Establishing social presence using digital storytelling

Citation
Lowenthal, P. R., & Dunlap, J. (2010). From pixel on a screen to real person in your students’ lives: Establishing social presence using digital storytelling. Internet and Higher Education, 13(1-2), 70-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2009.10.004

Abstract

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework is a comprehensive guide to the research and practice of online learning. One of the most challenging aspects of establishing a CoI in online courses is finding the best way to attend to each element of the CoI framework in a primarily text-based environment. In our online courses, we have examined the use of digital storytelling as a way to break down the barriers that can get in the way of achieving a healthy and productive CoI. In this paper, we describe how we use digital storytelling to establish our social presence as instructors.

Keywords: Social presence, teaching presence, community of inquiry, digital storytelling