My first task in this post is to examine how my previous post should have enhanced social presence in my online course and how to improve upon that. A bio that shares information can help with social presence as it is a way to project your personality into the online environment and be seen as a ‘real person’, both of which were talked about as part of the definitions of social presence.
To improve on this post, I would include more of my background in ecology and some of the interesting projects I have worked on in the field that get me excited about my work. I think it is important to include the more personal aspects that I already have because it gets beyond the professional characteristics and as I mentioned, may help me seem more ‘real’. However, I have some professional interests and stories that could catch a student’s eye and combined with the personable aspects of the posts, may make them more likely to reach out to discuss topics of interest related to the course.
The concept of the three categories of social presence and group cohesion as the key goal has caught my eye. I do see this as a challenge and while there are some aspects of the course I teach that encourage this type of interaction, it is difficult to achieve. I look forward to considering this further in this course.
Hi, rreudink (sorry, I don’t know your name),
I think you have hit upon a key that personal disclosure really stimulates depth of group presence. I believe you will find your students deepening their appreciate for your courses in correlation with their perceptions that you are open with them (not too much, obviously, but in an authentic way). I look forward to reading more of your thoughts.