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Research has shown that creating an online learning community is vital in Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) training programs and can be facilitated via the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework. For professional learners, an online learning community is influenced by their organizational affiliations. The purpose of this research is to explore learning experiences in groups of professional learners with different and homogenous organizational affiliations in an asynchronous online MBSE module. Through the case study methodology, this research examines four sources of data from two cases: Case 1—learners from different organizations (n = 7); and Case 2—overwhelming majority of learners from the same organization (n = 19). Results showed that learners from the same organization reported higher social presence, which, in turn, corresponded to a higher cognitive presence and higher motivation for future MBSE learning. Based on our findings, we recommend that organizations seeking MBSE adoption coordinate with online course providers to create cohorts to participate in the same offerings to facilitate the process of learning community building. We also recommend MBSE course providers facilitate social interaction on multiple communication platforms and create orientation activities for learners from different organizations to promote social presence.
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Pet Avatars, Performance Visualization, and Social Presence
Lack of social presence is one of the many challenges that online education is facing right now in spite of its numerous benefits and growing popularity. While different strategies, primarily behavioral- or cognitive-based, have been proposed and adopted to improve online social presence, affect-based intervention remains a novel approach to increasing learners' experience of connectedness. The Social Performance Optimization Tool (SPOT) is a university-funded, web-based interactive environment in which students interact with classmates through animated dog avatars that reflect their learning performance health and emotional states. This paper reports on an early, exploratory stage of research study wherein the SPOT users' experiences of social presence are explored through interviews. Tu and McIsaac's (2002) framework for social presence was used to analyze three dimensions of social presence: social context, online communication, and interactivity. Findings suggest that the SPOT personalizes the learning environment and helps learners feel more connected.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1735627
- PAR ID:
- 10288797
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- International journal of technology in teaching and learning
- Volume:
- 15
- ISSN:
- 1551-2576
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 18 - 31
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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