Building learning communities by enhancing social presence: implementing blended instructional delivery methods

Abstract

Lewis, Snow, Farris, et al. stated in the National Center for Education Statistics that "distance education appears to have become a common feature of many postsecondary education institutions and...it will become only more common in the future" [3]. In the wave of migration to new instructional delivery modes, it is necessary for us to critically examine some issues that have arisen, in order to reach an optimal solution for both the students and the instructors. One of the inevitable tradeoffs in an online learning environment is a decrease in the quality of social interaction. Social interaction is innate in traditional face-to-face classrooms. It is not only a critical element in helping the learners to develop a sense of belongingness within a learning community, but also determines the dynamics of the learning community, which greatly influence the students' learning outcomes. Among the essential components of a community, interaction between the members is deemed to be the one crucial factor that makes a community alive. Researchers agree that helping students develop a sense of community is an important aspect in promoting positive learning experiences and better learning outcomes in distance learning environments [7].