The integration of the five key elements
of the Social Presence Model supports
a sense of connection between teachers
and their student communities within
online classrooms.
Social Presence Model Definitions and Quick Tips
Here are definitions and quick tips for building
social presence online using the five elements
of the Social Presence Model.
Affective Association
AA addresses the emotional connections in
the course and examines emotion, humor,
sarcasm, paralanguage, and self-disclosure.
•;Encourage;use;of;bold,;underline,
and emoticons in appropriate ways.
•;Use;announcements;to;praise;and
motivate students.
•;Build;in;audio;and;video;where;possible
for students and instructors to hear and
see each other.
Community Cohesion
CC represents the extent to which participants
see the group as a community. This element is
expressed by greetings and salutations,
referring to each other as a community,
and referencing each other by name.
Knowledge and Experience
KE;involves;the;sharing;of;additional;resources
and experiences.
•;Design;assignments;that;ask;students;to;make
connections with other aspects of their lives.
•;Model;ways;to;engage;with;the;content;of
the course through a variety of online tools.
Instructor Involvement
IV refers to the extent to which the instructor is an
invested, active partner in the learning community.
•;Create;synthesis;responses;making;explicit
connections to student posts.
•;Note;common;areas;for;improvement;and
tailor individual feedback based on these
commonalities.
