CoI

The following articles which focus primarily on the social presence aspect of the Community of Inquiry are listed here in descending publication order (most recent at top).

d’Alessio, M. A., Lundquist, L. L., Schwartz, J. J., Pedone, V., Pavia, J., & Fleck, J. (2019). Social presence enhances student performance in an online geology course but depends on instructor facilitation. Journal of Geoscience Education.

Online courses can feel isolating and sometimes lack human connections that can motivate students. We developed a fully online geoscience course to build a ‘Community of Inquiry’ with attention to cognitive, social, and teaching presences. We ran the course using nearly identical materials for 8 semesters (recorded video lectures, labs, assignments, and assessments). Slight variations in instructor behavior caused profound impacts on student performance, creating a natural experiment to isolate factors that influence student performance. During semesters that instructors sent fewer course announcements and provided less feedback to students, about 50% more students earned D’s and F’s than semesters with frequent interactions. These performance drops correlated with drops in key indicators of social presence such as the number of students who thought the instructor knew their name. We developed an instrument to quantify student perceptions about the strength of student-student and instructor-student connections. An exploratory principal component analysis revealed two underlying constructs that we interpret as social presence and cognitive presence. We found that students with the highest reported social and cognitive presences had overall course grades an average of 12 points higher (out of 100) than those with the lowest presences, when all other factors were equal. Social and cognitive presence had relatively equal effects, but each explained more than 3 times the variance in student performance than the amount of time students reported spending on the course. When instructors build a supportive community with online students and facilitate their interaction around course ideas, student performance benefits.

Poquet, O., Kovanovic, V., de Vries, P., Hennis, T., Joksimovic, S., & Gasevic, D. (2018). Social presence in massive open online courses. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 19(3), 43-68.

Rolima, V., Ferreiraa, R, Linsa, R. D., & Gǎsević, D. (2019). Network-based Analytic Approach to Uncovering the   Relationship between Social and Cognitive Presences in Communities of Inquiry. Internet and Higher Education.

This paper presents a network-based approach to uncovering the relationship between the elements of social and cognitive presences in a community of inquiry. The paper demonstrates how epistemic network analysis (ENA) can provide new qualitative and quantitative insights into the students’ development of social and critical thinking skills in communities of inquiry. More specifically, ENA was used to accomplish three different research goals: i) uncovering links between social and cognitive presences of communities of inquiry; ii) evaluating the effectiveness of two instructional interventions on student experience as measured by connections between cognitive and social presences; and iii) exploring how the relationship between social and cognitive presences changed over time during a course. The proposed approach was applied to the coded transcripts of asynchronous online discussions performed in a fully-online graduate level course. The results of this study showed that indicators of social presence had more association with the exploration and integration phases of cognitive presence. Besides, indicators of the affective category of social presence had stronger links with the two high levels of cognitive presence (i.e., integration and resolution), while indicators of interactive messages of social presence were more connected to the two low levels (triggering events and exploration) of cognitive presence.

Stranach, M. (2017). Social presence in two massive open online courses (MOOCs): A multiple case study (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta.

The purpose of this study was to explore the role social presence plays within two Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) offered by two American institutions of higher education through the Canvas and Ed.X learning software consortia. Social presence is one of three presences that comprise Garrison and colleagues’ Community of Inquiry (CoI) conceptual framework (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000; Garrison, 2013). Descriptive multiple case study methodology was used for the study, with data collected through surveys, individual interviews, focus group interviews, and discussion board postings. Findings show that, while participants in MOOCs felt comfortable expressing themselves “as real people” (a key indicator of social presence), the majority did not view themselves as being part of a community of learners within their respective courses. Overall, in both MOOCs, participants experienced social presence least among the three CoI presences. Participants in both MOOCs experienced social presence as it helped them to realize learning objectives (i.e., to successfully complete their respective courses). Social presence played a supportive role to cognitive presence. Factors affecting social presence included participants’ ability and/or willingness to direct their own learning, types of available technology, availability of time, and depth of course content. There were three implications for practice for MOOC designers and facilitators. The first implication is that leveraging students’ personal interests through course activities and content can help enhance social presence. The second implication is that making more varied use of the features and functionality of learning management software can afford students additional and better opportunities for social interaction. The third implication is that encouraging greater amounts and quality of collaboration through the design of assignments and other assessment and evaluation items can lead to improved social presence, and an enhanced educational experience overall. Further MOOC research should address different kinds of MOOCs than were studied as part of this research, and a greater number of MOOCs, and using different research methodologies, and including greater amounts of MOOC designer and instructor perspectives. Further research on different elements of the CoI model and the areas of overlap among the three CoI presences within MOOCs is also warranted.

