The Centrality of Social Presence in Online Teaching and Learning in Social Work

Bentley, Kia J.; Secret, Mary; Cummings, Cory

doi:10.1080/10437797.2015.1043199

Cited by 31 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Establishing and working with this difference in student-faculty and facultyfaculty community-building in the VAC provides both opportunities and challenges for the future growth of the program. Apart from the physicality, the scale of the VAC can be daunting, and there may be emergent challenges to programming and community-building presented by the mere size and rapid growth of the program (Bentley, Secret, & Cummings, 2015;Pruitt & Silverman, 2015;Reamer, 2013). Future research should explore what might be the optimal size of the VAC platform in terms of numbers of students and faculty to build effective community.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community Building in a Virtual Teaching Environment

Schwartz

Wiley²,

Kaplan³

2016

ASW

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In 2010, the University of Southern California School of Social Work launched its Virtual Academic Center (VAC) to deliver online MSW programming to students located around the country. USC's platform is a significant innovation in offering online education and has transformed the traditional educational model for both students and faculty. This research explores the experiences of faculty teaching via the VAC. Twenty-five in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with USC faculty of different ranks. Inductive data collection using a grounded theory approach with thematic analysis examined experiences teaching in an online program, revealing the strengths and challenges associated with geographic diversity and community-building. Findings warrant the development of innovative practices to build community and to facilitate collaboration among geographically diverse faculty and students in a virtual education program.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community Building in a Virtual Teaching Environment

Schwartz

Wiley²,

Kaplan³

2016

ASW

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“…Understanding what accounted for relatively high ratings for both sets of students on the classroom community scale and the lack of differences is another area for future exploration, given the importance of establishing a social presence within an online environment (Bentley et al, 2015). A closer look at the way in which interactivity happened among the students and between students and instructor is necessary to accomplish this understanding.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, the ability of online academic environments to intentionally produce the level of social presence necessary to build community among students and support their learning has been considered crucial (Bentley, Secret, & Cummings, 2015). An additional challenge identified for online practice courses is the need to increase understanding about how courses which require students to demonstrate skill competencies in every phase of practice can provide evidence of their effectiveness (Khaja et al, 2008;Siebert et al, 2006).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectively Teaching Social Work Practice Online: Moving Beyond Can to How

Forgey

Ortega‐Williams

2016

ASW

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“…Social presence appears to imply characteristic computer mediated communication (Rice, 1993). It is necessary to enhance effective communication and instruction in an online learning environment (Gunewerdana, 1995;Bentley, Secret, & Cummings, 2015). Social presence for online learning environments is the perception and reaction of being connected in computer-mediated communication (Tu & McIsaac, 2002).…”

Section: Social Presencementioning

confidence: 99%

Social Presence in a Three-Dimensional Virtual World Used for Distance Education / Društvena prisutnost u trodimenzionalnim virtualnim svjetovima koji se primjenjuju u nastavi na daljinu

Yılmaz

Aydemir

Karaman

et al. 2016

Croatian Journal of Education

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The purpose of this study was to examine differences in social presence among students who had participated in a traditional video conference environment and a 3D virtual world for distance education. Also, characteristics of the 3D environment most affected their social presence, and the users' opinions concerning the 3D environment were revealed. For this purpose, an exploratory, mixed research method was used in this study. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to collect and analyze the data. The participants included 40 distance education university students, of which 20 in an experimental group (using a 3D virtual world) and 20 in a control group (using traditional methods). The results indicate that students who used the 3D virtual environment reported notably higher social presence. They perceived 3D virtual world as more social than video conference environment. Also, they found the 3D virtual world warm, interesting, and flexible, and that they were active and sociable within such environment. These results showed that 3D virtual worlds can be used effectively in educational environments for distance education students because they provide a rich social presence.

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The Centrality of Social Presence in Online Teaching and Learning in Social Work

Cited by 31 publications

References 20 publications

Community Building in a Virtual Teaching Environment

Community Building in a Virtual Teaching Environment

Effectively Teaching Social Work Practice Online: Moving Beyond Can to How

Social Presence in a Three-Dimensional Virtual World Used for Distance Education / Društvena prisutnost u trodimenzionalnim virtualnim svjetovima koji se primjenjuju u nastavi na daljinu

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