Explicitly expressing appreciation and agreement as well as complimenting and encouraging others are textual tools for communicating recognition and support. This aspect of social presence is particularly important in a text-based
This was an interesting point to be aware of: the interactions in replying to posts is a way to establish social presence.
CMC users with opportunities for exchange of personal information reduces their feelings of social isolation and allows them to form individualized perceptions of each other.
I can resonate with this concept of self-disclosure especially when self-isolation became society's norm due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Humor, specifically, has been identified as a contributive factor to social presence and subsequently to learning.
I still remember my 9th-grade biology teacher, who used humorous day-to-day situations to help the students learn the subject. That experience makes me believe that when the learning experience is joyful, it positively impacts content retention.
More specifically, they conclude that continual tutor presence, characterized by short messages acknowledging a student's contribution and followed by guidance, increases student activity.
This portion confirms my previous comment.
However, computer conferencing, with its distinct combination of attributes (i.e., asynchronous text-based communication), presents unique challenges to the development of effective teacher presence.
Teaching presence is vital for asynchronous learning. It could be done through regular emails encouraging students to engage in the discussions.
Consistent with this finding, computer-conferencing students were found to be less interactive.
The ability to turn off the cameras during a meeting could contribute to a lower level engagement.
associated with a purposeful and structured educational environment.
I agree that structure is an important component of the online learning experience. I found it difficult to engage in conversation with a group of students if the instructions were simply "share your thoughts" or "give your opinion". In those cases, there were some students who would engage, but the majority would not get involved in the discussion without being prompted.
where it is important that participants find the interaction in the group enjoyable and personally fulfilling so that they will remain in the cohort of learners for the duration of the program), then social presence is a direct contributor to the success of the educational experience.
Social presence is a challenging component especially if students opt to keep their cameras off. A text-based environment, where students post their comments on forums, is a great option to encourage off-line engagement.