Hi Dave,
Um, I’m not in Emerging Tech, but since you popped up on the feed :-), I thought I’d note that I appreciate the nuances you lay out here. I agree that “participating” can ultimately be the most productive process. But I’ve also observed both in my learning and in facilitating others that having a space to “practice” responding in online environments and to figure out how to manage digital identity without the “it will follow you forever and ever” fear are actually pretty freeing experiences for learners. I don’t think VLEs necessarily fit the bill for this, and as things evolve, learners might come into a course knowing this from the outset, but for now, offering some kind of playground/practice/do-over environment seems like a pretty learner-friendly concept.