Two Reasons You Need Presence Online

Presence Promotes Student Success

Research suggests presence is a key factor in student engagement, a metric for predicting student success in online coursework. Presence in this context also considers student perceptions in instructor involvement as a central factor. High levels of engagement lead to higher levels of student achievement, deeper satisfaction, and a greater likelihood of retention and/ or graduation. (Oblinger, 2014 Links to an external site.)

Dr. Mark Kassel

In the following video Dr. Mark Kassel, Director of Chatham Online at Chatham University discusses ways in which he brings presence to his online courses:

Patrick Lowenthal

Teaching Presence Online Facilitates Meaningful Learning Download Teaching Presence Online Facilitates Meaningful Learning

, by Patrick Lowenthal of Boise State University , focuses more on the reasons for developing presence into your course as well as strategies for doing it.

Being "Real" Creates Community

Social presence can be defined as being connected and interact with other human beings as “real people” through the medium of communication being used. Therefore, a “good” social presence environment is the one where learners express their emotions and feelings and interact with one another in a way that promotes their learning. On the other hand, the perception of a negative social presence context inhibits learners from expressing themselves as real people; thus diminishing the learning experience. 

Social Presence In Online Learning: 7 Things Instructional Designers Can Do To Improve It Links to an external site. discusses seven ways you (because you are your own instructional designer!) can boost your social presence in your online classes.