Socially Present? The Perception of Humanness Online Through Video

Abstract

Connectedness is essential for student success in online learning. By projecting themselves as real people through video, instructors support connectedness. In this chapter, researchers apply the theory of social presence (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) to case studies from two public higher education institutions: a four-year university and a large research university. Analysis identifies video as a humanizing element of online courses. Findings suggest video could be used in a variety of ways (e.g., video lectures, synchronous office hours, weekly overview videos), and no single use of video was perceived to be more or less effective in developing social presence and humanizing the learning experience. However, participants especially perceived connectedness when video was used in a variety of ways. Students from the second case study validated a perception of connectedness to the instructor that faculty in our first case study hoped to achieve. However, one instructor’s perception of disconnect illustrates that video is just one of several pedagogical practices necessary to create a satisfying learning experience for both students and instructors. While video is not the only way to establish social presence, findings suggest video is an effective practice toward creating a humanized and connected online learning community.

Citation

Rockey, A., Gonzalez, L., Eberhardt-Alstot, M. and Merrill, M. (2020), "Socially Present? The Perception of Humanness Online Through Video", Sengupta, E., Blessinger, P. and Makhanya, M.S. (Ed.) International Perspectives on the Role of Technology in Humanizing Higher Education (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 33), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 13-32. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120200000033002