Creating Social Presence in Digital Learning Environments: A Presence of Mind?

In this presentation I argue that social presence is an important feature of any successful learning activity, particularly within digital learning environments (DLEs). I also contend that the psychological processes that occur during learning should be acknowledged, measured and understood, if we are to design better and more effective DLEs. I argue that social presence and several other key factors such as immediacy of dialogue and student tenacity and autonomy are useful predictors of student satisfaction in technology supported distance education. I conclude by offering some recommendations on how to build social presence into DLEs.