TY - JOUR
T1 - Social presence and online discussions
T2 - a mixed method investigation
AU - Lowenthal, Patrick R.
AU - Dunlap, Joanna C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia, Inc.
PY - 2020/10/1
Y1 - 2020/10/1
N2 - Researchers have been investigating social presence in online learning for decades. However, despite this continued research, questions remain about the nature and development of social presence. The purpose of this mixed method exploratory case study was to investigate how social presence is established in online discussion forums in an asynchronous online course. The results suggest that social presence is more complicated than previously thought. In particular, situational variable such as group size, instructional task, and previous relationships influence how social presence is established and maintained in online courses. In the following paper, we report the results of our inquiry and the implications for further research and practice.
AB - Researchers have been investigating social presence in online learning for decades. However, despite this continued research, questions remain about the nature and development of social presence. The purpose of this mixed method exploratory case study was to investigate how social presence is established in online discussion forums in an asynchronous online course. The results suggest that social presence is more complicated than previously thought. In particular, situational variable such as group size, instructional task, and previous relationships influence how social presence is established and maintained in online courses. In the following paper, we report the results of our inquiry and the implications for further research and practice.
KW - asynchronous online discussions
KW - community of inquiry
KW - mixed method
KW - social presence
KW - text-based discussions
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85094965905&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/01587919.2020.1821603
DO - 10.1080/01587919.2020.1821603
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85094965905
SN - 0158-7919
VL - 41
SP - 490
EP - 514
JO - Distance Education
JF - Distance Education
IS - 4
ER -