scholarly journals Can we use Facebook groups to establish social presence in online courses?

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 173
Author(s):  
Serkan Izmirli
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Group Cohesion ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Open Communication ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Affective Expression ◽  
Expression Category

In this research, the potential of Facebook groups used in an online course in order to establish social presence was examined. Qualitative research methodology was used in this study. The participants of the study were 12 senior undergraduate students taking the School Experience course online over a period of 12 weeks. A Facebook group where announcements and deep discussions were made and files were shared was used. Facebook group posts as document data; and student interviews as interview data were collected. According to the results, it was found that Facebook groups established social presence. Social presence involves three categories; affective expression, open communication and group cohesion. Paralanguage, emotion, humor and self-disclosure emerged as indicators in the affective expression category.  Acknowledgement, agreement, invitation and continuing a thread were found as indicators in the open communication category. Greetings and salutations, vocatives, group reference, social sharing and collaboration were found as indicators in the group cohesion category.  A similar study can be conducted by collecting quantitative data from a large number of participants using the social presence scale. Other social networks’ potentials to establish social presence can be examined. Since Facebook groups establish social presence, they can be used to support online or face-to-face courses. Keywords: community of inquiry; Facebook; Facebook group; online course; social presence

scholarly journals Students’ Perceptions of Social Presence in Blended Learning Courses in a Tanzanian Medical College

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (09) ◽  
pp. 107
Author(s):  
Mustapha Almasi ◽  
Chang Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Blended Learning ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Open Communication ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Affective Expression ◽  
Medical College ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Motivation And Learning

Social presence in a blended learning involves construction of learning through student sharing, interaction and support thus improving students’ motivation, and learning. This study examines students’ perceptions of social presence (SP) in blended learning courses (BL) in a medical college in Tanzania. Three research questions are addressed: are there significant differences in the reported scores of social presences among students based on gender, age and year of study? How is social presence encouraged in the BL medical courses? How is social presence associated with students’ learning in the BL medical courses? Following a mixed method, Social Presence Scale and Focus Group Discussion were in data collection. BL in these courses included face-to- face lectures, student online and face-to-face group discussions, laboratory practices, team-based learning (TBL), and online exams. The study involved 144 medical students. Survey results showed no significant differences in the reported scores of social presences based on their characteristics. However, affective expression and open communication were more valued than group cohesion elements of SP. Qualitative results show that social presence was encouraged through provision of group assignments, teacher online activities, and students’ group discussions. Through social presence and interaction, students learnt various concepts, examination questions in both online and in face-to-face discussions. The conclusion is that students’ characteristics are not crucial, however, group discussion and social presence influence their learning.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of Integrating MOOCs in Traditional Classrooms for Undergraduate Students

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Joseph Israel
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Traditional Classrooms ◽  
Teachers Colleges ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Massive Open Online Course ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Conventional Classroom

<p class="BodyA">The idea of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) has attracted a lot of media attention in the last couple of years. MOOCs have been used mostly as stand-alone online courses without credits. However, some researchers, teachers, colleges, and universities have attempted to utilize MOOCs in blended format in traditional classroom settings. This paper reviews some recent experiments in the context of current trends in MOOCs by examining methodologies utilized in blended MOOCs in a face-to-face environment. This paper further discusses the preliminary findings related to its effectiveness of learning outcomes and its impact on students and instructors in blended MOOCs format. The review of blended MOOCs in classrooms assists to form the emerging consensus on integrating MOOCs in conventional classroom settings, while highlighting potential opportunities and challenges one might face when implementing MOOCs in similar or entirely different contexts.</p>

scholarly journals Fostering Emerging Online Learner Persistence:

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Staci Gilpin
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Online Classes ◽  
Online Learners ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Responsive Design ◽  
Student Values

Undergraduate students living on-campus and taking online and face-to-face courses concurrently, are the predominant consumer of online classes (Seaman et al., 2018). However, they have lower rates of persistence for online courses as compared to face-to-face courses (Hart, 2012; Xu & Jaggars, 2011). Part of the reason could be due to the mismatch between the types of interactions they prefer and what is being provided in online courses. The purpose of this literature review is to investigate the use of asynchronous and synchronous discussions as a way to address the needs of emerging online learners. Using elements of previously developed frameworks, I propose the Framework for Emerging Online Learner Persistence (FEOLP). This framework addresses the values and needs of emerging online learners through course design that has the potential to enhance social presence using student values to determine the blend of asynchronous and synchronous interactions. Given the limited research to draw from on how to design online courses, this framework and the recommendations from this article provide a starting point for the responsive design of online courses for the emerging online learner with potential application to other groups of distinct online learners.

scholarly journals ON THE NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL PRESENCE IN ONLINE COURSE DISCUSSIONS

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Swan ◽  
Li Fang Shih
Keyword(s):  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Influential Factor ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Quantitative Results

“Social presence,” the degree to which participants in computer-mediated communication feel affectively connected one to another, has been shown to be an important factor in student satisfaction and success in online courses. This mixed methods study built on previous research to explore in greater depth the nature of social presence and how it develops in online course discussions. The study combined quantitative analyses of survey results from students enrolled in four online graduate courses, and qualitative comparisons of students with the highest and lowest perceptions of social presence. Quantitative results revealed significant correlations between perceived social presence and satisfaction with online discussions, and teased apart the respective influences of the perceived presence of instructors and peers. The findings indicate that the perceived presence of instructors may be a more influential factor in determining student satisfaction than the perceived presence of peers. Correlations with other course and learner characteristics suggest that course design may also significantly affect the development of social presence. Qualitative findings support the quantitative results. In addition, they provide evidence that students perceiving the highest social presence also projected themselves more into online discussions,and reveal meaningful differences in perceptions of the usefulness and purpose of online discussion between students perceiving high and low social presence.

