Promoting peer connection in online courses: exploring the effect of media richness on presence and social connection

ABSTRACT Online learning provides a variety of benefits to the educational experience, including accessibility and flexibility, but is often limited in terms of peer-to-peer interactions and relationship development. Using media richness theory as a guiding framework, this study extended prior research to determine the impact of using richer channels in a fast-friendship task on feelings of co-presence and social connection among undergraduate students in online courses. Participants (N = 106) were assigned to one of three conditions (text, phone or video) for the fast-friendship task, which took place over the course of nine weeks. The results revealed that there was no indirect effect of channel richness on social connection through co-presence. Additionally, the direct effects of channel richness on co-presence and co-presence on social connection were not significant. These null findings have theoretical and practical implications for understanding media richness in online learning and improving course design among contemporary college students.