DEVELOPING SOCIAL PRESENCE IN ONLINE CLASSROOMS

KIMBERLY M. HARRISON, ABD – INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY

ELMHURST COLLEGE / NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

ICCHE – FEBRUARY 2015

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AGENDA

What is social presence? How do we recognize it?

Facilitating the development of social presence: Instructional practices

Facilitating the development of social presence: Overview of 25 tools

Poll: Which tools would you like to know more about?

(More) in-depth discussion of 3 tools

Q&A / Your tools, tips, & tricks

WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THIS?

Independent…

but not lonely

ONLINE STUDENTS

Photo from FreeDigitalPhotos.com, created by jscreationzs

Students love the flexibility, but are often surprised at the difficulty

of the class, & how much they miss interaction.

SOCIAL PRESENCE “Degree of salience of the other person in the interaction

and the consequent salience of the interpersonal relationships” (Short et al., 1976)

“When users feel that a form, behavior, or sensory experience indicates the presence of another intelligence” (Biocca, 1997)

“Person-to-person awareness, which occurs in a mediated environment” (Tu, 2002)

“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)

(Gunawardena, 1995)

SOCIAL PRESENCE THEORY

HOWEVER…

“[T]he first priority for most students in a formal educational context

is shared social identity (i.e., the purpose of the course), and not

personal identity” (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2010, p. 7)

Social presence develops when learners have a chance to develop a

trusting environment to explore course goals together (Garrison,

Anderson, & Archer, 2010)

SPT’S BENEFITS

TOOL #1:

ASYNCHRONOUS ONLINE DISCUSSIONS

(MOST OF THIS APPLIES TO SYNCHRONOUS DISCUSSIONS, TOO)

HOW DO WE RECOGNIZE SOCIAL PRESENCE?

Participation

Greetings

Conversational tone

Humor

Emoticons & metalinguistic

cues: <grin>

Inclusive pronouns (“we”)

Questions / invitations to comment

Supportive remarks / positive feedback

Requests for, or offers of, help

Links to personal experiences / sharing stories

HOW DO WE FACILITATE SOCIAL PRESENCE?

HOW TO FACILITATE SOCIAL PRESENCE?

Participate! (Encourage, model)

Greetings

Conversational tone

Humor

Emoticons & metalinguistic cues

<grin>

Inclusive pronouns (“we”)

Questions / invitations to comment

Supportive remarks / positive feedback

Requests for, or offers of, help

Links to personal experiences / sharing stories

Also: Make sure students know how to use the tech tools

DIRECT INSTRUCTION & INSTRUCTOR MODELING

Teach to avoid overuse, too

(Tu, 2002)

Reporting = summarizing X

Reacting

Visceral response

In student’s own voice

Describes anything confusing or contradictory in X

Reflecting

Connecting prior assumptions and expectations to X

Personal impact of X

HOW TO FACILITATE SOCIAL PRESENCE?ENCOURAGING REFLECTION (CHAPNICK, 2014)

Critical thinking in original posts should lead to

enhanced discussion / more social presence throughout.

OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY

TOOLS FOR FACILITATING SOCIAL PRESENCE

7 WAYS TEACHERS CAN USE TECHNOLOGY WITH PURPOSE INFOGRAPHIC

BY A.J. JULIANI

USING TECHNOLOGY & SOCIAL PRESENCE

Reflect & share

Collaborate in real time

Make something that matters

#1

#2#3

#4

USING TECHNOLOGY & SOCIAL PRESENCE

Reflect & share

Collaborate in real time

Make something that matters

COLLABORATE WITH GOOGLE DOCS / SHEETS / SLIDES / DRIVE

2. This Google Sheet has hyperlinks for the tools we are

going to discuss: http://bit.ly/1LQHX7a (Note: This one can only be edited by me.)

3. Here is a Google Doc that you can add to, edit, etc.:

http://bit.ly/1zDo0KJ

#4: VOICETHREAD ($99 / YEAR)

#5: COGGLE

COLLABORATE WITH…

6. Skype / Google+ Hangouts

Students can chat with each other using just audio or audio / video

7. Glide

Asynchronous video messaging

USING TECHNOLOGY & SOCIAL PRESENCE

Reflect & share

Collaborate in real time

Make something that matters

Shared course

identity:

Icebreakers: Yay!

Random stories in week 5: Boo!

#8: STRAWPOLL.ME

Take the

survey! The link is in the Google Doc,

2nd page!

