Creating and Measuring Social Presence in Online Graduate Nursing Courses

The literature has shown that social presence is one of the most significant factors in building a sense of community in online education. This pilot study examines the outcomes of integrating social presence strategies into an online graduate nursing course and lays the groundwork for a larger study into dimensions of social presence and student satisfaction. Using a two-group comparison design, the results demonstrate that the purposeful incorporation of specific social presence techniques had a positive impact on student perceptions of social presence and group interaction as well as online learning expectations.