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This paper addresses how e-Learning by means of a virtual community of practice can facilitate interaction and knowledge sharing amongst contact university learners as they traverse varied learning environments. Using theories of social presence, context awareness and social networks, the paper aims to provide an informed understanding of virtual communities of practice and how they manifest in a mobile learning environment. In this paper, we argue that virtual communities of practice effectively facilitate personalized learning support in an environment where learning is not confined to particular places. Importantly, virtual communities of practice are fundamentally influenced by awareness of social presence, context and connectedness. Informed by empirical evidence gathered through a Contextual Inquiry method, a field research framework that depends on interaction with users in the context of their work, this paper shows how mobile learners in a South African university could be afforded personalized academic support as they traverse varied learning environments. This support is provided by means of a virtual community of practice; a phenomena supported by online tools that facilitates knowledge sharing where the members of the community do not physically meet but rather communicate virtually in a manner or setting that simulates a physical venue. This paper aims to contribute to the effect that these tools may provide personalised support in a mobile learning environment.