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An evaluation of learning analytics to identify exploratory dialogue in online discussions

Published: 08 April 2013 Publication History

Abstract

Social learning analytics are concerned with the process of knowledge construction as learners build knowledge together in their social and cultural environments. One of the most important tools employed during this process is language. In this paper we take exploratory dialogue, a joint form of co-reasoning, to be an external indicator that learning is taking place. Using techniques developed within the field of computational linguistics, we build on previous work using cue phrases to identify exploratory dialogue within online discussion. Automatic detection of this type of dialogue is framed as a binary classification task that labels each contribution to an online discussion as exploratory or non-exploratory. We describe the development of a self-training framework that employs discourse features and topical features for classification by integrating both cue-phrase matching and k-nearest neighbour classification. Experiments with a corpus constructed from the archive of a two-day online conference show that our proposed framework outperforms other approaches. A classifier developed using the self-training framework is able to make useful distinctions between the learning dialogue taking place at different times within an online conference as well as between the contributions of individual participants.

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        cover image ACM Conferences
        LAK '13: Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge
        April 2013
        300 pages
        ISBN:9781450317856
        DOI:10.1145/2460296
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        Published: 08 April 2013

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        Author Tags

        1. k-nearest neighbour
        2. MaxEnt
        3. SocialLearn
        4. computational linguistics
        5. cue-phrase matching
        6. discourse analytics
        7. educational assessment
        8. educational dialogue
        9. exploratory dialogue
        10. learning analytics
        11. self-training framework
        12. social learning
        13. social learning analytics
        14. synchronous dialogue

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        LAK '13 Paper Acceptance Rate 16 of 58 submissions, 28%;
        Overall Acceptance Rate 236 of 782 submissions, 30%

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        • (2023)Towards more replicable content analysis for learning analyticsLAK23: 13th International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference10.1145/3576050.3576096(303-314)Online publication date: 13-Mar-2023
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        • (2022)A decade of learning analytics: Structural topic modeling based bibliometric analysisEducation and Information Technologies10.1007/s10639-022-11046-z27:8(10517-10561)Online publication date: 18-Apr-2022
        • (2021)A network analytic approach to integrating multiple quality measures for asynchronous online discussionsLAK21: 11th International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference10.1145/3448139.3448163(248-258)Online publication date: 12-Apr-2021
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        • (2017)Using Learning Analytics to Support Engagement in Collaborative WritingInternational Journal of Distance Education Technologies10.4018/IJDET.201710010515:4(79-98)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2017
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