Social presence in online courses. Presuppositions, perspectives and interpretations of humor

Abstract

This paper focuses on the ways in which social presence is realized in online learning, with a special attention on humor. The technological development brought with it many improvements and facilities in almost every area of human activities, but also produced many other losses. In the educational domain, computer-mediated communication came with the challenge to substitute or at least to complement face-to-face interaction with the online interactivity. In this context, the amplitude and the forms of classical teaching tools were constantly re-evaluated or redesigned. The place of spontaneity in the new educational context was discussed in deep and polarized ways. From the assessments such as the online is not the proper medium for humor to the opposite ideas, the entire area of theoretical positioning has been elaborated in the literature. The paper emphasises on some of the most important presuppositions, limitations, and benefits of these concepts applied to the online environment.