E-tutoring
- E-tutoring refers to online-tutoring
See also: tutoring.
Definition
E-tutoring refers to online-tutoring. The word ‘tutor’ is most frequently used “to include, amongst others, academics, faculty, instructors, corporate trainers, animateurs, facilitators, moderators, subject specialist and learning support staff. The term online tutor includes any person undertaking a role to support and enable students to learn online effectively” (cited from Carol A. Higgison).
E-tutoring requires special demands on both tutor and students.
Tutor’s roles and activities are slightly different from those required in a face-to-face class. “In a telematics-based environment the teacher is more or less just another participant, though very active one and the teachers role as an organiser is greatly emphasised. So in this way it is much more efficient to learn to communicate, and learning is not just a one-way street" (cited from Maija Tammelin).
Berge’s classification (1995) of the roles of an online tutor underlines four main aspects:
• technical – which involves the technological support;
• managerial – tutors should arouse learners’ participation and autonomy providing clearly tasks and deadlines of the e-tivities;
• pedagogical – it aims at the educational experience involving students in an active collaboration and it goads them into a deep reflection;
• social – it’s linked to a learning community.
Moreover, tutoring tecniques provides for the use of web based resources and electronic conferencing, such as audio, video, blog, wiki, etc.
Links
- Carol A. Higgison (ed.) (2000), Online Tutoring e-book WebSite. Excellent resource for starting. Includes a large collection of case studies.
- Maija Tammelin, Exploring the roles of the tutor in a mixed mode course for university students [1]