Making Sense of Presence - Are You Here or There?

The basic difference between face-to-face teaching/learning and distance teaching/learning is the separation of the instructor from the learners and the learners from each other. This separation can cause feelings of isolation, frustration, and anxiety. A way to overcome these feelings in the online environment is through an awareness and understanding of a sense of presence that is followed by creating presence and community through course design. Often in our classes our learners have said that they feel as though they are not separated but are in the same room. Are they “here or there” – often they really aren’t sure and that is amazing! If you keep in mind that making sense of presence in the online environment is based not on what is actually taking place but rather on the way the course is designed and the way you and your learners think, feel, and behave, you will begin to truly “be there” and “be together” with others.

 

End of Online Course Activities

Instructor presence may actually lessen during the final two or three weeks of the online course, as learners become more independent, confident, and focused on what is needed to complete the course. During this time, instructors should pay special attention to completing tasks, clarifying issues through announcements, and providing support through individual or group or team meetings. At this point, technology should be totally transparent.

End of Course activities may include: 1) end-of-course communication, in the form of announcements (for example, a Welcome to the last Unit Announcement and a Final Course Announcement when everything has been completed), 2) paper critiques in which course participants write a topic synthesis and share it with group members for critique, 3) team project self- and peer feedback for rating individuals in the team and the team itself, 4) whole group discussion that will offer time for reflection and new perspectives, 5) Instructor feedback, as a facilitator, supporter, and evaluator, and 6) end-of-course debriefing to help learners decompress and process their online course experience.