Basically, Woody Allen’s To Rome, with Love, was a compilation of vignettes endorsing further study of Johari’s Window. So, I began to think about digital identity in terms of Johari’s Window and this movie. For example, in what way do our digital profiles invite others to form their own notions, with and without our consent, about who we are as people? Do our names, if we choose our real one, our use of written language, or spoken language, if we post videos or vlogs, in digital spaces, prompt others to form true or false assumptions about our abilities, our personalities, our lifestyles, our beliefs, culture and other aspects of our essence? It’s wonderful if the assumptions made are positive, but what if the conclusions are negative, and as in physical society, how does the digital society of a MOOC thrust upon each of us an identity that may or may not be true and is totally without our consent? Is there risk of stereotyping in MOOC society?

In the movie, Roberto Bengini, plays Leopoldo, an ordinary clerk who becomes an instant celebrity because society decides that he’s suddenly interesting. Of course, his life could not be more prosaic, but without any justification, suddenly society becomes obsessed with him. Does this sort of thing happen in digital learning spaces too? Do we attach certain expectations to certain digital identities or concepts that gain trending status when there’s really much ado about nothing? And, do we as digital citizens risk earning celebrity status and losing it if we don’t live up to the expectations of the cyber peers we seek to engage? 

   

Through Penelope Cruz’s character, Anna, viewers gain another perspective about identity I find relevant to digital culture. Anna is a witty prostitute who agrees to help out a provincial newlywed earn the respect of his uncles, since she is solely responsible for causing a case of mistaken identity that leads the poor provincial fellow’s family to believe his new wife is anything but respectable. The prostitute Anna happily takes on the identity of the pious Milly, the provincial guy’s real wife. But, as Anna takes on the new prudish identity of Milly, by adopting only her name, and nothing more, society still perceives her as a prostitute because Anna can’t help but portray herself as such. It’s who she is. Adopting the name alone does nothing to rehabilitate her image. She remains the uncouth slut. So, how do uncouth sluts relate to digital learning spaces? Well, I thought about a couple of things. In digital spaces, like real life, no matter how one chooses to present oneself, people are going to form perceptions of others the way that makes them feel most comfortable. People were not comfortable with Anna’s image, and in digital spaces such as MOOCs or social media, are there certain digital identities that we are just not comfortable engaging with? In the digital world, as in the real physical world, do we tend to interact or promote people that closely resemble our values and beliefs? Do we tend to stick to interacting with people who are having familiar conversations, or even who resemble us in appearance?  Do we truly seek to globalize and expand our networks, or are we more comfortable existing in homogenous spaces? What criteria do we use when we do decide to step outside our safe circles and communities? I’m not suggesting we invite prostitutes to our MOOC, but I think it’s interesting to think about who we determine is safe to speak to or not in digital spaces. What makes someone respectable and credible in digital learning spaces? 

I could write all day about identity in To Rome, With Love, but I’ll spare you another lengthy post. I do have one more observation I must make: the idea that one has an identity that thrives only under certain conditions because this type of identity resonates in my own life and is completely relevant to e-learning.  In the movie, Woody Allen plays his typical neurotic self, a soon to be father-in-law of an Italian hunk, who insists that his future son in law’s father has the perfect operatic voice worthy of singing Puccini in sold out opera halls. The catch is that Allen’s future son in law’s father can sing, and sing beautifully, but only when he’s in the shower. So, Allen cleverly arranges to create the perfect singing conditions for his future in-law by always including some sort of shower context to enable his in-law to flourish. In much the same way that Allen made it his mission to ensure his in-law developed his natural born talent, digital spaces can help people flourish in ways they cannot in the physical world. Digital spaces provide learning conditions so all types of learners can thrive when they may struggle in the physical world. Much like Allen did for his in-law, how do we as teachers design learning experiences with ideal conditions to ensure all learners develop their talents?  

Personally, as an introvert, digital learning spaces offer ideal conditions where I can grow. I find it much easier to express myself in writing than I would verbally among a crowd of people. In both of my MOOCs, I am cognizant there are thousands of people, but I would be physically ill at the thought of speaking publicly in front of such a vast audience. Somehow my disembodiment helps me express my “self”. I can let my voice be heard through a blog, tweet, even a song without the crippling fear of public speaking. Digital learning spaces offer ripe learning conditions for self discovery which did not exist before. Varying physical conditions often inhibited or intimidated learners preventing an exploration of different aspects of “self”, but today, there is less personal risk in digital learning spaces because of the opportunity for anonymity, role-playing, and physical separation from others. However, I believe that digital spaces like MOOCs and social media should be catalysts to enable learners to work on those aspects of “self” that a learner struggles with, in my case, my fear of public speaking. We need to always be able to reconcile our digital with our physical identity because there will always be a demand for both our physical and mental presence, e.g.,  a Google Hangout, a Meet-up or other platform requiring both mind and body. The goal should be to foster a healthy digital identity where a learner exhibits a high functioning identity in both virtual and physical worlds. Digital learning spaces like MOOCs and social media enable all learners to experiment and hone their various identities. To cyberspace with love, I give you thanks for helping me find ways to improve and learn more about my “self” and others.