A 30-Year Literature Review on Social Presence and Teacher Immediacy: Connecting online and emergency remote environments

For more than 30 years, researchers have conducted diverse and extensive studies on the importance of social presence in learning communities, including both online and face-to-face contexts. This article will examine past elements and introduce more current examples. Online learning settings are certainly flexible. These settings offer a viable way to reduce the need to travel to attend face-to-face classes while allowing students to participate in classes that fit their comfort zone. ERT is often an unchartered and temporary solution for teaching brought forth by urgent circumstances. The goal is to give temporary access to instruction for stakeholders. When instructors outline social presence objectives, they can highlight the importance of collaboration within online structures. Furthermore, by increasing social and emotional well-being, educators allow their learners to express their feelings within the learning community. Nonverbal and casual communication techniques must be nurtured through immediacy behaviors like warmth, understanding, and kindness to adhere to a convivial online community. Important aspects to consider in this comparison are different in-home learning situations, facility for student involvement, ease of learner contribution, and possibilities for achievement. Factors of circumstance and the degree of isolation must be taken into consideration within ERT. The transition to ERT requires easy internet access, communication and lecturing software, as well as basic technological skills for those involved.