In order to get the valid and complete feedback, the writer should have included both the experienced as well as novice students in this study. The reason is that experienced students may not be able to point out the real problems as compared to novice students, who are much more aware of their surrounding and notice things more. The correct approach would have been to take feedback from both the experienced as well as the new student, in order to synthesize the correct result. Choosing old student would not make this research very authenticated. One more thing that is worth point out is that social presence can be felt by student if they experience any feedback from fellow students, but in case of online education which does not contain interaction between students, so how will social presence be judged there.
The concept discussed in this article reflects the work of many well-known educationalists. For example, the idea of social presence in learning was also presented by Dewey when he called education as a 'social continuity of life' (Dewey, 1930). For him the process of education starts from the day the child is born and ends when his or her life ends. From this meaning of education, it is much clear that there is a strong connection between social life, society as well as education. Similarly the concept of online education is quite similar to the concept presented by Kirkpatrick, in which he believed that a teacher should act as a guide, not as a leader or a commander, the whole concept of online education reflected this concept in which the teacher has a role of acting as an instructor and a guide, which in total contrast to the conventional class room environment.
The need for a teacher during learning is prominent in almost each and every theory ever proposed by the educationalists. Whether it is Plato who wanted children to be...
However, in case of online learning, all of these theories and philosophies have been challenged. Though these theories are important, the validity of these theories which need a teacher for the process of effective learning is still yet to be confirmed.
Online learning is as important and important as conventional class room learning, and as the article validates, the effective of learning is very much dependent on the student motivation and readiness to learn rather than the teacher alone.
Taken together, there is no denying the fact that online learning has made life easy for the learners. This mode of learning has enabled learners to continue their education without any hindrance. This article is a clear indication that social presence is an important factor and should be incorporated in the online learning environment. Social presence in the online learning can be achieved through the use of different interactive methods which can be designed by the teachers. Even though the latest technology has made learning a pleasant and interactive experience, and further development are underway to make them more effective, the importance of learner in this whole scenario cannot be ignored.
This article reflects on the idea that teachers must promote interaction in online learning in order to promote the feeling of social presence in online learning. However, more research is required in the field of social presence in order to understand the connection between learning, social presence and satisfaction and motivation of the learner.
References
Dewey, J. (1930). Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education. New York, USA: The Macmillan Company.
