The Influence of Social Presence on Students’ Satisfaction toward Online Course

Abstract

Students’ satisfaction plays a vital role in ensuring effective online learning. This study investigated the association between social presence and students’ satisfaction toward online discussions in Learning Management System (LMS) platform conducted at a private university in Malaysia. Both correlation and two-step hierarchical linear regression were performed to analyze the online survey data. The instruments used to measure the summated scores of social presence and satisfaction were Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework and satisfaction scale, respectively. The results revealed that the correlation between both variables was significantly positive. Students who declared relatively high level of satisfaction were more likely to report high level of interaction with their peers in online conversation and high level of social presence. Essentially, social presence seemed to contribute the most in predicting the level of course satisfaction amongst the students.

A Review of Psychological Impact on Students Online Learning during Covid-19 in Malaysia

“…According to Unger (2007) mental wellbeing problems remain as the biggest barrier to academic achievement. It can impair students' motivation, attention and social interaction (Nasir, 2020) which are the main reason for students to excel in education. Dogan (2015) suggests that the best factors of academic achievement include; teachers must have constructive verbal motivation to promote students' academic achievement; teachers must display a positive mindset that helps inspire students, behaviors that are important to cognitive engagement (Baharudin et al, 2018) in learning environments.…”

“…Anxiety is a dynamic emotional state of tension, uneasiness, concern, and other uncomfortable feelings induced by the coming and potential danger of a person (Bauer, 1965). Reasonable anxiety is conducive to improving the brain's reaction speed and alertness, thereby improving learning effectiveness and engagement (Chen, 2019;Hordacre et al, 2016;Nasir, 2020), whereas unnecessary anxiety decreases the interest of students in learning and academic success (Khng, 2016;Ramirez et al, 2016;Scanlon et al, 2020;Cheng, 2013;Soltanlou et al, 2019). For example, in a recent study focused on Chinese medical college students, higher levels of anxiety were correlated with factors closely linked to COVID-19, such as a COVID-19-diagnosed patient (Cao et al, 2020).…”

“…Anxiety among students occurs during the lockdown because everyone was required to stay at home and all teaching and learning platforms took part virtually. Students' lost connection with human presence (Nasir, 2020) therefore it affects them mentally and emotionally. Tian et al (2020) said that due to the possible risk of death caused by COVID-19, separation and lockdown, and the abrupt shift in teaching mode has raised the level of anxiety and generated intense pressure on most people.…”

“…They found the proportion of students with mild, moderate, and extreme anxiety was 21.3%, 2.7% and 0.9%, respectively. The factors analyze: attitude, affect, motivation, perceived behavioral control such as each use of technology, self-efficacy, and accessibility; and cognitive engagement (Nasir, 2020). The researcher has listed a variety of scholastic variables and participants were asked to gauge their understanding of how each inspired them to seek schooling before introducing the stay-at-home order.…”

Factors That Influence Women to Be Involved in Entrepreneurship: A Case Study in Malaysia

“…On the other hand, by venturing into entrepreneurship, they are able to manage household, kids and time. It makes them flexible in conducting business from home such as managing online business via e-commerce platform and media social as long as they are able to sustain their presence or engagement online (Nasir, 2020).…”