Hello??? Anyone Out There? The Importance of Instructor Presence in Online Courses David H. Reid, Ph.D., University of Missouri Cathryn Friel, Instructional Designer University of Missouri

Instructor Presence – F2F

Instructor Presence - Online

The Big Idea

Did It Work?

Qualitative Results High Instructor Social Presence Low Instructor Social Presence Treatment  Provided Guidance  Valued instructor feedback  Timely responses.  Lack of feedback.  Lack of interaction.  Delayed instructor response. Comparison  Timely responses.  Provided Guidance  Only wants to do what is explicitly required.  Wanted additional guidance/scaffolding  Delayed instructor response. Sheridan & Kelly (2010) – Most frequently cited indicator by students for instructor presence was responding in timely manner. Indicators of providing feedback and clear requirements were also among most cited indicators of instructor presence.

Qualitative Results High Instructor Presence: – Anne felt that her instructor always replied promptly back to her. Low Instructor Presence: – Jill felt that her instructor would take a day or two to respond to questions.

Roles

Constructs TimelinessFeedback RelevancyImmediacy

Discussion

Takeaways “It’s the connection. It’s the relationships.” – Rita F. Pierson from Every Kid Needs a Champion, TED Talks Education

Don’t forget to…. Pay it Forward

Lessons Learned In an online course, expectations, feedback, and guidance are JUST as important as they were in F2F! Your role as an instructor does not change… – “It’s the connection. It’s the relationships.” – Rita F. Pierson From Every Kid Needs a Champion, TED Talks Education