The success of any online learning initiative hinges on how the students are engaged. We know that. All the research agrees on one thing: Engagement is the key to any effective learning endeavour. Online learning does, however, require some unique considerations in order to maximise the students’ experience. Recently its emerged that engagement in online learning can be supported by developing a student “presence” within the learning experience.

Social presence: an ingredient for supporting engagement

Buelow, Barry and Rich note in their work on online learning engagement that any learning experience would benefit from invoking a sense of ‘social presence’ in the student. While technology may streamline the process of research and content communication, it can also stifle the important social aspect of learning. They emphasise that a social and emotional connection to the learning content is critical. The authors also highlight that social presence differs from cognitive presence, meaning that a student may be engaged with the academic rigours of the learning but might not feel any deeper attachment to the learning experience.

The inherent issue of creating a social presence online is impacted by the fact that technological errors or glitches often interrupt learning sessions, which may lead to student frustration. This is suggested by Dumford and Miller in their article on online learning in higher education, where they conclude that online learning can hamper the social aspect of the learning journey if the online course is not specially tailored to prevent such disconnection from occurring. In other words, make sure the learning platform you use doesn’t get in the way.

Authentic learning supports online engagement

One proposed approach to incorporating student presence is to include “authentic” learning activities. Authenticity in learning translates into content that the student can interact with and apply to their real-world daily lives. An authentic learning experience equips students with the tools to utilise their learned knowledge to enact meaningful change in reality. In terms of content, authenticity manifests in how comparable the course material is to actual problems the student encounters. Case studies and research activities which require the student to engage with the material outside of the demarcated ‘learning zone’ help the student to feel more connected with the purpose underlying their online learning.

Herrington, Oliver and Reeves also highlight the need for “real-world relevance”. Content should not be too far removed from reality, otherwise the students might not be able to fully appreciate the value thereof. The authors also suggest that rigidly defined tasks should be avoided and that some some of the interpretive burden should be shifted onto the student to strengthen engagement.

Authentic tasks should also be collaborative and encourage students to consider different opinions and perspectives. Authentic learning directly assists in providing the student with the social support needed to maintain engagement throughout the online learning course.

Go beyond the screen

Authentic discussions are one way that an online learning course can spark presence and meaningful engagement in the student. Activities and assessments which relate to the real world are another. What both of these principles share in common is that they require the student to apply their minds beyond the text on the screen.

At CPS we apply research and learning science to our learning design and to each touch point of student engagement. Contact us to find a programme that will captivate your team.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• Buelow, J.R., Barry, T., & Rich, L.E. (2018). Supporting learning engagement with online students. Online Learning, 22(4), 313-340. doi:10.24059/olj.v22i4.1384

(2018) (https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1202338.pdf)

• Amber D. Dumford • Angie L. Miller, Online learning in higher education: exploring advantages and disadvantages for engagement J Comput High Educ (2018) 30:452–465 (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-018-9179-z)
• Jan Herrington, Ron Oliver, Thomas C. Reeves, Patterns of engagement in authentic online learning environments Australian Journal ofEducational Technology (2003) , 19(1), 59-71 (https://ajet.org.au/index.php/AJET/article/view/1701/788).