Poquet, O., Kovanovic, V., de Vries, P., Hennis, T., Joksimovic, S., & Gasevic, D. (2018). Social presence in massive open online courses. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 19(3), 43-68.

The capacity to foster interpersonal interactions in massive open online courses (MOOCs) has frequently been contested, particularly when learner interactions are limited to MOOC forums. The establishment of social presence – a perceived sense of somebody being present and “real” – is among the strategies to tackle the challenges of online learning and could be applied in MOOCs. Thus far, social presence in MOOCs has been under-researched. Studies that previously examined social presence in MOOCs did not account for the peculiar nature of open online learning. In contrast to the existing work, this study seeks to understand how learners perceive social presence, and the different nuances of social presence in diverse MOOC populations. In particular, we compare perceptions of social presence across the groups of learners with different patterns of forum participation in three edX MOOCs. The findings reveal substantial differences in how learners with varying forum activity perceive social presence. Perceptions of social presence also differed in courses with the varying volume of forum interaction and duration. Finally, learners with sustained forum activity generally reported higher social presence scores that included low affectivity and strong group cohesion perceptions. With this in mind, this study is significant because of the insights into brings to the current body of knowledge around social presence in MOOCs. The study’s findings also raise questions about the effectiveness of transferring existing socio-constructivist constructs into the MOOC contexts.

Stranach, M. (2017). Social presence in two massive open online courses (MOOCs): A multiple case study (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta.  Retrieved September 15, 2018 from: https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/11023/4150

The purpose of this study was to explore the role social presence plays within two Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) offered by two American institutions of higher education through the Canvas and Ed.X learning software consortia. Social presence is one of three presences that comprise Garrison and colleagues’ Community of Inquiry (CoI) conceptual framework (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000; Garrison, 2013). Descriptive multiple case study methodology was used for the study, with data collected through surveys, individual interviews, focus group interviews, and discussion board postings. Findings show that, while participants in MOOCs felt comfortable expressing themselves “as real people” (a key indicator of social presence), the majority did not view themselves as being part of a community of learners within their respective courses. Overall, in both MOOCs, participants experienced social presence least among the three CoI presences. Participants in both MOOCs experienced social presence as it helped them to realize learning objectives (i.e., to successfully complete their respective courses). Social presence played a supportive role to cognitive presence. Factors affecting social presence included participants’ ability and/or willingness to direct their own learning, types of available technology, availability of time, and depth of course content. There were three implications for practice for MOOC designers and facilitators. The first implication is that leveraging students’ personal interests through course activities and content can help enhance social presence. The second implication is that making more varied use of the features and functionality of learning management software can afford students additional and better opportunities for social interaction. The third implication is that encouraging greater amounts and quality of collaboration through the design of assignments and other assessment and evaluation items can lead to improved social presence, and an enhanced educational experience overall. Further MOOC research should address different kinds of MOOCs than were studied as part of this research, and a greater number of MOOCs, and using different research methodologies, and including greater amounts of MOOC designer and instructor perspectives. Further research on different elements of the CoI model and the areas of overlap among the three CoI presences within MOOCs is also warranted.

