Anonimity of Learners in Virtual Learning Environment

Abstract

This article focuses on one of the particular problems associated with the gradual transition to a hybrid model of learning in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, which is that students, who regularly use the Internet and other digital tools for everyday communication and entertainment, transfer their desire to remain anonymous to the virtual learning environment. The described empirical diagnostic study aims to compare students’ declared attitudes towards anonymity in virtual space with their actual actions in a partially digitized learning environment. It finds that students accustomed to digital inquiry tools and interaction channels transfer their desire for anonymity to the virtual learning environment and see many benefits in such anonymity, but state that it is impossible to apply the principle of anonymity to their learning processes. This contradiction points to the need for further research into this issue from psychological, social, cultural and philosophical perspectives.