'Real Challenges in a Virtual World' or 'Can I get full text from ERIC and what on earth is Dialog Datastar?'.

'Can I get full text from ERIC and what on earth is Dialog Datastar?' was a Facebook status update by the student author of this paper in 2009. The post highlighted the sometimes confusing experience of working with journal articles online. This article provides an introduction, from a personal perspective, to some of the joys, fascinations and frustrations of being both a real and virtual student in real and virtual worlds. It suggests that e-learning should be considered a broad term which covers a variety of digital tools, environments, pedagogies and experiences. For students taught fully online, e-learning can mean experiencing the university, the library and its resources purely 'at the interface'. However, it is argued here that e-learning incorporating social networking, online communication tools and virtual worlds can be a socially and culturally rewarding learning experience which can cross boundaries of 'place' and 'time'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]