Turula, A. (2017). The shallows and the depths. Cognitive and social presence in blended tutoring. Technology, Pedagogy and Education. Retrieved September 20, 2017 from: http://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/doi/full/10.1080/1475939X.2017.1370388

Richardson, J. C.,  Maeda, Y., Lv, J., & Caskurlu, S. (2017). Social presence in relation to students’ satisfaction and learning in the online environment: A meta-analysis. Computers in Human Behavior, 71, 402-417.

Social presence, the ability to perceive others in an online environment, has been shown to impact student motivation and participation, actual and perceived learning, course and instructor satisfaction, and retention in online courses; yet very few researchers have attempted to look across contexts, disciplinary areas, or measures of social presence. This meta-analysis allowed us to look across these variables of the primary studies and identify the pattern of student outcomes (e.g., perceived learning and satisfaction) in relation to social presence through scrutiny of differences between the studies. The results showed a moderately large positive average correlation between social presence and satisfaction (r = 0.56, k = 26) and social presence and perceived learning (r = 0.51, k = 26). Large variation among correlations (86.7% for satisfaction and 92.8% for perceived learning, respectively) also indicated systematic differences among these correlations due to online course settings. We found that (a) the strength of the relationship between social presence and satisfaction was moderated by the course length, discipline area, and scale used to measure social presence; and (b) the relationship between social presence and perceived learning was moderated by the course length, discipline area, and target audience of the course. Implications and future research are discussed.

Armellini, A., & De Stefani, M. (2016). Social presence in the 21st century: An adjustment to the Community of Inquiry framework. British Journal of Educational Technology, 47(6), 1202-1216.

The Community of Inquiry framework, originally proposed by Garrison, Anderson and Archer, identifies teaching, social and cognitive presences as central to a successful online educational experience. This paper presents the findings of a study conducted in Uruguay between 2007 and 2010. The research aimed to establish the role of cognitive, social and teaching presences in the professional development of 40 English language teachers on continuous professional development programmes delivered in blended learning settings. The findings suggest that teaching presence and cognitive presence have themselves “become social.” The research points to social presence as a major lever for engagement, sense-making and peer support. Based on the patterns identified in the study, this paper puts forward an adjustment to the Community of Inquiry framework, which shows social presence as more prominent within the teaching and cognitive constructs than the original version of the framework suggests.

Guitierrez-Santiuste, E., & Gallego-Arrufat, M-J. (2017). Type and degree of co-occurrence of the educational communication in a community of inquiry. Interactive Learning Environments, 25(1), 62-71.

The study analyzes the type and quantity of co-occurrence of social, cognitive, and teaching presence in a Community of Inquiry (CoI). Content analysis of the virtual educational communication shows units of analysis that must be assigned to more than one category. By crossing the categories of the CoI model, we observe that Social Presence is involved in all of the crossings and that graphic, linguistic, and paralinguistic elements change the meaning of the communication in the social, cognitive, and teaching interaction. We demonstrate the communicative richness of the educational encounters in which Social Presence interacts with the other elements and draw conclusions about the importance of support for communication in virtual communication. We stress the need to analyze co-occurrences to achieve a full analysis of computer-mediated communication.

Richardson, J. C., Maeda, Y., Lv, J., & Caskurlu, S. (2017). Social presence in relation to students’ satisfaction and learning in the online environment: A meta-analysis. Computers in Human Behavior, 71, 402-417.

