Karen Kear (2010)
Social presence in online learning communities.
In: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Networked Learning
http:/www.networkedlearningconference.org.uk/
Introduction
Forums have drawbacks as well as benefits ‘ learners can find online environments impersonal, resulting in low levels of engagement and participation, and hence less effective learning’ Such feeling have been accredited to a lack of social presence which the author claims is due to the lack of body language and the delays between messages.
‘Time lag makes decision-making particularly difficult ‘( Sproull & Keisler, 1991 p 69)
Social presence as an important concept
P3 ‘ In the literature on online communication these social issues are often conceptualised as relating to a lack of social presence’
p3 If there is social presence , participants feel that they are communicating with real people, even though the communication is mediated by communication technologies ( Lombard and Ditton, 1997).
“Social presence means creating a climate that supports and encourages probing questions, skepticism and the contribution of more explanatory ideas’ ( Garrison & Anderson, 2003).
Author reviews both the work that implies it is the technology rather than the way in which the technology is adapted that influences the level of social presence and also the view that it is the way that learners adapt to the technology and quotes Swan (2002) ‘participants in online discussions make up for the lack of affective communication channels by engaging in a greater number of verbal immediacy behaviors’, p43 ( nb Swan used the Rourke social presence template ).
Based on Haythornthwaite et al’s (2000) research of using online and blended learning ( initial face –to-face boot camp) followed by study using asynchronous and synchronous communication, this author identified that
· A way of visualizing each other when they are online (photos, bios)
· The additional use of synchronous communication ( greater sense of shared context)
could benefit the online learners experience with text based forums.
Method
OU, 9 month course, ICT.
· Access to whole cohort ( > 1000)
· Tutor group ( 20)
· Small group forums (4-8) for assessed group projects.
Interviewed 10 students ( 5 male, 5 female) ( doesn’t say how selected or whether the interview was about experience in small groups or how long they were in small groups)
P6
Issues mentioned included
· The need to get to know something about each other
· The benefits of real time communication
When discussing problems they included
· Tone of some messages,
· Students who dominated forums
· Messages could be easily misconstrued
· Time lags between posting a message and getting a response
· Difficulty of contacting other students if they did not respond to messages
· History function as providing a degree of awareness of others’ activities
· P6 “ a number of students mentioned the value of member profiles and real-time communication’. P7 ‘several students also mentioned the possibility of web-cam or voice interaction’
Interesting comment from one student ‘it does take time to feel part of a group of real people, not computer-generated answers. But it does happen, especially if you ask for and receive or give help’
