Sustainability of e-Learning Environment: Can Social Presence Be Enhanced by Multimedia?

With the exponential development of Internet, distance learning has become an alternative means of taking a course or earning a degree. Social presence is a critical factor for forming and sustaining learning communities that support deeper learning through knowledge sharing. Social presence does not happen spontaneously and is in need of cultivation. This paper explores a review of the literature on social presence and the use of multimedia in distance education. The review of literature indicates that the advent of technological innovation in communications provides new mechanisms and opportunities in the distance learning environment. The findings from the literature review suggest that with the integration of multimedia into classrooms, instructors can increase social presence, enrich student's learning experience and raise student's satisfaction to reduce time and physical barriers existing in the online learning environment.