The LTD Project Blog

In an interview podcast to warm the pool by building social presence prior to an online conference, Jonathan Finkelstein prompts Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt to touch upon online assessment strategies, especially ones to use with adult learners who are likely to be learning what they need to, just in time, rather than learning what someone else thinks they need to, just in case it’s on a quiz or test.

A gem that I’m carrying away reflects remarks Paloff made about 14 of 15 minutes into the interview, about the value of social presence. Segueing from assessment to online presence, when Pratt emphasizes presence (instead of social), he’s probably referring to facilitators as much as to other online inter-actors (or course-takers). If he isn’t, he ought to be.

In turn, Palloff mentions research indicating that deliberate if not explicit developments of online presence at the onset of interactions enhance learner involvement, engagement, persistence, performance, and satisfaction. She characterizes such developments as “an extremely important component of community building” (Show #3: Assessing the Online Learner – An Interview with Rena Palloff & Keith Pratt, 2008.08.31).