The Open University ’ s repository of research publications and other research outputs OUSocial 2 : a platform for gathering students ’ feedback from social media

Universities strive to collect feedback from students to improve their courses and tutorship. Such feedback is often collected at the end of a course via survey forms. However, such methods in collecting feedback are too controlled, slow, and passive. With the rise of social media, many students are finding online venues to group and share their experiences and seek peers’ support. OUSocial2 is a platform that monitors behaviour, sentiment, and topics, in open social media groups set up by, and for, Open University students. It captures anonymous feedback from students towards their courses, and tracks the evolution of engagement behaviour and sentiment within those groups.