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Presence, a sense of “being there,” is critical to the success of designing, teaching, and learning at a distance using both synchronous and asynchronous (blended) technologies. Emotions, behavior, and cognition are components of the way presence is perceived and experienced and are essential for explaining the ways we consciously and unconsciously perceive and experience distance education. A more complete understanding of the integration of the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional components of presence into distance education teaching and learning will impact the design, instructional facilitation, and experience of distance education faculty and learners. This paper focuses on a literature review of the research in the areas of: emotion as indispensable to the perception of reality, and presence and the role of emotion in creating presence. It builds on models from this research and presents: (a) a framework for creating presence in the blended distance education experience, (b) implications for practice, (c) implications for future research, and (d) a suggested combination of methods for measuring presence in distance education experiences.

MERLOT and TLT Group partner to deliver two faculty development programs 1. Group Webcast – MERLOT: Teaching with Technology In April of 2006, MERLOT and the TLT (Teaching, Learning and Technology) Group will offer the three week, online, participatory workshop, MERLOT: Teaching with Technology. The workshop will focus on how the MERLOT collection and services provide faculty with valuable resources in the design, delivery, and assessment of courses offered face-to-face, entirely online, or in a blended (hybrid) format. The workshop is one of many planned activities in which MERLOT and its partner TLT are cooperating. The first of the three part series begins April 5th and runs from 3:00 to 4:00 pm EST. Other session are April 12th and April 19th. Ray Purdom, Editor of MERLOT’s Teaching and Technology discipline, will coordinate the series and conduct the workshops with members of the TLT Board and other MERLOT discipline boards. For more information and to register visit http://www.tltgroup.org/OLI/Schedule.htm. For information regarding other TLT events click on http://www.tltgroup.org/Events/EventsCalendar/Chronological%20View.htm 2. TLT Group Presents On-Line Events The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Group (http://www.tltgroup.org/) strives to motivate and enable institutions and individuals to improve teaching and learning with technology, while helping them cope with continual change. For a list of scheduled events, go to http://www.tltgroup.org/OLI/Schedule.htm.