Dimensions of the Learner and the Role of Emotion

What are the learner dimensions you need to be aware of to create a sense of presence and what role does emotion play? According to Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2001), there are three learner dimensions: the interior world, the interface with the real world (perception/conception process), and the concrete world shared with others. 

Our interior world is the inner space in which we reflect on, consider, analyze, and synthesize information. We then make a transition through the perceptual/conceptual process (interface) with the outer world in which we relate to other people and share our inner feelings and thoughts. Noe (2005) calls this the enactive perceptual process. Throughout the process of using these three dimensions (interior world, the interface with the real world, and the concrete world), emotions affect thought and then behavior, impacting learners’ experience of presence. 

Though neglected in the past, the importance of emotion in learning is gaining significance. Emotions are key to the process because they help learners focus their perceptions on particular aspects of a thought and enable them to concentrate on specific situations, connect the affective to the cognitive, and arrive at thoughtful and appropriate decisions (Alcañiz, Bañoa, Botella, & Rey, 2004). Emotions act as a kind of gatekeeper, both with and without the intervention of thought. Emotional intelligence involves, the ability to perceive accurately, appraise, and express emotion; the ability to access and/or generate feelings when they facilitate thought; the ability to understand emotion and emotional knowledge; and the ability to regulate emotions to promote emotional and intellectual growth (Salovey & Sluyter, 1997. It is important to note that there are two sides to the coin of emotion. One example would be a learner who overwhelmingly shares messages that provoke emotions in other people and leads the discussion in a negative direction. Conversely, a learner who shares ideas related to content concepts and thoughtfully incorporates personal feelings, encourages others to participate in the discourse in a positive manner. This reflects the new area of research on emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1995). This relatively new area of research tells us that the more we are able to use our emotions in connection with our thought process, the better able we are to clarify our perceptions, and make decisions most appropriate to a given situation.

In this research, increased connectivity between thought and emotion is the key to their working together rather than separately (LeDoux, 1996). The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is basing its Learning Companion project on the interplay of emotion, thought, and learning. This project is developing an affective companion prototype that will provide emotional support to participants in the learning process, assisting them by helping to alleviate frustration and self-doubt (Picard, Kort, & Reilly, 2004). 

Modes for Experiencing Presence

What modes of experience can you use for learners to help create a sense of presence? Ijsselsteijn, de Ridder, Freeman, and Avons (2000) have identified four modes. These modes of presence are realism, immersion, involvement, and suspension of disbelief. We create the "illusion of nonmediation" in each mode, so that we no longer perceive the existence of the medium in our communication environment and respond as though the medium were transparent.

In realism, there is a close match between the real and the virtual world. In this case, we try to match as closely as possible the elements of the human senses (i.e., vision, hearing, and touch) to those that are used in the online experience to replicate the reality (Argyle & Dean, 1965). Nursing simulators are a good example of creating a realistic experience that closely resembles the actual one. In the immersion mode, illusion occurs through virtual reality. The Second Life® 3-D virtual environment is a good example of this mode. Participants experience presence in this virtual world through the creation of avatars. These avatars become their identity and exist in a pre-designed environment, immersing themselves in this virtual world. An llusion is created by the detailed mapping to physical reality and by vicariously moving around in the virtual environment, interacting with others. Involvement creates personal, interactive engagement with the learner and others. Through the design of interactive activities, the line between the real and the virtual world is blurred. Think of a student actively in an online team project. She engages in dynamic conversations with classmates through synchronous and asynchronous technologies and senses that she is in the same room with others. Suspension of disbelief is a psychological “letting go" of reality. In this mode, the participants are creating the reality in their own minds. They intentionally allow themselves to suspend their analytical faculties. They recognize what is happening, but give up what they believe to be true. This mode of presence is experienced whenever we watch a movie, view a video, attend a drama, or read a book. 

Four Types of Experience To Create a Sense of Presence.

What types of experience can you use for learners to help create a sense of presence? We’ve identified four types: subjective, objective, social, and environmental experiences. These types of experiences are based on concepts addressed by Ijsselsteijn, de Ridder, Freeman, and Avons (2000).

