CARACTERIZANDO LA IDENTIDAD DIGITAL EN LAS COMUNIDADES VIRTUALES DE APRENDIZAJE

Abstract

The digital identity of a web user is the way in which each person has a presence on the Internet. In online educational processes, reliability is associated with the criteria for verification and authentication of the quality of this digital identity. In order to recognize the indicators that validate the quality of the digital identity within a virtual learning community, an interpretive phenomenological study of 100 users related through academic social networks with the José Antonio Páez University is applied. Participations in common virtual communities are analyzed, which led to the deduction of variables such as: number of accounts per user, purpose of participation, profile of associated contacts, needs to relate, and response styles. Based on these variables, the indicators of the actions leading to the educational event are categorized, to differentiate from connections with different purposes. From the advances obtained, it is interpreted that factors such as culture, professional activity, and recognition are typical of a digital identity that favors online learning and teaching. The unification of users benefits the characterization of the digital identity, and significantly influences the tutorial action, the personalization, the discovery of learning styles, and the evaluation. It is also verified that the prior diagnosis of these characteristics can produce more effective moderation in online training programs, making possible the validation of the authenticity of the digital identity and its influence on learning in virtual communities.