Content analysis and visualizations: Tools for a social media-enhanced learning environment

In this article we introduce learning analytics visualizations based on content analysis principles that are implemented in TUT Circle, a social media-enhanced learning environment developed by the Intelligent Information Systems Laboratory (IISLab) at Tampere University of Technology in Finland. TUT Circle contains all the basic functionalities of a modern social media service, supporting communication, collaboration, networking, and information sharing (Silius, et.al., 2010). Data about students´ actions recorded in the log data of TUT Circle is analyzed and visualized in order to support monitoring and tracking students´ activity and participation. TUT Circle provides several different kinds of interactive visualizations for teachers and students. According to an earlier study the most relevant and motivating visualizations for students in TUT Circle were based on content analysis. They were more useful in learning and studying according to students than, for example, visualizations of student activity or network visualizations illustrating reading and commenting on each other´s contents (Tervakari, et.al., 2014).