Chapter 5: Identity In Cyberspace

The study of electronic selves shows how the social rules employed to manage a presence in virtual environments are as important as those in embodied life. People construct and reconstruct themselves in cyberspace in ways that are subject to cultural restrictions on both sides of the screen, as well as being influenced by the affordances offered by new media. To learn is to come to a new understanding of the world, but it also requires a re-adjustment of one’s self. The complexities of the relationship between the engagement of students with their work and the sense of themselves as learners are increased as the systems they are working with offer more opportunities for presence. To be present is to foreground one’s identity in some way, if only as a named member of a group, or by minimal contribution. Given that identity is both individual (reflexive and subjective) and social (depending on relationships and context), in the e-learning environment it is important to consider how individuals and groups of learners are extending and adapting “ways of being” and interacting with others in the new spaces.