Northwest eLearn 2016 Keynote

Revisiting Presence &
Community in the Online
Classroom
Patrick R. Lowenthal
@plowenthal
slides @ patricklowenthal.com

A Bit about Me
Associate Professor @ Boise State
educator
researcher
designer
developer

{ what are you working on these days? }
{ what are you most excited about? }

HISTORY OF SOCIAL PRESENCE

Social Presence Theory
• Communications Studies Group at the
University College in London in the 1970s
• Short, J.A., Williams, E., & Christie, B.
(1976). The social psychology of
telecommunications. New York: John
Wiley & Sons.
6

Social Presence Theory
Social presence is the
degree of salience (i.e.,
quality or state of
being there) between
two communicators
using a communication
medium.

Less Social Presence More Social Presence

Focused on 1-on-1

1980’s & CMC
Cuelessness Theory
developed by Rutter (1984, 1987)
Media Richness Theory
developed by Daft & Lengel
(1984, 1986; Daft, Lengel, &
Trevino, 1987)

EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL PRESENCE

Timeline
1970 1976 1979 1984 1992 1995 1999

Phase Period Key Figures Focus of Research
1. 1970s Short et al. Focused on
Telecommunications
2. 1980s to early
1990s
Rutter
Daft & Lengel
Kiesler
Walther
Focused on CMC
3. Early 1990s to
early 2000s
Gunarwardena
Garrison et al.
Tu
Swan
Richardson
Focused on Online
Learning
4. Mid 2000s to
present
Garrison
Shea
Cleveland-Innes
Akyol
Swan
Richardson
Focused on Online
Learning & the CoI

Affective Communication
• Expression of emotions
• Use of humor
• Self-disclosure
Cohesive Communication
• Continuing a thread
• Quoting from others’ messages
• Referring explicitly to other’s messages
• Asking questions
• Complimenting, expressing
appreciation
• Expressing agreement
Interactive Communication
• Vocatives
• Refers to group using inclusive
pronouns
• Phatics, salutations
+

Focused on Many-to-Many

Problem
“Researchers of social presence cannot
agree upon a single definition of social
presence (Biocca & Harms, 7 2002; Biocca,
Harms, & Burgoon, 2003; Rettie, 2003;
Lane, 2011; Tu, 2002)
Instead, researchers continue to redefine
social presence (Lowenthal, 2010; Picciano,
2002)”

Examples
• “the ability of learners to project
themselves socially and emotionally as
well as their ability to perceive other
learners as “real people””(Boston et al.)
• “the degree to which participants in
computer-mediated communication feel
affectively connected one to another…
(Swan, Garrison, & Richardson, 2009).”

Definitions…
1. “the degree to which a person is perceived as a
‘real person’ in mediated communication”
(Gunawardena, 1995, p. 151)
2. the ability of learners to project themselves
socially and affectively into a community of inquiry
(Rourke et al., 1999)
3. “…the degree of feeling, perception, and reaction
of being connected by CMC” (Tu & McIsaac,
2002)
4. “…a student’s sense of being in and belonging in
a course and the ability to interact with other
students and an instructor” (Picciano, 2002, p. 22)

Garrison
“the ability of participants
to identify with the
community (e.g., course
of study), communicate
purposefully in a trusting
environment, and
develop inter-personal
relationships by way of
projecting their individual
personalities” (Garrison,
2009, p. 352).
“the ability of participants
in the Community of
Inquiry to project their
personal characteristics
into the community,
thereby presenting
themselves to the other
participants as ``real
people.'’ (Garrison et al.,
1999)

Emotional Nonemotional
Connection Nonconnection
Community Noncommunity
An Individual Real Person

Common Elements
BelongingReal There Connection

Social
Presence
Learning
Community
=

Building Community
Interaction Social
Presence
Collaboration Community

IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY

Birth of an Idea?
1991

1998
Birth of an Idea?
1991

“Communities of practice are groups of
people who share a concern or a passion
for something they do and learn how to
do it better as they interact regularly”
Etienne Wenger

Etienne Wenger
“Communities of practice are groups of
people who share a concern or a passion
for something they do and learn how to
do it better as they interact regularly”

Obsessed with an Idea

Theoretical Support
Increased focus on importance of
community in learning environments
(Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 1999; Brown
& Campione, 1994; Hill, 1985)

ONLINE LEARNING COMMUNITIES

What does
a learning
community
look like?

What does
a learning
community
look like?
This?

What does
a learning
community
look like?
Or this?

What does
an online
learning
community
look like?

What does
an online
learning
community
look like?
This?

CoI’s Perspective

Bounded Communities
Participation is required
Don’t choose classmates or instructor
Fixed length of time
Explicit effort to connect with others
(Wilson et al., 2004)

BENEFITS OF ONLINE COMMUNITY

Popular Books

Benefits of Community
Provide a
social context
for the material
Bridge
between
school & work
environments
Students feel
more
connected
within a
community
(Wilson et al., 2004)

Where to Begin???
Student-to-student Interaction & presence
Student-to-teacher Interaction & presence
Collaboration

Learners Are Diverse

Privilege Certain Types

{ When is there too much? }

Quality Matters

{ When is there not enough? }

Good Instruction
Effective instruction meets established
learning goals and objectives;
Efficient instruction does so with minimal
expenditure of resources, particularly time;
Appealing instruction draws the sustained
attention and positive response of learners
(Wilson, Parrish, & Veletsianos, 2008)

Engagement
While appeal suggests merely the ability to
draw learners to the experience (a
unidirectional force), engagement suggests
a reciprocating relationship that changes the
nature of the experience. Rather than just
being sufficiently attracted to pay attention,
learners invest creative effort and emotional
commitment—and a willingness to risk in
anticipation of valued outcomes.

Good Instruction
• Effective
• Efficient
• Engaging
(Wilson, Parrish, & Veletsianos, 2008)

{ Obsession w/ Outcomes }

{ Not enough focus on
engagement }

{ Be Better than QM }

CONTACT ME
Patrick Lowenthal
patricklowenthal@boisestate.edu
www.patricklowenthal.com

Northwest eLearn 2016 Keynote

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