Abstract

Research suggests that video can improve social presence in online courses. Video, though, is not a panacea; rather the success of video use depends in part on how and when it is used. Online instructors are increasingly using video in various ways, but questions remain on which types of videos students value most when it comes to establishing social presence. Given this, this mixed-methods sequential explanatory study explored student perceptions of three types of asynchronous video: video announcements, instructional videos, and video feedback. The results suggest that while video has the potential to improve social presence, it ultimately depends on both how the video is used in the online classroom as well as students’ individual preferences. Students in this study preferred instructional videos the most, followed by video feedback, and then video announcements. The paper provides implications for future research and practice.