1. Using Mobile Apps to Foster
Social Presence in the Online
Classroom
George Engel
Keith Pratt, PhD
Rena Palloff, PhD
2.
3. • 5 billion cell phones in world
• 1 billion internet capable mobile devices
• Online Enrollments include mobile device
users
• What is the impact of mobile tech on the
online learning environment?
4. • “The degree of salience between two communicators”
(Short & Christie, 1976).
• “the person we become when we are
online and how we express that person
in virtual space (Palloff and Pratt, 2007).
Multiple definitions:
5. • Early research began on study of communication medium
• Much modern research centers on the
online environment
• Little research, at this time, on mobile the
mobile environment
6. • Students can participate in coursework without using a desktop
• Mobile tech allows communication to go beyond simple voice
or text based
• Mobile tech is a tether that binds a new
generation of learners together with a
connectedness not possible in previous
generations
7. Mobile technology, with its ultimate connective/communicative
capability, has the potential to enhance the “realness” of
a person’s presence in an online classroom.
8. Social Networks
Social networks are a two edged sword:
• They foster online presence
and build connections
• They can destroy social presence and isolate
an individual from the group
Use of networks within a classroom environment
must be carefully administrated.
Poll Title: Do you currently use mobile technology as part of your curriculum?
http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/MTkzNTcyNjg1Nw
There is not one definition of social presence. I would define it as how perceive myself in relation to others while communicating with others via the online or mobile environment
Poll Title: What mobile apps do you use in your classes?
http://www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls/RjZJ1YfzMzSWq5F
