OnlineHE_Toolkit

19 The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Project Number: 2020-1-RO01-KA226-HE-095434 suggests that to create meaningful experiences based on a socio constructivist approach, we should consider the enhancement of the teachers’ online presence. Presence is defined as the act of “being” online: for instance, share ideas, guide, facilitate, organise, manage (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2001). As a concept, presence consists of three dimensions: social, cognitive, and teaching aspects. The more “present” the teacher is, the more “present” the students are, to effectively learn. To enhance these aspects, the researchers propose specific guidelines which we elaborate, based on our research, and present below: A. Social presence is “the ability of participants [...] to project themselves socially and emotionally, as “real'' people (i.e., their full personality), through the medium of communication being used” (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2001, p. 94). To enhance social presence and promote the establishment of an online community of learning as an instructor, the following tips are provided: ● establish a common ground with rules to which all participants of the online community should oblige (e.g., have a learning contract) ● initiate discussions through forums, from the very beginning till the end of the instruction (e.g., introductory forums where students present personal information) ● utilise social networks (Zachos, Paraskevopoulou-Kollia & Anagnostopoulos, 2018) ● ask learners to enrich their profile page that exists in most LMS ● ask learners to keep their web camera on during synchronous sessions is considered a way of building mutual trust, heightening participation to avoid non affective interaction between students and the lecturer (Molea & Năstasă, 2020). ● make a requirement that students connect with/log into the online learning platform various days through a specific time period. For instance, at least 4 different days per week. ● get to know students and use their names when you address them ● be present throughout the course by sharing information about yourself, so that students get to know you (e.g., hobbies, work experience, etc.). ● create “cyber-cafe” forums where students can discuss anything which is not directly related to the topics of the course/material ● use chat rooms where students can discuss with each other simultaneously/ synchronously ● incorporate humorous content when possible ● add personalised guidance such as video/audio instructions if possible ● make frequent announcements ● promote collaboration, open discussion, free expression among students (e.g., group work activities, peer-to-peer feedback)