Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching

The Authors Rosemary M. Lehman is a partner in eInterface with twenty years of experience at Instructional Communications Systems, University of Wisconsin-Extension where she was a distance education specialist and led the Learning Design and Outreach Team. She is coauthor of 147 Practical Tips for Synchronous and Blended Technology Teaching and Learning. Simone C. O. Conceio is an associate professor in the School of Education, Department of Administrative Leadership, at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the editor of Teaching Strategies in the Online Environment from Jossey-Bass and coauthor of 147 Practical Tips for Teaching Online Groups: Essentials of Web-Based Education.

List of Figures, Exhibits, and Tables v Preface vii About the Authors xiii ONE The Role of Presence in the Online Environment 1 Why Is It Important to Understand Presence? 2 Creating a Sense of Presence 3 What We Know About Presence 4 Presence as the Result of Our Perceptual Process 6 Understanding Presence 7 Summary 12 TWO Ways in Which Presence Can Be Experienced 13 Types of Experience 15 Modes of Presence 18 Dimensions of the Learner 20 The Being There for the Online Learner Model 21 Summary 24 THREE Designing Your Online Course with a Sense of Presence 25 Determinants of Presence 26 Framework for Designing Online Courses with a Sense of Presence 30 Getting Yourself "There" for Your Online Course 37 Getting Your Learners There for Your Online Course 40 Summary 41 FOUR Activities That Create a Sense of Presence in Your Online Course 43 Before the Course Begins 45 During the Online Course 65 End of the Course 77 How to Know If Presence Is There in Your Online Course 84 Summary 93 FIVE Are You Here or There? Making Sense of Presence 95 Case 1. Getting to Know You and Your Course 95 Case 2. Second Life Participation and Blogging 99 Case 3. Creating a Web-Based Training Course as a Team 104 Creating a Syllabus with a Sense of Presence 109 Final Thoughts and Future Directions 109 Appendix 1: Training Resources 113 Appendix 2: Online Course Design Resources 115 Appendix 3: Sample Syllabus 117 Definitions of Terms 129 References 133 Index 137