Learning in the Online Classroom: Exploring the Unique Influence of Social Presence Dimensions

ABSTRACT

Exploring social presence could help create socially rich learning experiences in an online learning environment. To better understand social presence in online education, the present study conducted an online survey with 430 undergraduate students in the U.S. during the time of the COVID 19 pandemic in 2020. Results from an EFA (Exploratory Factor Analysis) reveal a five-dimensional measurement of social presence in the online learning context, social richness, co-presence, actor within a medium, passive interpersonal, community within a medium. When examining how each dimension plays a role in learning experiences, results from the multiple linear regression analysis of this study suggest that social richness and co-presence are positively associated with cognitive learning, and social richness and co-presence are positively associated with affective learning. Unexpectedly, the data indicate that actor within a medium is negatively associated with cognitive and affective learning experiences. Additionally, social richness and community within a medium are positively associated with motivation to learn. Overall, the study’s findings suggest the importance of studying the multidimensional aspects of social presence because each dimension could have different roles in online learning.

KEYWORDS:

• Social presence
• online learning
• multidimensional social presence
• distance learning

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hocheol Yang

Hocheol Yang (Ph.D., Temple University) is an Assistant Professor in the Graphic Communication Department and a director of Digital Imaging for Virtual Environment Lababtory and Studio (DIVE Lab & Studio) at California Polytechnic State University. Dr Yang’s research interests include immersive media and communication technology, with a focus on motivational effects and processes of telepresence in media psychology.

Jihyun Kim

Jihyun Kim (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) is an Associate Professor in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media at the University of Central Florida. Her primary research focuses on the effects and implications of new media/communication technologies for meaningful outcomes (e.g., health, education). Her research also examines human-machine communication in diverse contexts, with a particular interest in the role of machine agents (e.g., AI, robots) and how humans perceive them.

Stephanie Kelly

Dr. Stephanie Kelly is a Professor in the Department of Business Information Systems and Analytics at North Carolina A&T State University. Her research focuses on presence variables and information behavior.

Kelly Merrill Jr

Kelly Merrill Jr. (M.A., University of Central Florida) is a doctoral candidate in the School of Communication at The Ohio State University in the U.S. His primary research interests are at the intersection of communication technology and health communication. In particular, he is interested in stigmatization, marginalization, and disparities in both technological and health domains. Further, his research investigates the use of communication technologies for social, physical, and mental health benefits.