Assessing Social Presence In Asynchronous Text-based Computer Conferencing

Abstract

Instructional media such as computer conferencing engender high levels of student-student and student-teacher interaction;

affectively into a community of inquiry. A template for assessing social presence in computer conferencing is presented through content analysis of conferencing transcripts. To facilitate explication of the scheme and subsequent replication of this study, selections of coded transcripts are included, along with interrater reliability figures. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications and benefits of assessing social presence for instructors, for instructors, conference moderators, and researchers.