Portfolio task 3: draft
How might you go about establishing social presence in a group activity?

What does social presence mean in an e-learning environment? Social presence is defined as “the ability of participants in a community of inquiry to project themselves socially and emotionally, as ‘real’ people. (i.e. their full personality), through the medium of communication being used” (Garrison, Anderson, and Archer 2000: 94, from Elin the TC, p 49)

In a face to face classroom experience, it is normal for students and teachers to establish relationships through proximity, meeting face to face everyday, sitting together, exchanging greetings, smiles, jokes, body language and simple eye contact. Every action has the rest of the class as audience or participant. A common vocabulary of experiences knits the group together into a learning community. Bringing the same range of experiences into play is just not possible in any online scenario. Interaction is limited to using words and images and that too in an asynchronous mode. With limited means of interaction, it becomes quite a challenge to establish relationships student-student, and student-teacher.

Group behaviour has been studied and according to Garrison and Anderson, Tuckman postulates five stages for group activity. These are according to him: “ Forming (group formation), storming (conflicts), norming (resolution), performing and adjourning (closing).” Educationally Pratt simplifies this to “ the beginning, middle and ending phases.’ Social presence would be established in each of these phases.
To establish a learning community and practice collaborative learning seems all the more difficult.
When traditional distance learning was conceived the importance of a learning community was not understood. The student learning at a distance was expected to learn alone. “Community is integral to all aspects of life. It is the fusion of the individual and the group; the psychological and sociological; the reflective and the collaborative. This is no less so from a learning or educational perspective. This implicit denial of community has been the greatest shortcoming of traditional distance education with its emphasis on prescriptive course packages to be assimilated by the student in isolation. Unfortunately this is based upon an assumption that learning is an individual experience and that there is little need to negotiate meaning and confirm understanding. Education and learning in its best sense is a collaboration, which includes a sense of belonging and acceptance in a group with common interests.” (Garrison and Anderson, 2003, p49)


In a group activity that I plan for an online group who have not met face to face I would look for ways to do the following:
· Welcome the students
· Establish trust
· Develop the sense of being a group learning together
· Provide students with freedom of expression, control and independence
· In my comments provide encouragement, acknowledgement, accomplishment, challenge, questioning
· Keep the tone conversational
As a teacher, I have an important role in establishing social presence. “ Setting the right tone at the right time. The tone may range from nurturing and emotionally supportive to questioning and analytical. The tone of the conversation should correspond with cogntive presence issues and goals.” (Garrison and Anderson, 2003, p 80) I would take on the role of facilitator, guide, challenger, moderator, etc. at appropriate moments.


“ Preparation for the first session is important in any educational experience but crucial in an e-learning context.” (Garrison and Anderson, 2003, p 80)
If the group is going to do many activities together, like in this e-learning module, I could start with an activity so that all the members could introduce themselves to each other. e.g. filling in template of a profile page. This page would ask for preferences like favourite books, movies, music, etc. These would be things that no one would feel threatened to reveal but could develop further online conversations with members of the group. I would start with completely filling in a profile page for myself.
If the activity is a one time blog discussion, such elaborate introduction is not needed. Rather, requesting the members to briefly introduce themselves as they participate in the discussion would be sufficient. “ Establishing social presence is not a one time activity.” ( Garrison and Andeson, 2003, p 80)


In a programme, I would take the interaction further by introducing an activity that would establish a cultural context of each participant without getting too personal e.g. Asking dividing the group into smaller groups of 4 to get together and share the view from their windows! This could be interpreted as a metaphor or taken literally and the discussion would ensue. Pictures would be allowed. In addition participants would be asked to write a small paragraph about the view. The two-words and visuals communicate differently, while the pictures give you the physical scene and context, words would give a path into the participants’ mind. ‘the characteristics of a text medium as being reflective, explicit and precise may well have inherent advantages in focusing and elevating the cognitive level of exchange.’ (Garrison and Anderson).

There are many online ‘medium’s of exchange- chat, a threaded discussion, email, software like facebook, etc. I would set out the discussion as a blog. This is easily available, accessible and inexpensive. This could be the main medium for communication. I don’t think I could stop other mediums from being used. Email would be my supportive medium. I, as a teacher could use both as the circumstances demanded it. I would contribute to the blog discussion. When someone is not interacting, I could call them via email to find out what’s happening.


