Visualizing Learner Behaviour in MOOCs using Sankey Diagrams

Abstract

It can be difficult to assess the design of, and learning, within Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). It is especially hard when trying to analyse this at the level of the individual learner. This study has developed a tool, inspired by Sankey diagrams, to visualise learners’ behaviour and paths through MOOC content. This tool can be used to investigate if learners are interacting with the content as planned when the course was designed. It has been designed iteratively through four stages of rapid prototyping. This paper presents the narrative of the development of the tool with an emphasis on validation via feedback from three user groups at each prototype stage.