It is very important to build a connection with online students right from the start.

Why?

• Connecting student with their peers and the teacher is a prerequisite for students' engagement

• Sense of community and belonging— In an online environment, it’s easy to forget that students are real people. Students are at home and physically isolated from their peers. Creating an emotional connection is important to foster the camaraderie spirit and long-term bonding throughout the course.

Making connection - Ice-breaking

Look at examples of ice-breaking session in following courses:

Creating Elements of Social Presence

There are two keywords or phrases: (i) feel affectively and effectively connected to one another and (ii) purposeful. The first level is about establishing a socio-emotional presence and personal relational relationship. It's also about gaining trust among learners in the community. This will create a comfortable and secure environment for fruitful and productive dialogue and collaboration.

However, social presence must move beyond this level to leverage the community of inquiry. Learners recognise that they are not there for purely social reasons but to accomplish serious learning goal. So, 'purposeful relationships' simply means the establishment of social presence would lead to a meaningful relationship in the educational context to establish a strong and productive community of inquiry.

• Social Presence In Online Learning: 7 Things Instructional Designers Can Do To Improve It

• Social Presence and Interaction in the Online Classroom

• Get Present