Creating Online Perceptual Presence

One question that is commonly asked by online instructors is "how can I create presence when I'm actually separated from my learners?" We believe that creating presence is based on creating a "perception" of presence. Online presence isn't actual but rather perceptual. To help better visualize perceptual presence we have created "The Being There for the Online Learner Model" (Lehman & Conceição, 2010) that we then embed in a design framework. First, let’s look at the model. 

 

Think of the model as a cylinder containing three cylinders. We’re going to build the cylinder from the core to the outside.

 

1. Starting with the core cylinder – the learner and the learner’s perceptual process (the Who) which includes the dynamic interplay of thought, emotion, and behavior. The dark line at the edge of the cylinder represents the interface of the learner’s inner world with the concrete world.

2. The second cylinder corresponds to the types of learner experiences (the What) that learners are involved with:

a.  objective – psychological and physical (students have reported to us that there are times when they actually felt that the technology disappeared and that we were all in the same room);

b.  subjective – personal and psychological (communicating on Skype and during electronic office hours).

c.  social (working in groups or teams or using social networks).

d.  environmental (having easy access through technology and being able to add to or change the distance learning environment); or a combination of more than one of these.

3.  The third cylinder illustrates the modes of presence (the How) that can be created for the learner –

a.  realism (matching activities to activities that will be used in the learner's physical world).

b.  involvement (involving learners in the wide variety of discussions and activities that can be created online).

c.  immersion (using immersive software and activities like Second Life).

d.  suspension of disbelief (suspending our belief concerning the implausibility of a book, movie, so on). Note the blurred line between the two types of experience and modes of presence - these two cylinders blend into each other and occur in combination with each other.)

4.  The outer cylinder, (the Where) again rimmed by a darker line, is the physical world as the learner connects to the online environment. 

 

The Being There for the Online Learner Model is an integral part of our "Framework for Creating a Sense of Presence." We'll focus on the framework in our next week's posting.

 

Reference

Lehman, R. M. & Conceição, S. C. O. (2010). Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching: How to “Be There” for Distance Learners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.