A Visual Representation of Online Interaction Patterns

To understand learning processes we need to consider many different aspects that come into play within online learning environments, including mediating tools, learners’ actions, their engagement in online discussions and how such discussions unfold over time. Content analysis of asynchronous discussions is usually applied to study knowledge construction, but little attention is paid on how interactions relate to each other over time and influence each other. Visual representations of online interactions can help us make sense of the temporal dimension of learning and its relation with other complex data. The present article proposes a new visualization tool, which is based on an interaction analysis coding scheme, to visually represent the multidimensional relationship between discussion content, participants’ interaction and time.