Informal Communication in Virtual Learning Environments

Learning environments increasingly become more diverse by the use of information technology. Thereby, the share of face-to-face situations between students as well as between students and mentors becomes smaller, while the share of encounters in virtual space is growing larger. Thus, computer mediated communication (CMC) is growing in importance in all learning environments. Since standard learning environments involve both formal and informal communication, it seems reasonable to claim that without informal communication students and faculty would have difficulties in sustaining the learning processes. Beyond the ever-growing exchange of formal content, the opportunity of informal communication appears increasingly essential for the successful pursuit of online studies. Informal communication may help students get a quicker grasp of the issues of their studies. It can provide opportunities to find fellow students or friends and, beyond the framework of serious learning, enable contacts to potential partners in pastimes like sports or games. What makes the issue difficult to recognize is that informal communication does not usually present itself as a separate activity; rather, it is folded into a variety of interactions within groups and between individuals. In virtual environments, students and their teachers are usually separated in time and space. What is lacking is the easy everyday exchange of social cues known from brick-and-mortar institutions and present in traditional environments. The course of interactions is broken up, and therefore needs to be supported by CMC in new ways. Our extensive analysis of elements in learning environments suggests that informal communication is generally undervalued. For a meaningful discussion of the value of informal communication in learning, we sketch out a theoretical background. This framework is derived from the constructivist understanding of learning, extended by requirements of self-organization. Then, we quote acknowledged characterizations of informal aspects and discuss the conflicting consequences of our demands. Finally, we try to provide some perspectives for finding solutions,and summarize the analysis.