"Being Spaces" for Virtual Students

I love being a online distance student. On-demand learning is definitely for me! While I am amazed at the "friendships" I have developed through online collaboration, distance learning can be a lonely experience. Most of a distance student's learning time is spent in solitary activities - reading, writing papers, adding comments to asynchronous discussion boards. While most courses now include some synchronous component (we use Breeze at IU for weekly live webcam sessions), there is little opportunity for live informal (virtual) sessions with fellow students and no opportunity for live informal (human f2f) interaction.

As Springwise has reported for several months now, there is a rapidly growing trend to provide "being spaces" for the ever increasing number of virtual workers. These are places where mobile workers can log on to the Internet, grab some coffee or something to eat and have "water cooler" chats with fellow writers, independent contractors and freelancers. Wifi hotspots, like Starbucks and Panera, offer a partial solution, but other business ventures are rounding out the experience with more full service offerings, such as personal workstations, babysitting and conference rooms.

But, what about virtual students? Would it make sense to include distance students in this target group - such as those looking for a quiet place to study with the opportunity for informal "student union" type interaction? Possibly . . . this would fill the need for connected study space and some informal water cooler chats, but would it provide any connection to those with similar interests? I doubt that there are many online Instructional Systems Technology Masters students in Hoboken, NJ . . . but, I could be wrong. Also, does it necessarily matter what the fellow "being spaces" participants are working on or studying?  None of my best friends in college were Business Majors and I still enjoyed studying in the library with them.

I'm not sure if a "being space" is the answer for virtual students, but it is certainly worth contemplating . . .

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