Subjective experience is personal and psychological presence and takes place within our mind. It is the illusion of being in another location. For example, when our learners are experiencing online learning, they may have the illusion of being in another location as their mind is interacting with the content, you (the instructor), and other learners. Objective experience gives you and your learners a sense that you are both psychologically and physically in another location (Ijsselsteijn, de Ridder, Freeman, & Avons, 2000). It’s like feeling that you are "actually" located in the technology-mediated space. Objective experience has occurred in our teaching. Our learners have said that they experienced a feeling of psychologically and physically being in the same space with others during an online class - that they felt like they were in the same room and that the technology had disappeared. In reality, they were separated by thousands of miles. Social experience is when you have a sense of being with others who exist in the online environment and respond to each other. It is the social presence derived from communicating and interacting with others or with animated characters; for example, interacting with avatars in Second Life®. When others recognize and respond, it validates both the individual and group existence. The importance of ongoing interactions is significant and allows and facilitates feelings of understanding (Hargreaves, 2004). Environmental experience views the learner as a partner and central to the design process. It provides the ability to easily access and modify the environment (Sheridan, 1992), provide input about the environment, and interact with that environment. A description of the environmental experience incorporates both the physical and the educational aspects of the learning experience. The physical aspect involves the capability for the learners to have technical access and support for the technology and tools they are using. The educational aspect is the instructor’s openness and the design of the course structure that allows learners to feel that they are an integral part of the environment and can react to it.

Using Technology with Adult Learners Course (2012)

This space starts a new thread for the blog discussion of our book, Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching: How to “Be There” for Distance Learners, with students in the course ADLDSP 707: Using Technology with Adult Learners at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Post your comments in this blog area by reflecting on the following questions:

·         Think about an online course you have taken in the past, what strategies were used to create a sense of presence? How did you feel presence impacted your learning?

·         How did your thinking, emotions, and behavior interplay with your sense of presence during the learning experience?

·         Reflecting on your past online course experience, what determinants of presence were used in the course to create presence? Please provide examples for each determinant of presence.

·         How do you define presence now?

·         Now that you know how important it is to create a sense of presence in online instruction, what strategies do you plan to use when designing your next online course?

Your insights are very important to us. Thank you for your participation.

Rosemary and Simone

eInterface

Have a Wonderful Holiday Season!

We'll be continuing our series on presence on January 9, 2012. Find out about ways in which presence can be experienced: types of experience, modes of presence, dimensions of the learner, and how to use the Being There for the Online Learner Model.

Meanwhile - have a wonderful holiday season!

Presence is rooted in the interactive perceptual process

Presence is rooted in the interactive (i.e., enactive) perceptual process (Noe, 2005) and should be viewed from different perspectives: social, psychological, and emotional.

Social presence surfaced in the 1970s when Short, Williams, and Christie (1976) wrote about individuals being seen as “real” when communicating using media. In this case, the amount of presence was based on the type of media used. Today, it is believed that the type of media used has little influence on social presence in online environments. Rather, social presence has more to do with how well individuals participating in online learning are successful in acknowledging or disregarding the presence of the medium (Lombard & Ditton, 1997) and feel a sense of “being together” with others (Biocca, Burgoon, Harms, & Stoner, 2001) as previously mentioned.

In the second perspective, according to Lombard and Ditton (1997), presence is a psychological state in which the technology becomes transparent to the user who no longer recognizes it in the learning experience, an illusion in which the technology seems to disappear and people and locations that are in reality separated, perceive and feel that they are present together in the same room. 

The third perspective, emotional presence, is the ability to genuinely show feelings through words, symbols, and interactions with others in the online environment. In this process, learners and instructors are emotionally present when they connect with others in an authentic way during the online learning experience. Throughout the perceptual process, emotions affect our behavior and thought and impact our experiences of presence. Emotions are key to perception; they guide us to focus on particular aspects of a situation, enable us to concentrate on that situation, connect the affective to the cognitive, and allow us to arrive at thoughtful and appropriate decisions for our actions (Alcañiz, Bañoa, Botella, & Rey, 2004).

Why is Presence So Important?

