Analysis of Behavior Sequences of Students by Using Learning Logs of Digital Books

Abstract

Recently, many studies have analyzed digital textbook reading data by treating all events in the data stream as mutually independent of each other. However, there is a potential loss of information if all event indicators are analyzed independent of time or sequence. Therefore, in this study, a sequential analysis method is employed to analyze the sequential behavior of digital textbook reading logs. In order to collect students’ learning logs with the same experimental design, we conducted two experiments in the years 2017 and 2018 during an educational technology course for graduate students. We conducted two comparisons of sequential behaviors. First, we compared the different sequential behaviors through different devices. Second, we compared the sequential behaviors of the students of years 2017 and 2018. We found some behavioral patterns that may help digital textbook system developers and instructional designers reach an in-depth understanding of the actual operations and behavioral patterns of learners.