Robinson, Kathleen
(2009).
Encouraging social presence and a sense of community in a virtual residential school.
Open Learning, 24(2),
pp. 127–139.
Abstract
This study describes the theoretical rationale underpinning the design and implementation of a career related activity as an optional element of a Virtual Residential School (VRS). The activity comprised an interview with a practising Chartered psychologist recorded as an mp3 audio file which was subsequently supported by an asynchronous discussion held in a dedicated online forum. The impact of the activity was assessed based on the analysis of activity logs and the student response to a post course survey together with the ethnographic data from the discussion forum. The design of the activity and its value for enriching the student experience and encouraging social presence and a sense of community is discussed and shows that there were benefits from this approach.
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