Social presence, the ability to perceive others in an online environment, has been shown to impact student motivation and participation, actual and perceived learning, course and instructor satisfaction, and retention in online courses; yet very few researchers have attempted to look across contexts, disciplinary areas, or measures of social presence. This meta-analysis allowed us to look across these variables of the primary studies and identify the pattern of student outcomes (e.g., perceived learning and satisfaction) in relation to social presence through scrutiny of differences between the studies. The results showed a moderately large positive average correlation between social presence and satisfaction (r = 0.56, k = 26) and social presence and perceived learning (r = 0.51, k = 26). Large variation among correlations (86.7% for satisfaction and 92.8% for perceived learning, respectively) also indicated systematic differences among these correlations due to online course settings. We found that (a) the strength of the relationship between social presence and satisfaction was moderated by the course length, discipline area, and scale used to measure social presence; and (b) the relationship between social presence and perceived learning was moderated by the course length, discipline area, and target audience of the course. Implications and future research are discussed.

Weidlich, J., & Bastiaens, T. J. (2017). Explaining social presence and the quality of online learning with the SIPS model. Computers in Human Behavior, 72, 479-487.

The concept of Social Presence is often cited by researchers trying to understand the mechanisms governing beneficial learning climates and interpersonal connections among online learners. However, convoluted definitions and problematic measurements of social presence have made it difficult to understand how exactly social presence and related social variables come to be, hindering the investigation of reliable design recommendations. This study attempts to advance the SIPS (Sociability, Social Interaction, Social Presence, Social Space) model. It shows how these variables are related to each other and to relevant outcome variables like satisfaction. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to assess the predictive capabilities of the model regarding the outcome variables. Results support the notion that a sociable learning environment fosters social interaction, leading to social presence and the emergence of a sound social space, in turn explaining the quality of the learning experience. Social presence, when measured in a non-convoluted way, has no effect on satisfaction.

Armellini, A., & De Stefani, M. (2016). Social presence in the 21st century: An adjustment to the Community of Inquiry framework. British Journal of Educational Technology, 47(6), 1202-1216.

The Community of Inquiry framework, originally proposed by Garrison, Anderson and Archer, identifies teaching, social and cognitive presences as central to a successful online educational experience. This paper presents the findings of a study conducted in Uruguay between 2007 and 2010. The research aimed to establish the role of cognitive, social and teaching presences in the professional development of 40 English language teachers on continuous professional development programmes delivered in blended learning settings. The findings suggest that teaching presence and cognitive presence have themselves “become social.” The research points to social presence as a major lever for engagement, sense-making and peer support. Based on the patterns identified in the study, this paper puts forward an adjustment to the Community of Inquiry framework, which shows social presence as more prominent within the teaching and cognitive constructs than the original version of the framework suggests.

Kim, J., Song, H., & Luo, W. (2016). Broadening the understanding of social presence: Implications and contributions to the mediated communication and online education. Computers in Human Behavior, 65, 672-679.

Social presence is a concept found to facilitate effective learning experiences in online education. However, there is limited understanding of the theoretical notion in the literature. In an attempt to broaden the understanding of social presence, the current investigation examined two issues: a) distinction between social presence and interactivity, and b) multidimensional nature of social presence and its predictive validity for online learning experiences. Data were collected from 210 undergraduate students using an online survey. Findings indicate that social presence and interactivity are related but distinct constructs. Both psychological involvement and co-presence appear to be under the concept of social presence. The data indicate strong predictive validity of social presence for online learning experiences when it is measured with both dimensions of psychological involvement and co-presence.

Kovanovic, V., Joksimovic, S., &  Gasevic, D. (2015).  What is the Source of Social Capital? The Association Between Social Network Position and Social Presence in Communities of Inquiry. CEUR Workshop Proceedings, Available online at http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1183/gedm_paper03.pdf

It is widely accepted that the social capital of students – developed through their participation in learning communities – has a significant impact on many aspects of the students’ learning outcomes, such as academic performance, persistence, retention, program satisfaction and sense of community. However, the underlying social processes that contribute to the development of social capital are not well understood. By using the popular Community of Inquiry (CoI) model of distance and online education, we looked into the nature of the underlying social processes, and how they relate to the development of the students’ social capital. The results of our study indicate that the affective, cohesive and interactive facets of social presence significantly predict the network centrality measures commonly used for measurement of social capital.

