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Creating Social Presence in Online Learning

Creating Social Presence in Online Learning. Carol Hostetter, PhD Indiana University Funded in part by: The Mack Center for Inquiry on Teaching and Learning The Indiana University Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Program chostett@indiana.edu. Goals.

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Creating Social Presence in Online Learning

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  1. Creating Social Presence in Online Learning Carol Hostetter, PhD Indiana University Funded in part by: The Mack Center for Inquiry on Teaching and Learning The Indiana University Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Program chostett@indiana.edu

  2. Goals • To examine the relationship between social presence and student learning outcomes in an online class • To brainstorm increasing social presence in our classes

  3. Question for later discussion Do you think social presence (or, learning community) is a useful concept for online teaching in your discipline? Why or why not?

  4. Theoretical Background Teacher Immediacy Behavior • From the field of communication education based on Mehrabian & Wiener (1968) in psychology. • Immediacy can be defined as the amount of “perceived physical and/or psychological closeness between people” (Christophel, 1990, p. 325).

  5. Social Presence • Immediacy behaviors gave rise to the concept of social presence, from social psychology (Short, Williams, and Christie, 1976). • Social presence is “the degree to which a person is perceived as a ‘real person’ in mediated communication” (Gunawardena, 1995, p.151).

  6. Social Presence • Studies have shown that “…users of computer networks are able to project their identities whether `real’ or `pseudo,’ feel the presence of others online, and create communities with commonly agreed on conventions and norms …” (Gunawardena, 1995, p. 151). • Students were able to “create social presence by projecting their identities and building online communities” (p. 163).

  7. What is Your Social Presence?

  8. Link between Social Presence and Community • What is meant by “create communities with commonly agreed on conventions and norms” and “building online communities?” • Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines community as “an interacting population of various kinds of individuals in a common location”

  9. Social Presence Social Interaction Common Communication Common Culture Community Link between Social Presence and Community Reid (1995) describes the link between social presence and community:

  10. Link between Social Presence and Learning? If there is a link, what might be the connection? • Learning takes place in a social environment, and cognitive understanding and personal construction of knowledge depend on relations with others (Fung, 2004; Richardson and Swan, 2003; Vygotsky, 1978). • Creating a safe environment for a learning community in class allows students to take risks and collaborate in an authentic manner (Bonk, 2002).

  11. Question for discussion Do you think social presence (or, learning community) is a useful concept for online teaching in your discipline? Why or why not?

  12. Research Questions • What is the evidence of social presence in a) students’ communication in an online discussion forum and in b) an attitudinal survey? • What pedagogical methods affect students’ perceptions of social presence? • What is the relationship between social presence and students’ learning outcomes?

  13. To Facilitate Social Presence in Online Classes • Mandatory participation in discussion forum • Weekly papers synthesizing readings, with prompt and detailed feedback from the instructor • Dyadic PowerPoint presentations • Model social presence in communications from instructor to students – use of names, discussions of personal context, expression of feelings and humor when appropriate

  14. Structure of Online Course • On Mondays, log on to check assignments and read lectures. • By Wednesdays at 5 pm your response to the discussion forum question is due. • WarmUps are due at 9 am Monday morning on the day they are listed on the syllabus, unless otherwise noted. For example, the first WarmUp is listed on the syllabus for 1-19, so it is due by 9 am on 1-19. • Check the course announcements for possible changes in assignments or schedules as we adjust to our learning needs and changing context.

  15. Assignments and Weights • Participation in Discussion Forum – 10 pts. • WarmUps – 33 pts. • Annotated Bibliography – 7 pts. • Group Presentation – 20 pts. • Final Paper – 30 pts.

  16. Discussion Forums • Unit One  Discussion topics due 1-21 midnight • Unit Two Discussion topic due 1-28 midnight • Unit Three Discussion Topic due 2-4 midnight • Unit Four Discussion topic due 2-11 midnight

  17. Discussion Questions • Regarding the theories discussed on pages 290-291, which do you feel most comfortable with?  How do you see yourself using the theory? • From your reading of Chapter 6, which do you think is more likely to provide more justice – the family court or the juvenile court, and why?

  18. Brainstorming Question What is one way you could increase the social presence in one of your classes?

  19. Creating Social Presence in Online Learning Carol Hostetter, PhD Indiana University Funded in part by: The Mack Center for Inquiry on Teaching and Learning The Indiana University Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Program chostett@indiana.edu

  20. Data Collection • Questionnaires on perception of social presence (Richardson and Swan, 2003), collected on all four sections from 2004 to 2006 • Content analysis of online discussions (Rourke, et al., 1999) • Ratings of Classroom Assessment Technique (Angelo and Cross, 1993)

  21. Research Question 1 What is the evidence of social presence in a) students’ communication in an online discussion forum and in b) an attitudinal survey?

  22. Method of Discussion Forum Analysis • Students responded to a weekly question • Students replied to others’ responses • Comments were content analyzed by a research team, to look for demonstrations of social presence

  23. Content Analysis: Rourke et al. Three Components • Affective • Interactive • Cohesives Rourke, L, Anderson, T., Garrison, D.R., & Archer, W. (1999).

  24. Content Analysis: Affective: • Expressions of emotions • Use of humor • Self-disclosure

  25. Content Analysis: Interactive: • Quoting from others’ messages • Referring explicitly to others’ messages • Asking questions • Complimenting, expressing appreciation • Expressing agreement

  26. Content Analysis: Cohesives: • Vocatives • Addresses or refers to the group using inclusive pronouns • Phatics, salutations

  27. RESULTS:1a) What is the evidence of social presence in students’ communication in a discussion forum?

  28. Method of Survey Analysis • Attitudinal survey – section on perception of social presence in course overall • End of semester online surveys were distributed to students • One point was awarded for sending the survey by email to research assistant (filled out or not) • Research assistant removed names, assigned ID numbers, and put data into Excel • Data was entered into SPSS and analyzed

  29. Survey Analysis • N = 121 students who completed survey, discussion forums, and CAT (85% response rate) • Reliability testing for survey instrument found an alpha of .95 (Gunawardina & Zittle = .88) • Factor analysis: • Perception of social presence • Satisfaction with learning community

  30. RESULTS:1b) What is the evidence of social presence in an attitudinal survey?

  31. Research Question 2 What pedagogical methods affect students’ perceptions of social presence?

  32. Method of Pedagogical Method Analysis Attitudinal survey – section on perception of social presence in three main teaching methods: • Discussion Forum • PowerPoint Presentations • WarmUps – Weekly graded papers on readings (Novak, Patterson, Gavrin, & Christian, 1999)

  33. 2) What pedagogical methods affect students’ perceptions of social presence?

  34. 2) What pedagogical methods affect students’ perceptions of social presence?

  35. 2) What pedagogical methods affect students’ perceptions of social presence?

  36. 2) What pedagogical methods affect students’ perceptions of social presence?

  37. 2) What pedagogical methods affect students’ perceptions of social presence?

  38. Research Question 3 What is the relationship between social presence and students’ learning outcomes?

  39. Method • Used one assignment (CAT) • Research team developed rubric for rating • Rated by two independent raters

  40. Scores on CAT • 3 = especially good • 2 = typical • 1 = off-base • 0 = no use of that dimension • Maximum score = 18 Scores ranged from 3 to 18 Mean = 16.15 Standard deviation = 11.02

  41. 3) What is the relationship between social presence and students’ learning outcomes?

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