Creating a Sense of Presence

 

Creating a sense of online presence enhances instructor-learner and learner-learner relationships. Our definition of online presence is "being there" and "being together" before, during, and at the end of the online experience. Since presence is not a thing but a process, it has a "look" and "feel." Presence looks and feels as though the instructor has placed the learner at the center of the course development and created the course for the learner. It looks and feels as though the instructor is accessible to the learners, the learners are accessible to the instructor and other learners, and the technology is transparent to the learning process.

 

Online presence is created through developing awareness, understanding, involvement through experience, and intentional planning and design throughout the course. Presence helps to break down feelings of isolation, involves participants in the learning process, brings learners together in a virtual community, and is key to learner retention.  

Online presence is more than engagement and includes the dynamic interplay of thought, emotion, and behavior as instructor and learners consciously and unconsciously experience both the real world and the online environment.

Why is it important to understand presence when creating and designing online courses?

 

As the Internet evolves in an informal social direction (Internet-based social networking tools), it points to the importance of creating a sense of presence in the more formal setting of teaching and learning online. Understanding presence and how to create and design presence for online courses is “key.”

There is a difference between creating informal social presence for Facebook, Twitter, and other social media and creating presence for online courses. In the more informal setting, we create presence spontaneously. In the more formal setting of online courses, we need to make a concerted effort to be aware of the intentions of others and their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. We need to use a systematic approach and “intentionally design.” 

Research on co-presence and social interaction

Our interest in the concept of presence is particularly focused on the online environment. However. we are open to perspectives from different fields such as sociology, anthropology, and psychology, among others. In one of our presentations, a colleague mentioned the work of Erving Goffman. Goffman's work centers on social interactions and the meaning of co-presence in the face-to-face world.  His work explores the social organization of gathering and the presentation of self in everyday life. These concepts relate to our work on creating online presence. In the online environment, "being there" and "being together with others" is based on co-presence when individuals are interacting with each other.  We are only beginning to learn about Goffman's work and would like to explore more his concepts of co-presence and social interaction, and how they relate to the online environment. Our blog is open for anyone to chime in about this topic.

 

Goffman, E. (2021). The presentation of self in everyday life. Anchor.

Does teaching online benefit face-to-face teaching?

From our own experience and the experience of instructors who we have worked with, we have learned that the instructors often bring the online teaching skills back into the face-to-face classroom. Why does it happen? Because while designing online instruction, they had to think in detail about their own teaching strategies and techniques, philosophy, and relationship with the learners. They also realized how important it is to intentionally plan for interaction. In other words, instructors start thinking about face-to-face presence from a different perspective. 

Does presence mean being constantly online?

 

This is what people usually think. They feel that teaching online they need to be connected 24/7. This need not be the case. It all depends on how the instructor designs and manages the course. Many elements of the course can determine presence such as type and focus of the content, the course format (group-based, self-paced, or a mix), the interactive strategies, the instructor's role, the technology used, and the support (instructional and technical) provided for the learners. How you manage these course elements as part of your task as an instructor will affect how much time you spend online.

Role of Instructor’s Presence in an Online Course

 

What is the role of instructor's presence in an online course? 

Depending on how the course is designed, the role of the instructor may span from facilitator to catalyst, observer, mentor, or evaluator among others. These roles are dynamic and can be carried out as you see the need. For example, in the beginning of the course, you may take the role of a facilitator to assist students in processing their learning. While towards the end of the course, you may take the roles of observer and evaluator as participants become more independent and complete final course assignments.

Multiple Tool Options for Creating Presence

 

How does using multiple tools (Facebook, LMS, blog, twitter) affect the sense of presence? Is it better to use fewer or more? 

Different tools are used for different purposes. For example, the social media tools such as blog, Twitter, and Facebook, can be used for creating social presence in a public and open environment. The Learning Management System (LMS) is a close environment where you place the elements of your course in a structured way that makes it easy to manage. Before selecting a tool, it is important to keep in mind the purpose for using it. You may use Twitter for sending short weekly course announcements. You may use a blog for journaling or sharing information that require comments. We have heard that often students continue communicating in Facebook after a course or program is over as a way to continue to feel present with each other.

Impact of Technology in Our Lives

 

Today there are many benefits of the use of technology in our lives. There are also limitations. Our concern is how these limitations can impact our learning and our every day’s lives. When a new technology is created, we usually have a very specific use in mind. But as technology evolves and we take advantage of its potential, we also need to consider its limitations. Technology can become more than we had initially thought it would be. For example, a cell phone was originally developed to be used as a mobile phone. Today, a cell phone does almost anything -- we can use it as a camera, email device, calculator, or GPS system; we can use it to access the Internet and the latest news through alerts; and so on.  

One of the limitations of technology is that as individuals, we tend to behave differently when using it. For instance, people tend to reveal things about themselves that they would not reveal if they were in a normal real-life situation. This type of behavior has been evident in television interviews and sharing information on social networking sites such as Facebook or YouTube. We are puzzled about why people behave this way because the impact in our lives can be detrimental when using technology without being aware of its consequences. This lack of awareness is because the technology is elusive. 

• How can people become more aware of ways in which technology impacts their behavior? 
• How can people put this awareness into practice? 
• How can this practice benefit people's lives?

Framework for Designing Online Courses with a Sense of Presence

Designing an online course with a sense of presence requires understanding of the multifaceted concept of presence. For presence to be integrated into the design of an online course, it is important to understand the “Being There for the Online Learner” model, which was addressed in another episode, and use a framework for designing online courses with a sense of presence. This episode unpacks the Framework for Designing Online Courses with a Sense of Presence. 

• How do you design your online courses to create a sense of presence?
• What role(s) do you take when teaching online courses? 
• What type of instructor presence do you incorporate into your online course design?

Listen to Podcast

 

Conversations about Online Teaching and Learning Episode 12 Transcript

Ways in Which Presence Can Be Experienced

 

Presence is complex and elusive, and not easy to understand. We developed the “Being There for the Online Learner” model to make presence more concrete. The model is based on the perceptual systems and takes into consideration the dimensions of the learner, the types of experience, and the modes of presence. This episode focuses on the model and ways in which presence can be experienced in the online environment. Join in the virtual discussion and share your experiences with creating presence in your online courses.

Based on the book, Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching: How to “Be There” for Distance Learners.

• What objective experiences do you include in your online courses?
• What subjective experiences do you include in your online courses?
• How do you engage your learners in your online courses to create a sense of presence?

 

Listen to Podcast 

 Conversations about Online Teaching and Learning Episode 11 Transcript