Technology Readiness and Social Presence in Online Higher Education

Abstract

With the proliferation of technology-dependent social media, electronic connections between individuals and between groups are numerous. While technology facilitates these connections, researchers have not established the extent to which technology assures social connectedness within a community of inquiry in terms of student-teacher interaction. Given that social presence is a measure of the student-student and student-teacher interaction, measuring its perception by students within the framework of their familiarity with technology could determine its relationship to technology. Using the sub-constructs of social presence: affective expression, open communication, and group cohesion, and the technology readiness index, a regression analysis of a survey of 88 online higher education students found technology optimism, a sub-construct of technology readiness, significantly predicted social presence. The result implies that taking a learner's attitude toward technology into consideration could help educational administrators provide a more meaningful and effective educational experience for learners within a community of inquiry.