Instructor Online Presence Checklist
Aspect of presence |
Questions for the instructor |
Sense of place
There is a “there,” there, with a place for everything and everything in its place. |
- Is there a “start here”?
- Is the course site well-organized – can the student easily discern where they can find resources, where to find their assignments and when due, and where to turn them in?
- Is the course site visually appealing and engaging?
- Is there a course map (syllabus)?
- Is there a concept map with a simple organizational visual theme for unification, a representation of the conceptual framework?
- Are there visual and textual signposts for where the student is in the course?
- Is there a structured orientation that walks the student through the course site, the course map and the concept map?
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Social presence
We are here, together with others, communicating and interacting socially and supporting each other. |
- Have you connected with each student individually before the course begins?
- Have you developed and circulated a “Getting to Know You” survey?
- Is there a welcome letter, introducing yourself in a personal way?
- Is there a welcoming activity that provides students with a structured, engaging, low-stakes way to introduce themselves and get to know each other?
- Is there a “lounge” for informal interaction?
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Individual agency for the learner
I am here, I am visible, I have individual power and control, and can make a difference to the whole. |
- Are there multiple representations of the same concepts (universal design) for different learning styles?
- Are there multiple opportunities for learner choice and self-direction?
- Have you designed ways to highlight individual contributions?
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Community agency for learners
We can work together, in collaboration, to create new meanings for ourselves and for each other. |
- Have you included opportunities for collaboration (team projects)?
- Have you provided a team contract model, including team activities for negotiation of and commitment to a contract?
- Have you clearly described how team projects will be graded (including peer assessment of individual team members)?
- Have you identified collaboration tools and ensured that students have support for learning how to use them?
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Instructor presence
I am here to help you (as designer, facilitator, catalyst, observer, evaluator, mentor) throughout the course. |
- Have you set and communicated your online office hours?
- Are you using multiple modes of communication (text, voice, video)?
- Have you planned regular “reach out and touch” points?
- Do you have checkpoints for early intervention (e.g., student is out of touch for n days)?
- Have you defined what you mean by “timely feedback” and planned how you are going to deliver it?
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Presence Model: from Suter, V. (2011) I am here – are you there? Sense of presence and implications for virtual world design. (Doctoral dissertation, Pepperdine University.). Retrieved from http://gradworks.umi.com/34/49/3449167.html
Lehman, M. & Conceicao, S. (2010). Creating a sense of presence in online teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
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