Joksimovic, S., Gasevic, D., Kovanovic, V. Riecke, B.E.. & Hatala, M. (2015).  Social presence in online discussions as a
process predictor of academic performance. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Available online at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcal.12107/abstract

With the steady development of online education and online learning environments, possibilities to support social interactions between students have advanced significantly. This study examined the relationship between indicators of social presence and academic performance. Social presence is defined as students’ ability to engage socially with an online learning community. The results of a multiple regression analysis showed that certain indicators of social presence were significant predictors of final grades in a master’s level computer science online course. Moreover, the study also revealed that teaching presence moderated the association between social presence and academic performance, indicating that a course design that increased the level of meaningful interactions between students had a significant impact on the development of social presence, and thus could positively affect students’ academic performance. This is especially important in situations when discussions are introduced to promote the development of learning outcomes assessed in courses. Another implication of our results is that indicators of social presence can be used for early detection of students at risk of failing a course. Findings inform research and practice in the emerging field of learning analytics by prompting the opportunities to offer actionable insights into the reasons why certain students are lagging behind.

Annand, D. (2011). Social Presence within the Community of Inquiry Framework The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL), 12(5),

The role of social presence as defined by the community of inquiry (CoI) framework is critiqued through a review of recent literature. Evidence is presented that questions the actual extent of knowledge co-construction that occurs in most higher education settings and therefore challenges the framework’s underlying assumption of the need for sustained, contiguous, two-way communication in higher-level online learning environments. The CoI framework has evolved from the description of a learning process within a social constructivist paradigm to an empirically testable construct in an objectivist paradigm. Related research results indicate that social presence does not impact cognitive presence in a meaningful way and that best teaching practices suggested by CoI-based studies are informed by objectivist, cognitively oriented learning theories. These suggest that higher-order cognition may be achieved through wide and varied combinations of learner–teacher, learner–content, and learner–learner interaction. Controlled studies can and should be undertaken to compare learning outcomes using sustained, contiguous, two-way communication to other learning models. To facilitate this, subcategories of social and teaching presences need to be revamped and analysis adjusted to separate processes that support explicitly group-based learning activities from those used by individual students.

Lowenthal, P. R. & Dunlap, J. C. (2010). From Pixel on a Screen to Real Person in Your Students’ Lives: Establishing Social Presence Using Digital Storytelling. Internet and Higher Education, 13(1), 70-72.

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework is a comprehensive guide to the research “and” practice of online learning. One of the most challenging aspects of establishing a CoI in online courses is finding the best way to attend to each element of the CoI framework in a primarily text-based environment. In our online courses, we have examined the use of digital storytelling as a way to break down the barriers that can get in the way of achieving a healthy and productive CoI. In this paper, we describe how we use digital storytelling to establish our social presence as instructors.

Dunlap, J.C. & Lowenthal, P.R. (2009). Tweeting the Night Away: Using Twitter to Enhance Social Presence. Journal of Information Systems Education, Vol. 20(2), 129-135.

To be truly effective, online learning must facilitate the social process of learning. This involves providing space and opportunities for students and faculty to engage in social activities. Although learning management systems offer several tools that support social learning and student engagement, the scope, structure, and functionality of those tools can inhibit and restrain just-in-time social connections and interactions. In this teaching tip, we describe our use of Twitter to encourage free flowing just-in-time interactions and how these interactions can enhance social presence in online courses. We then describe instructional benefits of Twitter, and conclude with guidelines for incorporating Twitter in online courses.

Lomicka, L. & Lord, G. (2007). Social presence in virtual communities of foreign language (FL) teachers. System, 35, 208 – 228.

