Proponents of social learning theory argue that successful learning takes place in an environment where individuals can construct ideas, culture, histories, and meaning as the result of ongoing social interactions and collaborative functioning (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989; Lave & Wenger, 1991). While the development of group social structure necessary for productive interactions happens fairly automatically in face-to-face learning environments, it is clear from the literature that creating and maintaining these social connections in online learning environments can be impeded by the technologies used for communicating at a distance (Fulford & Zhang, 1993; Haefner, 2000; Reisetter & Boris, 2004; Willis & Dickinson, 1997; Zielinski, 2000). The methods that face-to-face class participants use for assessing status, developing norms, and differentiating roles are often not feasible in an online learning environment where many of the "normal" sensory communication channels are unavailable. And, unfortunately, few resources exist to help instructors enhance social connections in their online courses.

This dissertation attempts to fill the void by exploring the theoretical foundations of social connectedness in computer-mediated instructional communication and then to generate from that understanding a theory-to-practice instructor's guide with empirically based strategies for maintaining social connectedness online. The guide includes a validated instrument to measure social connectedness among students that was created as part of this study. The dissertation also presents a detailed plan for the author's ongoing research into the area of social connectedness in learning environments.