Effects of online presence on learning performance in a blog-based online course

• We investigated effects of online presence on learning performance.
• Online presence has a significant influence on learning performance.
• Cognitive presence played the most important role in blog-based learning.
• Students' subjective and objective learning outcomes are significantly related.

This study investigated how learners' perceived online presence contributed to their learning performance while participating in a blog-based university course. Although the literature evidently highlights that there is a necessity for online presence in online courses, concrete design approaches and empirical evaluation of the impact of online presence on learning performance in blog-based courses are lacking. An empirical study was therefore conducted to understand the relationship between individuals' perceptions of online presence, in terms of teaching, social and cognitive presences, and their learning performance, in terms of subjective and objective learning outcomes. Research questions were tested and data were analyzed using regression analysis. The results indicate that online presence has a significant influence on learning performance. A subsequent analysis found that cognitive presence played the most important role in blog-based online learning performance. This study also identified a significant relationship in learning performance between students' subjective and objective learning outcomes.