Experience of ‘Social Presence’ in Task-oriented
Mediated Communication
B.M.S.S. Balasooriya
Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education
Introduction
This study is about how social presence is experienced by the
members of a group via mediated communication in a task-oriented
environment.
Conceptual Background
‘Social presence’ indicates the degree to which
one is perceived as a real person in mediated
communication.
Definition: “the degree of feeling, perception,
and reaction of being connected by CMC to
another intellectual entity through a text-based
encounter”
Tu and McIsaac (2002)
4 social presence measurements: Personalimpersonal, Sensitive-insensitive, Warm-cold,
Sociable-unsociable. (Short, 1976)
A medium with a high degree of social presence
-sociable, warm, and personal
A medium with a low degree of social presence
- less personal
‘CMC’: communication between two or more
individuals that occurs via computer
networks. It can be text, audio, graphics, or
video based and it occurs synchronously or
asynchronously.
Synchronous: communication which occurs
simultaneously in real time. E.g. video chats,
audio calls, audio/video conferences, shared
whiteboard
Asynchronous: communication which takes
place when the parties engaged are not
communicating in unison. Immediate response
is not produced by the receiver. E.g. emails,
discussion forums, text massages, massages via
social media
Problem
• During a time of social distancing, it is a challenge for the teachers
to generate the feeling of social presence among the students. As
physical contact is not possible, it is difficult to maintain interaction
and create discussion effectively among them.
• The difficulty gets worse when the students work towards a
common learning achievement in groups.
Objectives
Main objective
To investigate if students can experience social presence in online taskbased activity by using mediated communication.
Specific Objectives
• To examine how social presence is experienced in a CMC environment.
• To identify the challenges in fostering social presence among the
participants of remote collaborative group.
• To identify the opportunities available for enhancing social presence.
Methodology
Case study
Methodology
Sampling Technique –
Purposive
Participants - 14 HNDEn followers
Data collection method
Semi-structured interviews
Process-Activity
Forming groups
Assigning task
Setting goals
Imposing communication requirements
Findings
Data analysis technique: Thematic analysis
Themes
Emerging
Themes
Interview transcripts
Discourse generated by segments of students’ communication
Emotional tie, comfort, privacy,
acceptance, satisfaction, learning &
retention, exposure, contribution
Discussion
Factors causing effective social presence
• The use of asynchronous methods than synchronous methods
• Approachability and online proximity of the teacher
• Willingness to interact
• The task-oriented environment that creates the need for the
sense of accomplishment.
Restraints for effective social presence
• Lack of intimacy
• Lack of the feeling of contribution
• Attitudinal deterrents to the use of technology
Conclusion & Recommendations
A task-oriented, mediated environment can provide an
opportunity for teachers to improve the learning experiences of
students during social distancing.
The challenge of generating effective interaction among the
members of a remote study group can be successfully faced by,
• building a task-oriented environment with prior-set goals to be
achieved.
• using asynchronous communication methods frequently.
• maintaining interaction through easy accessibility.
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