illustrate this approach with a case-study where we conduct an evidence-based evaluation of a serious game's effectiveness to increase…

Facebook is widely used and researched. However, though the data generated by educational technology tools and social media platforms other than Facebook have been used for research purposes, very little research has used Facebook posts as a data source--with most studies relying on self-report studies. While it has historically been impractical…

Background: Sustaining productive student-student dialogue in online collaborative inquiry learning is challenging, and teacher support is limited when needed in multiple groups simultaneously. Collaborative conversational agents (CCAs) have been used in the past to support student dialogue. Yet, research is needed to reveal the characteristics…

Networked and digital technologies are increasingly being used for learning in formal and informal contexts, and participant engagement occurs primarily via online discussions. In this paper, we describe an ongoing research project that focuses on examining and understanding student engagement in collaborative online discussions within a formal…

Background: Online Collaborative Writing (OCW) has been reported to be useful to improve writing quality in higher education. However, challenges emerge during the collaborative processes, mainly centering on how to sustain active interactions and communications in order to complete a high quality of writing. Objectives: Using the design-based…

Providing coaching to participants in inquiry-based online discussions contributes to developing cognitive presence (CP) and higher-order thinking. However, a primary issue limiting quality and timely coaching is instructors' lack of tools to efficiently identify CP phases in massive discussion transcripts and effectively assess learners'…

Persuasion is inherent to the instructional process. Instructions delivered through online programs do not always generate expected and consistent learning outcomes, and hence persuasion in online instructional design is even more critical. Through this mixed-method study, we aim to identify the most widely used persuasive design techniques, the…

Educational researchers have pointed to socioemotional dimensions of learning as important in gaining a more nuanced description of student engagement and learning. However, to date, research focused on the analysis of emotions has been narrow in its focus, centering on affect and sentiment analysis in isolation while neglecting how emotions…

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between clout and cognitive processing in massive open online course (MOOC) discussion forum posts. Cognitive processing, a category variable generated by the automated text analysis tool, Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC), is made up of six sub-scores (insight, causation, discrepancy,…

Background: Deep discussions play an important role in students' online learning. However, researchers have largely focused on engaging students in deep discussions in online asynchronous forums. Few studies have investigated how to promote deep discussion via mobile instant messaging (MIM). Objectives: In this study, we applied learning…

As asynchronous online discussions gain a broader usage due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the need for understanding of students' ideas from unstructured textual data becomes more pressing. In this experimental study, we examine the effects of recommendations on message quality and community formation from voluminous online discussions. Drawing on…