How do you establish social presence in e-learning, when you are limited to exchanging words and visuals only, asynchronously?
Garrison and Anderson argue that ‘the characteristics of a text medium as being reflective, explicit and precise may well have inherent advantages in focusing and elevating the cognitive level of exchange.’ This may be an advantage over face-to-face interaction. Research ‘conducted on text based e-learning has consistently demonstrated a capacity for high level of socio-emotional interpersonal communication (Rourke et al. 1999).

Garrison and Anderson have classified social presence into three levels of indicators which grow from one level to the next. These are:
1. Affective communication
2. Open communication
3. Cohesive communication.

1. Affective communication expresses emotions and interest, etc.
This communication lays the base for a deeper exchange. This communication expresses respect, encouragement, support, trust, and tries to touch the other participants. This is usually done in three ways:
· Simply expressing feelings with words. This includes the use of humour, teasing and simply unchallenging, safe communication which promotes goodwill.
· Typographically expressed emotion e.g. Emoticons, punctuations and use of capital letters provide the equivalent of vocal intonations in normal text. Text is re-presented in changed typographic specifications of size, boldness, emphasis, etc. to communicate the feelings and emotions behind the words. e.g. “waaaiiiting to hear from you”
· Through self-disclosure. This specially builds trust. “The concert on Friday night was good but too long for an old girl like me. London was quiet compared to a normal weekday but I liked it that way.............what did everybody else get up to over the holiday week-end?”

2. Open communication is ‘respectful’ and ‘reciprocal’ showing respect, trust and acceptance and thus encouraging participation and reflection. This forms the base for meaningful exchange. Open communication is built through expression of agreement, recognition, acknowledgement, complimenting, and can move on to ‘questioning the substances of messages’ transforming the interaction to a meaningful discussion. Much of e-learning falls into this level of social presence.

Open communication happens when someone
· ‘continues a thread.’ This can be done automatically through software like in an email. e.g. ‘Subject: Re…….’ ;
· Responds to, takes from and refers to others
· Asks questions
· Appreciates another’s contribution
e.g. Hi I have finally found a computer which allows me to edit the page. I have uploaded two new photographs Sumita if you wouldn't mind adding. I have included one of a moon as per conversation and One of myself as per request. I think these photographs will be okay.Thanks for the formatting Sumita it is looking good. Wil be at a computer that works tomorrow early pm if you want more doing.Anne


4. Cohesive communication: Contributes to forming the identity of the group. This is important to ‘sustain the commitment and purpose of a community of inquiry.’ This is evidenced when a participant is referred to by name, brought into the discussion, acknowledged, this communication links it to the rest of the discussion, too. Inclusive pronouns like ‘we’, ‘let us’, ‘our’ recognize and emphasize the group and its reason to be together. The ‘meaningless’ salutations like, Dear All…etc. further build group cohesion.
e.g. Dear allIm now up and running..technology back in place. I have uploaded my Facebook profile picture as this is one(online) window into my life. Formatting looks excellent and the pictures are looking good too. Angie
e.g. HI all, I have done a few more things on the wiki page. This is an invitation to delete, replace, comment, change anything on the page. You can ask me to do it in case you do not know how to. Anne, I tried rescuing your image but could not.YOurs Sumita


Social presence has to be set up at a level that it encourages discussion and fulfills the purpose of the group discourse and become a ‘meaningful educational experience’- it should not be too polite and superficial or aggressive and so inhibiting frank expression.

The greatest need is to maintain social presence so as to create a ‘cognitively stimulating and productive learning experience.’

The teacher or moderator plays an important role in setting the tone of the discussion. The teacher must make each student feel welcome and relevant part of the group. Again, as in a classroom, the quiet student has to be coaxed out of her silence, so also with the non-contributing members of the group. The environment must feel secure and conducive to expression to be ‘intellectually productive’ and stimulating.
The teacher must be encouraging, sensitive, yet challenging, considerate, draw out students, intellectually stimulating comments which expect the same from the students,
Establishing social presence leads to the next level of interaction in an e-learning community – that of establishing cognitive presence.