Social network analysis in education - from online environments to classrooms

Authors

• Antti Knutas Lappeenrannan teknillinen yliopisto
• Jari Porras Lappeenrannan teknillinen yliopisto

Keywords:

Digital learning environments, learning analytics, social network analysis, peer learning

Abstract

Group and peer learning can be studied with social network analysis. This enables the automatic quantitative analysis of student collaboration in digital learning environments. However, there are significant challenges in data collection and analysis of classroom environments. The article gives first brief overview of the theory of social network analysis and data collection methods, and then presents concepts of how to apply the future possibilities of Internet of Things and smart devices in data collection. Additionally, a case study of applying social network analysis in the analysis of student collaboration is presented.