I should mention that the r8712u module does appear to get loaded:
root@beaglebone:~# lsmod
Module Size Used by
rndis_wlan 20100 0
rndis_host 5297 1 rndis_wlan
cfg80211 166410 1 rndis_wlan
r8712u 124711 0
g_multi 55905 0
libcomposite 15228 1 g_multi
yet ifconfig shows no wlan0 present.
Also, I used the same dongle successfully on my RPi, so I know the dongle works.