Implications Of Social Presencefor Online Learning: A Case Study Of Mls Students

摘要

Student perceptions of online learning suggest a struggle between their desire for traditional classroom experiences and the outcomes of online classes. Social presence is a predictor of satisfaction with online learning. This grounded theory case study of library and information science graduate students provides insight into the need to better understand social presence in online learning environments. Results indicate that factors impacting online social context and online communication and interactivity are: effective dialog, well-structured interactions, ease of use, and transparency in computer-mediated interactions. Student voices in this study indicate that person-to-person awareness is a struggle in the online course environment and point out a need for some combination of face-to-face and Web-based instruction to make online courses more effective in support of learning and more satisfying to students.