<p>Social network analysis, as one of the social learning analytics (SLA) methods, have been combined with other analytical methods to understand social learning processes from a research perspective. However, few studies have devised the SLA tools to provide learning interventions. Filling this gap, this design-based research devised a student-facing SLA tool with the multi-method analytics to demonstrate network representations in China’s higher education context, with an expectation to foster student engagement. A multi-method approach was used to examine the effect of this tool on fostering students’ social, topic, and cognitive engagement in online collaborative discussions. Results showed that the SLA tool did not increase student engagement significantly. But the social network worked better for facilitating students’ social, topic, and cognitive engagement, compared to the topic and cognitive networks. Based on the empirical results, this research provided tool design and pedagogical implications to improve design and implementation of SLA tool in higher education.</p>