In thinking about my intro post, I can foresee that it might both increase and decrease social presence – or maybe, the hypothesized ‘benefits’ of social presence. For example, seeing my picture, and assuming that I am a white male might generate a negative reaction for some, which would still imply ‘social presence’ – however, is it good?
One of the challenges I see with theories of ‘social’ presence in the online learning world is that ‘social’ presences online and the tools to generate that presence, change rapidly. For example, a student (or instructor) of the millennial generation may have multiple social media platforms that could broadcast their presence.
Or, many academics have multiple published papers and books, that in turn generate a ‘social presence’. Sometimes when theories seem to fit too easily, it might mean there are some potential weaknesses. Like other theories, there are both potential advantages and disadvantages to adopting various theoretical paradigms such as COI, and related theoretical components, such as ‘social presence’.
