02.03.2018 Views

Advances in E-learning-Experiences and Methodologies

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

Chapter IV<br />

E-Mentor<strong>in</strong>g:<br />

An Extended Practice,<br />

An Emerg<strong>in</strong>g Discipl<strong>in</strong>e<br />

Angélica Rísquez<br />

University of Limerick, Irel<strong>and</strong><br />

ABstrAct<br />

This chapter <strong>in</strong>tegrates exist<strong>in</strong>g literature <strong>and</strong> developments on electronic mentor<strong>in</strong>g to build a constructive<br />

view of this modality of mentor<strong>in</strong>g as a qualitatively different concept from its traditional face-to-face<br />

version. The concept of e-mentor<strong>in</strong>g is <strong>in</strong>troduced by look<strong>in</strong>g first <strong>in</strong>to the evasive notion of mentor<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

Next, some salient e-mentor<strong>in</strong>g experiences are identified. The chapter goes on to note the differences<br />

between electronic <strong>and</strong> face-to-face mentor<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>and</strong> how the relationship between mentor <strong>and</strong> mentee<br />

is modified by technology <strong>in</strong> unique <strong>and</strong> def<strong>in</strong>itive ways. Readers are also presented with a collection<br />

of best practices on design, implementation, <strong>and</strong> evaluation of e-mentor<strong>in</strong>g programs. F<strong>in</strong>ally, some<br />

practice <strong>and</strong> research trends are proposed. In conclusion, the author draws an elemental dist<strong>in</strong>ction<br />

between both modalities of mentor<strong>in</strong>g, which def<strong>in</strong>es e-mentor<strong>in</strong>g as more than the defective alternative<br />

to face-to-face contact.<br />

IntroductIon<br />

The technology revolution has changed the way we<br />

live <strong>in</strong> our world, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g what we underst<strong>and</strong><br />

about mentor<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> how it happens. Information<br />

<strong>and</strong> communication technologies (ICTs) have been<br />

made central given their potential for democratization<br />

of the access to knowledge, their <strong>in</strong>corporation<br />

to professional competences, <strong>and</strong> the improvement<br />

of learn<strong>in</strong>g possibilities (Gisbert, 2004). Dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />

the last two decades, ICTs have offered new <strong>and</strong><br />

excit<strong>in</strong>g opportunities for transcend<strong>in</strong>g the physical<br />

<strong>and</strong> psychological distance between people.<br />

Accounts of the potential of ICT for mentor<strong>in</strong>g<br />

relationships started appear<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the literature<br />

<strong>in</strong> the late 1980s <strong>and</strong> early 1990s (Moore, 1991),<br />

<strong>and</strong> have extended to become a phenomenon<br />

emerg<strong>in</strong>g on a world wide scale. The first onl<strong>in</strong>e<br />

Copyright © 2008, IGI Global, distribut<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> pr<strong>in</strong>t or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!