Blogs in Teacher Education

2015 ◽  
pp. 220-234
Author(s):  
Peggy Semingson
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Community Of Inquiry ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Literacy Assessment ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Teacher Presence

This chapter examines the content of written blog postings of students enrolled in a face-to-face course focusing on literacy assessment methods and practice for Pre-Service Teachers (PST) seeking elementary teaching certification. The purpose of the study was to examine the transcription of the students' postings and Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) to look for the three types of elements that comprise the Community of Inquiry according to as well as the examination of broader themes and trends across the data (Corbin & Strauss, 1990). Data included blog posts from a 15-week semester with a total of 702 combined posts and comments from a total of 40 undergraduate students. Data were analyzed using the constant-comparative method () and the framework of the Community of Inquiry Model (). Students engaged in various levels of cognitive stages of inquiry while also building on and developing social presence throughout the course. Teacher presence also guided the social construction of knowledge throughout the course. Examination of the teacher presence suggests that the instructor needed to provide more scaffolding in modeling evidence-based practice and problem-solving on the blog as students did not always connect their practice to evidence-based or text-based support.

The Human Element MOOC

2015 ◽  
pp. 373-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Whitney Kilgore ◽  
Patrick R. Lowenthal
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Cognitive Presence ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Open Network ◽  
Massive Open Online Course ◽  
Human Element ◽  
Instructor Presence

The Human Element Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on the Canvas open network was designed to be a connectivist experience exploring methods for the humanization of online education. This MOOC introduced and discussed methods that faculty could adopt in order to potentially increase instructor presence, social presence, and cognitive presence within their own online courses. The design of the MOOC and the learners' perceptions of social presence after taking part in this MOOC are discussed in this chapter.

Examining Design Pattern Strategies as a Means to Achieve Social Presence in the Online Classroom

2015 ◽  
pp. 22-49
Author(s):  
Araminta Matthews ◽  
Robert M. Kitchin Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Design Pattern ◽  
Design Patterns ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Web Design ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Design Learning ◽  
Potential Benefits

Design patterns have received much attention across multiple design domains where social interaction is a central goal because they have great potential for capturing and sharing design knowledge. Design patterns, design pattern language, and design pattern libraries demonstrate potential benefits to novice and expert online course designers. Trends affecting the growth of online courses and resultant pitfalls negatively affecting students and instructors indicate the need for social presence design. A literature review addresses the importance of social interaction, differentiated design, learning-oriented social networking, and Web design structures in an effort to assuage the experience of isolation reported by the majority of online students. The authors argue that design patterns are a method of overcoming many of these apparent obstacles to quality online course design and learning engagement. Additionally, they present example design patterns to solve specific social interacting problems.

Contextualizing Social Presence and Learner Identity Through the Lens of Moore's Theory of Transactional Distance

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Michael Marmon
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Course Delivery ◽  
Transactional Distance ◽  
Delivery Methods ◽  
Learner Identity ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Course Delivery Methods

Online education has become a ubiquitous and convenient method by which to complete courses at institutions of higher education across the globe. To achieve this level of parity between course delivery methods (online or face-to-face), the instructor or course designer must understand the complex relationship between the technology and instructional design theories being leveraged in these contexts. Within the context of this chapter, these barriers manifest themselves within Moore's Theory of Transactional Distance, a theory which states that the transactional distance between stakeholders (whether it is instructor-learner or learner-learner communication) has the potential to obstruct the path for comprehending the information being presented as well as influencing the level of rapport between students. This chapter examines the obstacles that are present because of Moore's Theory of Transactional Distance and the influence that social presence has on learners in online courses from the perspective of student satisfaction and positive learning outcomes.

The Human Element MOOC

2016 ◽  
pp. 1736-1755
Author(s):  
Whitney Kilgore ◽  
Patrick R. Lowenthal
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Cognitive Presence ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Open Network ◽  
Massive Open Online Course ◽  
Human Element ◽  
Instructor Presence

The Human Element Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on the Canvas open network was designed to be a connectivist experience exploring methods for the humanization of online education. This MOOC introduced and discussed methods that faculty could adopt in order to potentially increase instructor presence, social presence, and cognitive presence within their own online courses. The design of the MOOC and the learners' perceptions of social presence after taking part in this MOOC are discussed in this chapter.

The Importance of Social Presence and Strategies for Incorporating It Into an Online Course

2020 ◽  
pp. 107-122
Author(s):  
Joshua Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Course Delivery ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Online Learning Environments ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Online Interactions

As with any mode of course delivery, there are both positives and negatives to online learning. There are the commonly cited positive features of online learning like the removal of geographic restrictions and scheduling barriers. Limitations may include unfamiliarity for those new to online learning and misunderstandings resulting from the transition from primarily face-to-face interactions to only online interactions. One of the nice things about online learning environments is that many of the possible drawbacks can be countered turning them into strength. Building a strong social presence in an online course can help with this. This chapter discusses three categories of strategies for building a social presence; ice breakers, netiquette activities, and discussion activities.

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