Conrad and Donaldson (2004) recognize the importance of instructional strategies that promote collaboration, community, and engagement in the online environment. They state that "[e]experienced online instructors have found that interaction is actually the essence of the course. The rest of the course will go much more smoothly if care is taken to promote ...the engagement process" early in the course (p.10). They continue by stating that the process should be fostered throughout the course.

For example:

Introductory discussion forums such as Truths and Lies and One Thing that Describes Me help learners discover interesting information about their fellow students in an interactive responsive manner. Requiring learners to create a homepage where they can post a picture and provide a brief personal description is another activity that helps learners become familiar with one another. Once learners get to know one another through introductory activities, educators can plan dyad and small group activities to promote social presence. For example, the educator may choose to do small discussions on a discussion forum and then summarize their discussion for the entire group.