Based on the GlobalEd inter‐university computer conference, this study examined how effective “social presence” is as a predictor of overall learner satisfaction in a text‐based medium. The stepwise regression analysis converged on a three‐predictor model revealing that social presence (the degree to which a person is perceived as “real” in mediated communication), student perception of having equal opportunity to participate, and technical skills accounted for about 68% of the explained variance. Social presence alone contributed about 60% of this variance, suggesting that it may be a very strong predictor of satisfaction. Reliability data on the social presence scale is provided. The results also indicated that participants who felt a higher sense of social presence enhanced their socio‐emotional experience by using emoticons to express missing nonverbal cues in written form. These findings have implications for designing academic computer conferences where equal attention must be paid to desig...

Social presence as a predictor of satisfaction within a computer‐mediated conferencing environment

Instructional media such as computer conferencing engender high levels of student-student and student-teacher interaction; therefore, they can support models of teaching and learning that are highly interactive and consonant with the communicative ideals of university education. This potential and the ubiquity of computer conferencing in higher education prompted three of the authors of the this article to develop a community of inquiry model that synthesizes pedagogical principles with the inherent instructional and access benefits of computer conferencing (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000). This article explicates one element of the model, social presence. Social presence is defined as the ability of learners to project themselves socially and affectively into a community of inquiry. A template for assessing social presence in computer conferencing is presented through content analysis of conferencing transcripts. To facilitate explication of the scheme and subsequent replication of this study, selections of coded transcripts are included, along with interrater reliability figures. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications and benefits of assessing social presence for instructors, conference moderators, and researchers.

Les medias educatifs, tel le forum electronique, sont susceptibles d'engendrer un niveau eleve d'interaction entre les etudiants et entre le tuteur et chaque etudiant; par consequent, ils peuvent soutenir des modeles d'enseignement et d'apprentissage qui mettent en valeur l'interaction et qui sont compatibles avec les ideaux communicationnels d'une education universitaire. Ce potentiel, ainsi que l'ubiquite du forum asynchrone dans l'education superieure, ont mene trois des auteurs de cet article a developper un modele de communaute de recherche qui resume les principes pedagogiques applicables au forum electronique en incluant les benefices que l'enseignement peut en retirer et les avantages relatifs a l'accessibilite (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000). Cet article explique un element du modele : la presence sociale. On y definit la presence sociale comme la capacite des apprenants de se projeter sur le plan social et emotionnel dans une communaute de recherche. On y decrit un gabarit utilise pour evaluer la presence sociale lors d'une analyse de contenu de transcriptions de forums electroniques. Afin d'aider la comprehension des modalites d'evaluation et de faciliter la reproduction subsequente de cette etude, un echantillonnage de transcriptions codees ainsi que les baremes de fiabilite inter-evaluateurs sont fournis. L'article se termine par une discussion des consequences et des avantages de l'evaluation de la presence sociale du point de vue des formateurs, des animateurs de conference et des chercheurs.

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Assessing Social Presence In Asynchronous Text-based Computer Conferencing

Research has demonstrated that social presence not only affects outcomes but also student, and possibly instructor, satisfaction with a course [1]. Teacher immediacy behaviors and the presence of others are especially important issues for those involved in delivering online education. This study explored the role of social presence in online learning environments and its relationship to students’ perceptions of learning and satisfaction with the instructor. The participants for this study were students who completed Empire State College’s (ESC) online learning courses in the spring of 2000 and completed the end of semester course survey (n=97). A correlational design was utilized. This study found that students with high overall perceptions of social presence also scored high in terms of perceived learning and perceived satisfaction with the instructor. Students’ perceptions of social presence overall, moreover, contributed significantly to the predictor equation for students’ perceived learning overall. Gender accounted for some of the variability of students’ overall perception of social presence, while age and number of college credits earned did not account for any of the variability.

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Examining social presence in online courses in relation to students' perceived learning and satisfaction

This paper examines research on social presence theory and the implications for analyzing interaction, communication, collaborative learning, and the social context of computermediated communication (CMC). Two studies that examined whether social presence is largely an attribute of the communication medium or users’ perception of the medium are discussed. It can be concluded from the results that even though CMC is considered to be a medium that is low in social context cues, it can be perceived as interactive, active, interesting, and stimulating by conference participants. However, it is the kind of interactions that take place between the participants, and the sense of community that is created during the conference, that will impact participants’ perceptions of CMC as a “social” medium. Therefore, the impetus falls upon the moderators of computer conferences to create a sense of online community in order to promote interaction and collaborative learning.

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Social Presence Theory and Implications for Interaction and Collaborative Learning in Computer Conferences

This experimental study examined the effects of teacher self-disclosure via Facebook on anticipated college student motivation, affective learning, and classroom climate. Participants who accessed the Facebook website of a teacher high in self-disclosure anticipated higher levels of motivation and affective learning and a more positive classroom climate. In their responses to open-ended items, participants emphasized possible negative associations between teacher use of Facebook and teacher credibility. Participants offered recommendations for teachers regarding the use of Facebook and other weblog services.

/pdf/i-ll-see-you-on-facebook-the-effects-of-computer-mediated-cdpm9a5wcj.pdf

I'll See You On “Facebook”: The Effects of Computer-Mediated Teacher Self-Disclosure on Student Motivation, Affective Learning, and Classroom Climate

Two studies investigated the relationship between teacher immediacy and student state motivation and the combined impact of these factors on learning. Study One participants completed all instruments based on a preceding class. The scales were randomly split between students in Study Two who completed them based on an intact class. Correlations revealed significant relationships between learning and both immediacy and motivation. Regression analyses indicated both unique and colinear predictability of learning by nonverbal immediacy and state motivation. Immediacy appears to modify motivation which leads to increased learning. Important implications of Study Two data indicate relationships observed in earlier research were not a simple function of confounding when scores were reported by the same subjects completing multiple instruments.

Diane M. Christophel

Papers

The relationships among teacher immediacy behaviors, student motivation, and learning