This paper investigates the development of social presence in communities of language teachers at two universities. Specifically, our research sheds light on how social presence is characterized according to the technological tools used to link the community of language teachers. Over the period of a 14 week semester, nine electronic journal entries were collected from 14 FL teachers-in-training. The participants were divided into three different groups: traditional journalers (four individuals), dialogue journalers (two pairs), and group journalers (six students). Using the theoretical framework for communities of inquiry created by (Rourke, L., Anderson, T., Archer, W., Garrison, D.R., 2001. Assessing social presence in asynchronous, text-based computer conferences. Journal of Distance Education 14, 51-70), the discourse from each of these discussions was coded and analyzed to investigate changes in social presence in conjunction with the technological tools used to link the communities. Results suggest that while paired and group journalers produced more discourse than the traditional journalers, social presence trends vary across each type of journaling, and each group co-constructs their social presence differently.

Nippard, E. & Murphy, E. (2007). Social Presence in the Web-based Synchronous Secondary Classroom. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 33(1).

The purpose of the study reported on in this paper was to explore how teachers and students manifest social presence in the web-based synchronous secondary classroom (WBSSC). Data were collected using structured and unstructured observations of twelve online recordings of web-based synchronous classes in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Structured observations were guided by an instrument developed by Rourke, Anderson, Garrison and Archer (2001) for identifying and measuring social presence in an online context. Findings revealed that teachers and students relied on different tools when providing affective, interactive and cohesive responses related to social presence. Manifestations of social presence by the teachers occurred through use of two-way audio whereas students relied on text-based Direct Messaging. Expressions of social presence by the students and teachers occurred most often in a context of digressions that drew attention away from the delivery of content. In addition, students demonstrated social presence using discourse conventions transferred from informal social contexts of instant messaging such as ICQ and MSN.

Rogers, P. & Lea. M (2005). Social presence in distributed group environments: the role of social identity. Behavior & Information Technology, 24(2), 151 – 158.

This paper argues that to achieve social presence in a distributed environment, it is not necessary to emulate face-to-face conditions of increased cues to the interpersonal. Rather, it is argued, that a sense of belongingness to the group, or perceptual immersion in the group, can be realised through the creation of a shared social identity between group members. From this perspective, social presence is a function of the cognitive representation of the group by group members and not the interpersonal bonds between group members. Furthermore, specific design features and characteristics of the distributed learning environment can be utilised to achieve and maintain this shared group identity. This approach, encapsulated by the SIDE model, is discussed and supported by two case studies of distributed students, each consisting of 10 groups, collaborating for a period of 5 weeks on group projects.

Delfino, M. & Manca, S. (2007). The expression of social presence through the use of figurative language in a web based learning environment. Computers in Human Behavior, 23, 2190-2211.

The present paper’s aim is to investigate how the participants of an online learning environment employed written language in a creative way through the spontaneous use of figurative language. The content analysis showed that figurative language was a means to express the social dimension either to refer to the self, feelings and emotions, or to conceptualize the components of the virtual learning setting. The research context was a 10-week course, delivered at a distance via a computer conferencing system, addressed to 57 student teachers. The analysis was carried out in the social and meta-cognitive reflection areas, those areas which are mainly related to the expression of the social dimension The study had three different purposes: to investigate the distribution of figurative language during the course length; to explore the relation between the participants’ educational background and their use of figurative language, and to examine the relation between figurative language and the structure of the communication threads. The results indicate that participants tended to use figurative language more when meaningful or critical events happened. The higher the emotional involvement was, the more metaphorical language was adopted. Further results suggest that the adoption of figurative language seems to be related more to individual attitude, than to other factors such as educational background. Finally, figurative language occurrences were not concentrated in specific kinds of postings or threads and did not encourage further use of figurative language.

Swan, K. & Shih, L.F. (2005). On the Nature and Development of Social Presence in Online course Discussions. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 9 (3), 115-136.

