Pet Avatars, Performance Visualization, and Social Presence

Lack of social presence is one of the many challenges that online education is facing right now in spite of its numerous benefits and growing popularity. While different strategies, primarily behavioral- or cognitive-based, have been proposed and adopted to improve online social presence, affect-bas...

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Published inInternational journal of technology in teaching and learning Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 18 - 31
Main Authors Wang, Nicole, Gregg, Andrea, Yeh, Martin K.-C, Heiser, Rebecca, Diehl, William C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published International Journal of Technology in Teaching and Learning 2019
Subjects
Adult Education
Affective Behavior
Animation
Context Effect
Educational Technology
Emotional Response
Foreign Countries
Graduate Study
Interaction
Interpersonal Relationship
Online Courses
Peer Relationship
Social Environment
Student Attitudes
Technology Uses in Education
Undergraduate Study
Brazil
United States
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Summary:Lack of social presence is one of the many challenges that online education is facing right now in spite of its numerous benefits and growing popularity. While different strategies, primarily behavioral- or cognitive-based, have been proposed and adopted to improve online social presence, affect-based intervention remains a novel approach to increasing learners' experience of connectedness. The Social Performance Optimization Tool (SPOT) is a university-funded, web-based interactive environment in which students interact with classmates through animated dog avatars that reflect their learning performance health and emotional states. This paper reports on an early, exploratory stage of research study wherein the SPOT users' experiences of social presence are explored through interviews. Tu and McIsaac's (2002) framework for social presence was used to analyze three dimensions of social presence: social context, online communication, and interactivity. Findings suggest that the SPOT personalizes the learning environment and helps learners feel more connected.
ISSN:1551-2576
DOI:10.37120/ijttl.2019.15.1.02