A look at the importance of social presence and projecting it to our students. In some cases, instructors are engaged in the course but are not projecting that it in a manner that students are able to observe. Social media tools and ideas will be discussed.
State funding in education, at least in the State of Texas, seems to revolve around numbers. Both funding for programs as well as any hopes of faculty salary increases rely on rising numbers and higher student retention. In today’s educational scene, those who rely strictly on traditional on campus students may be missing out in the numbers game. However, studies have shown that online education has its own pitfalls where numbers are concerned. Online programs have suffered from lower retention rates than their on campus counterparts. Therefore, retention of online students has become a very important aspect of the online education equation. One way to increase retention and student satisfaction in online programs may be the increase the feeling of social presence – the feeling of being part of group. Building online community and increasing social presence may be a key factor in helping to foster student satisfaction and thereby successful recruitment and retention in online programs.
This conversation idea arose from a study by the presenter looking at the component of social presence in an online class to ascertain its perceived importance by students in their success in online courses. In addition, the study was designed to gather student ideas on how social presence can be better facilitated online both with the instructor and with their fellow classmates. Finally, information was collected regarding whether the students personally had experienced either positive or negative effects based on the social presence of the instructor or fellow classmates in an online class. Both qualitative and quantitative data were used to explore students’ perceptions of social presence in the online classes in which they are, or have been, enrolled. The term “social presence” in the context of this research for communication enhancement in an online environment was defined in the introduction to the survey used for the study. The definition given for social presence is “the degree to which users perceive the existence of others (instructor and classmates) and their perception of an actual interaction among the professor and fellow students.” A summation of the data collected will be available to help stimulate the conversation in this session.
A theory on human needs and development which has long been accepted is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs where he asserted that in order for self-actualization to occur there were other constructs that must first be accomplished. The list began with safety, then love/belonging, and esteem before reaching the self-actualization level. Rutledge (2011), wrote that this theory is accepted because “it brings a sense of order to our chaotic human behavior.” She asserts, however, that none of Maslow’s needs can be fully met without social connection. She goes on to say that, “Our reliance on each other grows as societies became more complex, interconnected, and specialized. Connection is a prerequisite for survival, physically and emotionally.”
The question arises as to whether the needs of a learner in an online course can be fully met without a social connection and whether It is this connection that provides the missing link in the online classroom environment for increased online student success. For more than 20 years researchers have looked at the concept of social presence. In 1995, Gunawardena suggested that “development of social presence and a sense of online community becomes key to promoting collaborative learning and knowledge building” (p. 164). In 2004, Wise, Chang, Duffy, and del Valle discussed relating and caring as important elements in the concept of social presence and community building in an online environment. In 2010, Reinhart tied successful completion of an online course to the level of social presence and sense of community or connectedness felt by the learner.
In the research of Swan (2002), three interaction factors – interaction with (1) the content of the course, (2) with the instructors of the course, and (3) with fellow participants in the course -- emerged that increased student satisfaction and learning. Anderson (2003) agreed with this in identifying a variety of types of interactions that are important in distance education: student to teacher, student to content, and student to student. Chaney et al, (2009) also discussed these interactions, but student to teacher was most often cited as a key quality indicator in online courses.
Hostetter and Busch (2006) concluded that online courses needed to support pedagogy that increases social presence. Wei, Chen, & Kinshuk (2012) went as far as to say that “lack of social presence may lead to a high degree of frustration, an unreasonably critical attitude toward the instructor’s effectiveness, and a lower level of affective learning” (p. 529).
In agreement with the finding in the literature review, the presenter’s study found that the students’ perceptions of social presence were of importance to them. The results mirrored that of Sheridan and Kelly (2010), in that, the social presence of the instructor is one of the keys to the effectiveness of online learning. Because of the large percentage of students confirming this, reason would strongly suggest that instructors should be actively engaged in building a connection or presence in online courses. It is probably worth noting that in some cases, instructors are engaged in the course but are not projecting that involvement or connectedness in a manner that students are able to observe.
When it comes to engaging students, we need to employ a variety of strategies. Students provided some good suggestions in the open-ended question on how they felt the instructor of the class could improve a feeling of social presence in the online environment. Through this conversation it is hoped that more ideas can emerge.
When Rutledge (2011) wrote about the use of social networking, she made a valid point when she said, “When we look at the rapid innovation and ubiquitous nature of technology, our reptilian brains get nervous with all the change. In the face of uncertainty, we ask the wrong question. We ask, ‘what does technology do to us?’ The question we should ask is ‘what can we do with technology?’“ (p. 13). As online educators we must sometimes leave our comfort zones to harness the power of tools available, especially those such as social media tools which are readily available and already in use by the majority of our students. Doing so may be a way to bring more learning opportunities to the online environment at little or no cost to the students, instructors, or institutions.