Share Paper: Embedding Social Media to Enhance Social Presence: Perceived Learning and Cognitive Engagement in an Online Graduate Course

  1. Nandita Gurjar, University of Northern Iowa, United States
Thursday, March 21 3:30 PM-4:00 PM Wilshire A

Abstract: The goal of this qualitative research was to examine graduate students’ (N=19) perception of how synchronous and asynchronous social media communication created social presence in online learning, and the role it played in students’ cognitive engagement and perceived learning. The research also examined how embedding social media technologies created social presence through analysis of course artifacts. Data collection consisted of a focus group interview (N=7) and content analysis of social media artifacts. Subsequently, data were transcribed, coded with descriptive codes (Saldana, 2012), and synthesized to form relevant themes. The results indicated that embedding social media provided opportunities for authentic communication ...