Social Presence Techniques and Strategies in a Blended Course: Student Satisfaction and Suggestions

The purpose of this study was to determine student satisfaction and suggestions for social presence techniques and strategies in a blended course. Phenomenological research design was used in the study. Participants of this study were 22 senior undergraduate students at a public university in Turkey. A blended course was offered to students, including both face-to-face and online elements. An online course, including techniques for establishing social presence, was designed and developed in the Moodle learning management system (LMS). Techniques and strategies used in the study included course orientation videos, audio-visual meetings, providing frequent and detailed feedback, limiting class size, using sense of humor, using emoticons, addressing students by name, sharing personal stories and experiences, expressing agreement or disagreement, asking questions and inviting responses, and giving greetings. Students attended the course, which lasted a term. After the course, a form with open-ended questions was administered to the 22 students. A focus group interview was then performed with seven student volunteers. In the analysis of this qualitative data, descriptive and content analysis techniques were used. According to the findings, students were highly satisfied with the course. Students had positive opinions for each online course design technique and participant strategy. They thought that "providing frequent and detailed feedback" and "asking questions and inviting responses" were the strategies that contributed most to establish social presence.