Social presence is an element in the Community of Inquiry model of learning. This model represents a process of creating a deep and meaningful (collaborative-constructivist) learning experience through the development of social, cognitive and teaching presence.

Social presence is “the ability of participants to identify with the community (e.g., course of study), communicate purposefully in a trusting environment, and develop inter-personal relationships by way of projecting their individual personalities.” (Garrison, 2009)

As Jessica Gordon argues in chapter 10 of the book Social Presence in Online Learning: Multiple Perspectives on Practice and Research (2017), teachers in virtual classrooms must learn to model social presence.

Community of Inquiry model

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