Proving You Are Not A Dog

Anonymity?

Social Presence

Social Presence

• "Salience of the other" (Short, Williams, & Christie, 1976)
• "The degree to which a person is perceived as a 'real person' in mediated communication" (Gunawardena & Zittle, 1997)
• "Media Richness View" vs. "Relational View"

Does Medium Matter?

Why would high levels of social presence be desirable in an online course?

High social presence leads to:

• Higher levels of interaction
• Greater sense of trust
• Stronger feelings of community
• Higher levels of student satisfaction
• Knowing...and being known!

Social Presence and Teaching Presence

"Designing social learning is more like building the theater than acting in the play."
(Horton, 2012)

Ideas and Suggestions

Ice-Breakers

Online Video

Coffee Shop

Social Media

Consider "Happy Hour"

"Eat Your Own Dog Food"