“Social presence,” the degree to which participants in computer-mediated communication feel affectively connected one to another, has been shown to be an important factor in student satisfaction and success in online courses. This mixed methods study built on previous research to explore in greater depth the nature of social presence and how it develops in online course discussions. The study combined quantitative analyses of survey results from students enrolled in four online graduate courses, and qualitative comparisons of students with the highest and lowest perceptions of social presence. Quantitative results revealed significant correlations between perceived social presence and satisfaction with online discussions, and teased apart the respective influences of the perceived presence of instructors and peers. The findings indicate that the perceived presence of instructors may be a more influential factor in determining student satisfaction than the perceived presence of peers. Correlations with other course and learner characteristics suggest that course design may also significantly affect the development of social presence. Qualitative findings support the quantitative results. In addition, they provide evidence that students perceiving the highest social presence also projected themselves more into online discussions, and reveal meaningful differences in perceptions of the usefulness and purpose of online discussion between students perceiving high and low social presence.

Rourke, L., & Anderson, T. (2002). Using peer teams to lead online discussion. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, (1). Online [Available]: http://www-jime.open.ac.uk/

This study investigated an online course in which groups of four students were used to lead online discussions. The teams were examined for their ability to bring instructional design, discourse facilitation, and direct instruction to the discussions. The setting was a graduate-level communications networks course delivered asynchronously to a cohort group of 17 adults enrolled for professional development education. Interviews, questionnaires, and content analyses of the discussion transcripts indicate that the peer teams fulfilled each of the three roles and valued the experience. Students preferred the peer teams to the instructor as discussion leaders and reported that the discussions were helpful in achieving higher order learning objectives but could have been more challenging and critical.

Rourke, L., & Anderson, T. (2002). Exploring social interaction in computer conferencing. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 13(3), 257-273.

The influence of social communication and context on students’ perceptions of the social climate of a computer conference were assessed using a 32-item questionnaire. Seventy-four students, including 31 graduate, 27 undergraduate, and 16 certificate course students from four faculties responded to the survey. Results indicate that a majority of students found the environment trusting, warm, friendly, disinhibiting, and personal. Less than half of the students found the environment close. ANOVA supported the hypothesis that an increase in the perceived frequency of seven types of social expressions corresponded to more positive ratings of the social climate. The seven social expressions were addressing others by name, complimenting, expressing appreciation, using the reply feature to post messages, expressing emotions, using humor, and salutations. The hypothesis was not supported for the social expressions expressing agreement, referring explicitly to the content of others’ messages, using software features to quote from others’ messages, asking questions of other students, using informal register, use of personal examples, chitchat, and self-disclosure. No significant relationship was found between three categories of contextual variables
(instructional, relational, technological) and the students’ ratings of the social climate or the perceived frequency of the social expressions. Student comments indicated that they value social expression that is embedded in discussions of content, but that purely social messages should be delegated to alternative forums. Moderators
are encouraged to model this pattern of communication. Instructional designers and moderators are encouraged to model and promote the eleven types of social expression that contribute to social presence.

Rourke, L., Anderson, T. Garrison, D. R., & Archer, W. (1999). Assessing social presence in asynchronous, text-based computer conferencing. Journal of Distance Education, 14(3), 51-70.

Instructional media such as computer conferencing engender high levels of student-student and student-teacher interaction; therefore, they can support models of teaching and learning that are highly interactive and consonant with the communicative ideals of university education. This potential, and the ubiquity of computer conferencing in higher education prompted three of the authors of the present paper to develop a Community of Inquiry model that synthesizes pedagogical principles with the inherent instructional and access benefits of computer conferencing (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000). The present article explicate some element of the model, social presence. Social presence is defined as the ability of learners to project themselves socially and affectively into a community of inquiry. A template for assessing social presence in computer conferencing is presented, through content analysis of conferencing transcripts. To facilitate explication of the scheme and subsequent replication of this study, selections of coded transcripts are included, along with inter-rater reliability figures. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications and benefits of assessing social presence for instructors, conference moderators, and researchers.