Abstract
Online education research has long employed the concept of social presence to study interactions in technologically mediated spaces. Yet, a precise shared definition of social presence does not exist. This article traces how the concept of social presence has been developed and appropriated in the online and distance education literature. We do not simply focus on the historical trajectory of the concept but discuss how it is utilized to address the growing complexities of social interactions in parallel to the increasing affordances of new technologies. Our aim is to illustrate that social presence is over extended and widely stretched to correspond with the possibilities of socialization and that it has long lost its depth and breadth, and thus, its analytical strength. We argue that we should focus more on the relative salience of interpersonal relationships if we are to understand the relational aspects of being online.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Social presence and identity in online learning |
Publisher | Routledge |
Chapter | 8 |
Pages | 259-266 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780367727314 |
Publication status | Published - 25 Jun 2019 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
This book was originally published as a special issue of Distance Education.Keywords
- being online
- computer-mediated communication
- online communication
- online education
- Social presence