Best Practices for Creating Social Presence and Caring Behaviors Online

AIM: To identify best practices and evidence-based strategies for creating an online learning environment that encompasses caring behaviors and promotes social presence. BACKGROUND: Faculty who teach online classes are challenged to create a sense of social presence and caring behaviors in a virtual world in which students feel connected and part of the learning environment. METHOD: To extrapolate evidence to support best practices, a review of literature was conducted focused on social presence and caring online. RESULTS: Faculty messages that are respectful, positive, encouraging, timely, and frequent foster social presence and caring behaviors while also allowing for caring interactions, mutual respect, and finding meaning in relationships. CONCLUSION: A variety of measures to emulate caring online intertwine with social presence to promote a sense of caring and belonging. More research is needed to support the evidence for these strategies.