We are basically social by nature and when that social aspect is absent, we crave it and look for ways to accommodate absence and create presence. This social nature is deeply embedded in our perceptual process when interacting with others, not only in the real world, but also in the online environment. It is through the perceptual process that we interact with information and others within the online environment and require others to relate to us and work with us - this happens at the behavioral level.

Individually, each of us needs to make sense of information for our use, for sharing, and for further interacting with others. This refines and expands our knowledge. Individually, we search for appropriate resources to challenge, support, and enhance our experiences. We then re-examine the entire process by refining what we have integrated, and then circle back to repeat the process - this happens at the cognitive and emotional levels. We continuously go through this process in the online environment from an individual point of view; in other words, perceptually (Lehman, 1996; 2006). Because this process occurs at the subconscious level (Noe, 2005), it is difficult to notice when it is happening.

When thought, emotion, and behavior work together in our real world experiences, we believe that we have created a successful perceptual experience and a sense of presence. Often, we do not realize what happens when we are, for example, assigned to a small group in a face-to-face class (the environment); interacting with group members (with emotion); and focusing, following, and completing the group assignment (with thought, based on group behavior). This perceptual experience parallels the online learning experience, with the exception that in the online learning experience the instructor and learners are not in the same physical space. It is, therefore, necessary to intentionally rethink and redesign the course, incorporating the dynamic interplay of thought, emotion, and behavior to influence the perceptual process and create a sense of presence within the online environment.

The Concept of Presence in the Literature

In Kehrwald’s (2008) study, social presence is defined as the ability to demonstrate being in the online environment. This ability to be social in a virtual space is impacted by immediacy, awareness, and a willingness to engage in communication and interaction (Gunawardena & Zittle, 1997). Tu & McIsaac (2002) have found that online context can also positively influence social presence when it is stimulating, expressive, carries feelings and emotions, and is significant, and implicit.

Projecting oneself onto an online group and identifying with that group can effectively influence online learning by creating a comfortable environment. Learners who perceive high social presence during online exchanges also think that they learn more by benefiting from the ideas of others (Caspi & Blau 2008). Learners need to be introduced to this notion of online community building, knowledge construction as a group, and ways of being present during online discussions.

Gunawardena (1995) has added the importance of online learner context, noting that the offline context where participants learn and their relationships within that context have an effect on the online learning experience. Lehman (2006) expands on this research of online social presence, community, and learner context by suggesting the creation of an environment that considers the perceptual nature of the learner, a perceptual systems approach. This approach considers learners as perceivers, who bring their individual knowledge, skills, attitudes, preferences, and diverse backgrounds to the online learning experience. From this perspective, learners are active perceivers, rather than passive receivers during the online learning experience.

Creating a Sense of Online Presence

Creating a sense of online presence enhances instructor-learner and learner-learner relationships. Our definition of online presence is "being there" and "being together" before, during, and at the end of the online experience. Since presence is not a thing but a process, it has a "look" and "feel." Presence looks and feels as though the instructor has placed the learner at the center of the course development and created the course for the learner. It looks and feels as though the instructor is accessible to the learners, the learners are accessible to the instructor and other learners, and the technology is transparent to the learning process.

Online presence is created through developing awareness, understanding, involvement through experience, and intentional planning and design throughout the course. Presence helps to break down feelings of isolation, involves participants in the learning process, brings learners together in a virtual community, and is key to learner retention.  

Online presence is more than engagement and includes the dynamic interplay of thought, emotion, and behavior as instructor and learners consciously and unconsciously experience both the real world and the online environment.

Why is it important to understand presence when creating and designing online courses?

As the Internet evolves in an informal social direction (Internet-based social networking tools), it points to the importance of creating a sense of presence in the more formal setting of teaching and learning  online. Understanding presence and how to create and design presence for online courses is “key.”

There is a difference between creating informal social presence for Facebook, Twitter, and other social media and creating presence for online courses. In the more informal setting we create presence spontaneously. In the more formal setting of online courses, we need to make a concerted effort to be aware of the intentions of others and their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. We need to use a systematic approach and “intentionally design.”