The Evolution of Social Presence: Longitudinal Network Analysis of Students' Peer Influence in Online Learning (Poster 41)

• In Event: Promising Scholarship in Education Research: Dissertation Fellows and Their Research

Abstract

Social presence, the ability to perceive others and project oneself in an online environment as real, positively influences the motivation, satisfaction, retention and learning outcomes of online students. Although it is crucial for successful online learning experiences, little work has thoroughly examined the evolution of social presence over time and the influence of social presence on peer interaction. In other words, if social presence can be learned by interacting with others. This study elucidates this gap by answering the overarching question: How does the evolution of online students’ social presence over time shape their online learning behaviors? Using a stochastic-actor oriented model to reflect the dependence among learners in online collaborative learning communities, this study investigated how learners’ social presence spreads in an online network of students over three consecutive courses (n = 197). Although there is no evidence of social influence, online learners who nominated more peers are more likely to report higher levels of social presence over time. Students were not more likely to share with those who showed similar levels of social presence. The “rich-get-richer effect” was observed in the incoming nominations of learners. The findings of this study improve educational practice by identifying behaviors that harm online social presence and providing specific actions for online instructors and instructional designers to promote social presence in online learning. This three-article dissertation includes two additional studies that explore social presence through clickstream interaction and identify social presence patterns that support knowledge construction in online learning. 

Author

• Daniela Castellanos-Reyes, North Carolina State University
  Presenting Author