Teaching Presence in Online Synchronous Classes of Exemplary ESL/EFL Teachers at WizIQ:
A Preliminary Study
J. Aleta R. Villanueva
Faculty of Education, University of the Philippines Open University
j.aleta.villanueva@upou.edu.ph
Since the emergence of the Communities of Inquiry (COI) framework espoused by Anderson, Rourke, Garrison and Archer (2001), research in teaching presence in asynchronous learning environments has been growing in the field of distance education. With the rise of online synchronous learning platforms which complement as well as challenge asynchronous modes of teaching, there is a need to reexamine the construct of teaching presence in order to understand how this happens in virtual live classes. WizIQ Virtual Classroom offers an online synchronous learning environment with multimodal features to connect teachers and learners real-time. Since 2007, narrated presentations of courses and classes have been documented within WizIQ, including valuable work of ESL/EFL teachers. A qualitative study was undertaken to describe and examine the nature of teaching presence in the classes of selected exemplary ESL teachers at WizIQ. This paper presents emerging themes with regard to teaching presence based on the recorded classes of Dr Nellie Deutsch, a curriculum technology expert, seasoned EFL/ESL instructor, and a highly recommended teacher by peers and learners at WizIQ.
The study hopes to surface a new perspective of looking at teaching presence in synchronous platforms as interpreted by the researcher-novice online teacher. Findings build on the prior work of researchers seeking a better understanding of teaching presence to inform online teaching practice.
Keywords: teaching presence, synchronous platforms, ESL