title: Creating and measuring social presence in online graduate nursing courses.
abstract: The literature has shown that social presence is one of the most significant factors in building a sense of community in online education. This pilot study examines the outcomes of integrating social presence strategies into an online graduate nursing course and lays the groundwork for a larger study into dimensions of social presence and student satisfaction. Using a two-group comparison design, the results demonstrate that the purposeful incorporation of specific social presence techniques had a positive impact on student perceptions of social presence and group interaction as well as online learning expectations.
authors.affiliation: East Carolina University School of Nursing, Greenville, North Carolina, USA. maynel@ecu.edu
authors.forename: Linda A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Mayne
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003142:Communication; D020375:Education, Distance; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012931:Social Environment; D014481:United States