The use of nonverbal communication elements in e-learning environments

In this study, the effect of facial expressions of the narrator on the learner motivation was examined in the lessons that the open and distance learners took through the videos.In this context, the first unit of the Media and Communication course on the e-campus of the Open Education Faculty was presented to the learner audiencecalled the quality ambassadors in the open education system through videos. In this study, the video as a learning materialwas examined and the lecture video was grouped by the researcher according to the narrator's facial expressions as neutral, energetic, bored, sincere, angry and thoughtful.At the end of the interval in which each facial expression was used, the learners encountered a scale that measured their desire to continue watching the video.Thus, it has been observed how the learner's motivation changes according to the facial expression that the narrator used. Then, nine people were randomly selected from the participants who watched the whole video and answered each scale and answered ten open-ended questions extracted from the matrix prepared with the theoretical basis of the thesis, the Media Richness and Computer-Based Communication theories.It was concluded that facial expressions, which could positively affect learner motivation, were energetic (73%), sincere (72%) and neutral (71%), respectively, according to the percentages of desire to continue the video. Key words: Non-verbal communication, Open and distance learning, Learner motivation