One of my Zoom classes this semester was interrupted by my three year old son who wanted help taping wings onto the empty toilet paper roll he was turning into a lady bug. Things spiraled from there and I ended up giving students the option to skip their normal reading response assignment and instead complete a Toilet Paper Roll Challenge. The rules were simple: Transform a humble toilet paper roll into a magnificent work of art. While this exact situation would have never unfolded in my physical classroom, it reflects the sort of spontaneous levity that I love about teaching at Trinity.
As an interpersonal and computer-mediated communication scholar, I study the relational aspects of communication technology. We generally maintain relationships by performing behaviors that promote a sense of immediacy, closeness, and satisfaction, while symbolizing our desire for the relationship to continue. These behaviors are often built into our daily routines, leaving them almost unnoticeable until they stop happening.
I take full advantage of mediated communication within my personal relationships, yet have traditionally relied on the physical classroom to facilitate relationally sustaining moments of connection with my students. The term social presence refers to this sense of connection and immediacy, and it can also be facilitated using technology. Just ask anyone in a long-distance relationship, or whose family lives across the country. The key is to communicate in ways that reduce the sense of psychological distance between us, regardless of any physical distance.
Students in Erin Sumner's class made ice cream cones, ninjas, baby Yoda, and more out of toilet paper rolls.
So my classes engaged in a remote asynchronous pandemic arts and crafts time together. We made TP Yodas, TP super heroes, TP knights, and in the words of one student something that was supposed to be a cactus yet also vaguely resembled a watermelon. Ironic hashtags were added like #NotAnArtMajor and #NailedIt. During the next Zoom session I shared a slideshow of our creations, and the physical distance melted away for a moment while we laughed.
Moments of genuine connection promote a sense of interpersonal immediacy that fuels our ability to work together in the classroom and beyond. It is imperative that we find ways to maintain these connections by remaining socially present during this time of physical distancing.
The good news is that maintaining social presence is easier than it sounds, and you can do it with your own relationships. You don’t need the fanciest technologies. Phone calls and/or email will often suffice. Or if you are feeling more adventurous, consider taking the TP Roll Challenge with your friends and family.