Connections Before Curriculum: The Role of Social Presence During COVID-19 Emergency Remote Learning for Students
This study examined the student experience (n=507) during emergency remote learning at a medium-sized private southeastern university during the COVID-19 pandemic, leveraging the Social Presence Model (SPM) as a guiding framework. Tensions were high at this critical time as students were stressed w...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Online Learning Consortium
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Online Learning |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/2868 |
| _version_ | 1797328056177655808 |
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| author | Suzanne Ensmann Aimee Whiteside Lina Gomez-Vasquez Ronda Sturgill |
| author_facet | Suzanne Ensmann Aimee Whiteside Lina Gomez-Vasquez Ronda Sturgill |
| author_sort | Suzanne Ensmann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
This study examined the student experience (n=507) during emergency remote learning at a medium-sized private southeastern university during the COVID-19 pandemic, leveraging the Social Presence Model (SPM) as a guiding framework. Tensions were high at this critical time as students were stressed with financial burdens, supply shortages, overlapping work and educational schedules, and shared technological resources and physical spaces. Therefore, this study helps educators better understand students’ emotional needs and experiences during the March 2020 lockdown transition to remote learning. Specifically, examining the student experience in a time of crisis offers critical lessons about the importance of connectedness, online readiness, cultivating relationships, adaptability during transitions, and class interaction. The data revealed the depth of anxiety felt by students and suggests the need for increased empathy, communication, interaction, and flexibility from their instructor and course community to proceed with academic coursework, particularly for first-year college students. The findings elevate the importance of social presence as a literacy for learning in any modality, underscore the need to support the mental health of our students, and stress the urgency for online and remote learning readiness for current and future public emergencies.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T06:46:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9ebb1fe1b9c84d0c8e709dce38ffbbcb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2472-5749 2472-5730 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T06:46:23Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | Online Learning Consortium |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Online Learning |
| spelling | doaj.art-9ebb1fe1b9c84d0c8e709dce38ffbbcb2024-02-03T07:58:25ZengOnline Learning ConsortiumOnline Learning2472-57492472-57302021-09-0125310.24059/olj.v25i3.2868Connections Before Curriculum: The Role of Social Presence During COVID-19 Emergency Remote Learning for StudentsSuzanne Ensmann0Aimee Whiteside1Lina Gomez-Vasquez2Ronda Sturgill3The University of TampaThe University of TampaThe University of TampaThe University of Tampa This study examined the student experience (n=507) during emergency remote learning at a medium-sized private southeastern university during the COVID-19 pandemic, leveraging the Social Presence Model (SPM) as a guiding framework. Tensions were high at this critical time as students were stressed with financial burdens, supply shortages, overlapping work and educational schedules, and shared technological resources and physical spaces. Therefore, this study helps educators better understand students’ emotional needs and experiences during the March 2020 lockdown transition to remote learning. Specifically, examining the student experience in a time of crisis offers critical lessons about the importance of connectedness, online readiness, cultivating relationships, adaptability during transitions, and class interaction. The data revealed the depth of anxiety felt by students and suggests the need for increased empathy, communication, interaction, and flexibility from their instructor and course community to proceed with academic coursework, particularly for first-year college students. The findings elevate the importance of social presence as a literacy for learning in any modality, underscore the need to support the mental health of our students, and stress the urgency for online and remote learning readiness for current and future public emergencies. https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/2868social presenceconnectednessCOVID-19online learningremote learningonline readiness |
| spellingShingle | Suzanne Ensmann Aimee Whiteside Lina Gomez-Vasquez Ronda Sturgill Connections Before Curriculum: The Role of Social Presence During COVID-19 Emergency Remote Learning for Students Online Learning social presence connectedness COVID-19 online learning remote learning online readiness |
| title | Connections Before Curriculum: The Role of Social Presence During COVID-19 Emergency Remote Learning for Students |
| title_full | Connections Before Curriculum: The Role of Social Presence During COVID-19 Emergency Remote Learning for Students |
| title_fullStr | Connections Before Curriculum: The Role of Social Presence During COVID-19 Emergency Remote Learning for Students |
| title_full_unstemmed | Connections Before Curriculum: The Role of Social Presence During COVID-19 Emergency Remote Learning for Students |
| title_short | Connections Before Curriculum: The Role of Social Presence During COVID-19 Emergency Remote Learning for Students |
| title_sort | connections before curriculum the role of social presence during covid 19 emergency remote learning for students |
| topic | social presence connectedness COVID-19 online learning remote learning online readiness |
| url | https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/2868 |
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