#9: GOOGLE FORMS

#10: ANIMOTO

#11: VOKI

#12: TWITTER

Recommendation: Make a separate account for each class

Students share online resources (web pages, videos)

Teach them about shortened URLS: bit.ly.com or tinyurl.com

Twitter widget can be added into some LMSs for students

who don’t want to create a Twitter account

WE NOW INTERRUPT THIS PRESENTATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS….

#13: ALTERNATIVES TO TERM PAPERS

Lawrence University (Appleton, WI) Library

AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PRESENTATION OF

INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS….

#14: FACEBOOK

Some instructors become Facebook friends with students; some are very much opposed to this (pros/cons)

(Closed) Facebook groups: Effective for creating a community; separates personal from classroom

More likely to post socially here than in an ungraded discussion

Can be used to share online resources or responses to an academic activity

Your college / university may have a Groups for Schools page

#15: CEL.LY

#16: KAHOOT!

#17: SOCRATIVE

DIPSTICKS: EFFICIENT WAYS TO CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

EDUTOPIAFINLEY, T. (2014, JULY 30)

USING TECHNOLOGY & SOCIAL PRESENCE

Reflect & share

Collaborate in real time

Make something that matters

Reporting = summarizing X

Reacting

Visceral response

In student’s own voice

Describes anything confusing or contradictory in X

Reflecting

Connecting prior assumptions and expectations to X

Personal impact of X

HOW TO FACILITATE SOCIAL PRESENCE?ENCOURAGING REFLECTION (CHAPNICK, 2014)

Critical thinking in original posts should lead to

enhanced discussion / more social presence throughout.

#18: DIPITY

#19: BLOGGER

#20: WEEBLY

#21: WIKISPACES CLASSROOM

#22: TARHEEL READER

Invitation code:

Literacy!

#23: PIXTON ($8.99+/MONTH)

#24: POSTER MY WALL

#25: EASEL.LY: INFOGRAPHICS

Let’s go see some infographics!

WHICH TOOLS WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT?

ICCHE2015

http://bit.ly/1KGczGZ

Link to Examples

HOPEFULLY YOU WILL PICK 1 OR 2 OF THESE IDEAS TO TRY OUT EITHER THIS SEMESTER OR

NEXT…

“It is not about the technology; it’s about sharing

knowledge and information, communicating

efficiently, building learning communities and

creating a culture of professionalism in schools.

These are the key responsibilities of all

educational leaders”. – Marion Ginapolis

http://teachbytes.com/2012/03/01/10-educational-technology-quotes/

REFERENCES & RESOURCES

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Barker, J. (2013). 40+ ways to innovate teaching using Glogster EDU. Retrieved from http://blog.edu.glogster.com/2013/05/13/40_ways_to_innovative_teaching_using_glogster_edu

Biocca, F. (1997). The cyborg’s dilemma: Progressive embodiment in virtual environments. Journal of Computer-mediated Communication, 3(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.1997.tb00070.x

Brandon. (2013, April 3). Just Coggle.it! Education Technology Magazine. http://www.edutechmag.org/2013/04/03/just-coggle-it/

Buck, T.E. (2013, October 18). The awesome power of gaming in higher education. EdTech. http://www.edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2013/10/awesome-power-gaming-higher-education

Chapnick, A. (2014, November 11). Reporting, reacting, and reflecting: Guidelines for journal writing. Faculty Focus. http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/reporting-reacting-reflecting-guidelines-journal-writing/

EduCause Learning Initiative. (2009). 7 things you should know about...VoiceThread. http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eli7050.pdf

REFERENCES & RESOURCES

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Garrison, D.R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2-3), 87-105.

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REFERENCES & RESOURCES

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Karchmer-Klein, R. & Shinas, V. (2014). Teaching with Glogster: Using virtual posters in the classroom. http://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategy-guides/teaching-with-glogster-using-30790.html

Lepi, K. (2012, August 19). 10 fun tools to easily make your own infographics. Edudemic. http://www.edudemic.com/diy-infographics/

Mollett, A., Moran, D., & Dunleavy, P. (2011). Using Twitter in university research, teaching and impact activities: A guide for academics and researchers. LSE Public Policy Group. http://www.urosario.edu.co/CGTIC/Documentos/Twitter_Guide_Sept_2011.pdf

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REFERENCES & RESOURCES

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REFERENCES & RESOURCES

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CONTACT INFO:

KIMBERLY M. HARRISON

CURRICULUM DEVELOPER

ELMHURST COLLEGE

KIMBERLY.HARRISON@ELMHURST.EDU

630-617-5998