A Study of the Predictive Relationship Between Online Social Presence and ONLE Interaction

Abstract

Open Network Learning Environments (ONLE) are online networks that afford learners the opportunity to participate in creative content endeavors, personalized identity projections, networked mechanism management, and effective collaborative community integration by applying Web 2.0 tools in open environments. It supports social interaction by integrating User-Generated Content, Participatory Web, digital identities, social and networking linkages, and collaborative learning community to allow learners manage and tailor their social presence. The purposes of this study were to assess the predictive relationship between online social presence and overall ONLE’s social interaction and examine the predictive relationships between online social presence and four dimensions of ONLE’s interaction (i.e., cognitive, social, networking, and integration). The results of this study did not support the role of online social presence as a predictor for overall ONLE’s social interaction. Although social presence can serve as a predictor for networking and integration dimensions, social presence cannot serve as a predictor for cognitive and social dimensions. This study suggests CMC and ONLE have different dynamics in social interaction. ONLE focuses on “social and “networking” linkages to transform online learners into “network learners” to project their ideal and preferred “network social presence” rather than online social presence.