The issue of group work online has been discussed in the education field since COVID-19 pandemic which has made Malaysia to switch from face-to-face classes to online distance learning. Students had to still fulfil the requirements for all courses by individual and group assessments. With the shift towards online environments, understanding the nature of individuals' engagement and presence within virtual group settings becomes crucial. The objective of this study is to discover perception of learners on their use of learning strategies specifically social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence in online group work. To achieve this objective, a quantitative survey was conducted with 200 undergraduate respondents from a public institution. The survey consisted of four sections: Section A captured the demographic profile of the participants, while Section B focused on social presence, Section C, and D looked at cognitive presence, and teaching presence, respectively. A general overview of the findings reveals a significantly strong relationship between the presence of cognitive, social, and teaching elements during online group work. The impactful roles played by these three types of presence in online group work are highlighted by the statistical analysis of the questionnaire data. A collective agreement among most students indicates that the presence of cognitive, social, and teaching elements positively contributes to their learning experience in online group work. These insights emphasize the importance of understanding these core elements for educators, researchers, and students, as they can enhance the productivity and quality of online group work.