Understanding Query Intention in Search Queries of Learners in Blended Learning Environments

Abstract

In spite of the flexibility of learning, at any time, any place, and any pace, the student engagement decides success of the e-learning portals today. The ‘Search’ plays vital role in directing the learners to land in the correct web portal that can satisfy their needs and goals in the blended learning environments. The objective of this experimental study is to collect the user behavior of the online learners by using the web analytic tools ‘Google Analytics’ and the ‘Google Search Console’ and the faculty and web administrators can verify the fulfilment of the learner’s search intent. The datasets pertaining to the user behavior are collected from the tSearch Consolet data in the period Jan-Dec-2020 and analyzed using the metrics such as position, impressions, clicks. The metrics ‘Page views’ and ‘Total time on site’ are indicators of students’ intention to use the educational web site to achieve their academic goals like improving their grades in the final examination. The metrics such as Page views can predict the exam score using a linear relation. The multiple regression analysis done on the Google analytic metrics of the experimental data confirmed that these metrics can predict the exam score in the blended e-Learning portals and the results are statistically significant. Individually the learners’ performance has been improved with the increase in Pageviews reported by the web analytic reports. The click through data metrics helps the faculty to make improvement in the course website so as to ensure that the learners’ needs are successfully met by the online experimental portal.