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Background
In the fall of 1999 Dr. Stephen Kemp and Kevin Kaiser, from the Saskatchewan Valley School Division, approached the University of Saskatchewan with an idea for a virtual mentoring project. Their school board had just recently approved a plan that would provide each school in the division with new computers and Internet access via microwave technology. Each of eighteen schools would receive a new computer lab. As well, each community would receive a microwave tower which would provide the communication capabilities. With a total budget of over half a million dollars for the hardware there was no money left to provide staff with training in using the new technology. This is where the University of Saskatchewan entered the scene.
Dr. Richard Schwier from the Department of Educational Communications and Technology agreed to have his graduate students act as mentors for interested teachers from the Saskatchewan Valley School Division. Students from his Communication and Technology class were each paired with one or two teachers from the Saskatchewan Valley School Division and were given the task of mentoring the teachers on the use and integration of computers in the classroom.
In late November both the mentees and mentors met in Warman, Saskatchewan for introductions and to plan how the project would proceed. This was to be the only formal face-to-face session, with all other correspondence to be conducted virtually via email. Prior to this meeting the mentors had prepared a variety of methods and strategies to share with their mentees on how best to incorporate technology and the Internet into their teaching. Presentations on WebQuests, virtual field trips, Filamentality, Saskatchewan’s online Evergreen curriculum, treasure hunts, and key pals were prepared by the mentors. The community of Warman was selected as the location for this first meeting, for it was to be the first school in the division which would have both a modern computer lab and access to the Internet using the newly implemented microwave technology. As this day progressed it became clear to all in attendance that the new Internet network was barely functioning, and the mentors soon came to the conclusion that their forthcoming mentoring project might turn into more of a challenge than they had bargained.
Introduction
The concept of mentoring comes from Greek mythology. In Homer’s Odyssey, a wise and learned man named Mentor is entrusted with the education of Odysseus’ son Telemachus. Mentor was more than a teacher. He was half-man and half-god, the union of both goal and path, wisdom personified (Peterson, 1989). Today, a mentor is simply someone with experience who gives advice and shares their experiences with others (Wighton, 1993). In the education field Heller and Sindelar (1991) describe a mentor as an experienced teacher who acts as a guide, role model, counselor, and friend to beginning teachers. Increasingly teachers in mid-career are seeking mentors when they wish to improve their levels of expertise and when they desire to develop new skills.
Virtual mentoring is defined by the author to include the definition of mentoring presented above, with one significant addition -- the primary mode of communication between mentor and mentee is through the use of email.
Establishing the Mentoring Relationship
For a successful mentoring project it is necessary to create a positive relationship between mentor and mentee (Peterson, 1989). In our project, we, the mentors, felt the best way to begin to create this type of relationship was to meet face-to-face with our mentees, before the actual emailing between participants began. I was paired with one grade four and one grade eight teacher, both of whom were from the same rural school and had willingly volunteered to be part of the project. Unfortunately, of the two people I had been paired with, only one was able to attend this first session. However, she was from the same school as my other mentee and was more than willing to pass along any information from this initial meeting to him.
Since this initial meeting occurred in late November and combined with the fact that my mentees’ school was still not connected to the Internet it was mutually agreed that we would begin email correspondence in early January. At this time the grade four teacher did not have an email address but she expected to receive one shortly. She was also certain that the grade eight teacher had his own email address at home and she would give my email address to him.
It was also at this initial meeting that my mentee and I established the expectations for what the communication might look like over the duration of the project. Peterson (1989) stresses that for a successful mentorship project both the frequency of contact and the availability of both the mentor and mentee must be clearly defined. Riel (1999) adds that the focus of the mentoring should also be agreed upon from the start of the project. My mentee and I agreed that we would communicate with each other at least once every second week. Her main interests were in how she could incorporate the use of the Internet into her teaching. When their computer system was working she expected that her grade four class would be able to access the lab for one hour a week, so she was looking for some activities to be accomplished during this time frame. At this time she expressed an interest in incorporating the resources from the Internet into her science program.
The plan was then to have my mentees send me their email addresses in December and establish email communications at the latest in early January, at which time we would finalize one or two projects that she could complete with her students. The mentorship program would run till the end of March which corresponded with the end of my university class. It was agreed however that the mentorship relationship could continue longer on a less formal basis if so desired.
In mid December not having heard from either of my mentors, I phoned their school to check on how things were progressing. The grade eight teacher was not in at that time but I was able to speak with the grade four teacher. She informed me that there was still no Internet access in their school but they had been told that they should soon be connected. In the meantime she would check with the grade eight teacher and remind him to send me an email informing me of his address. She also said that for the time-being her email correspondence would be through his address.
In early January I still had received no email from my mentees and I was starting to get nervous that project might turn out be a failure. I decided that one more phone call to the my mentees’ school would be in order. This time I was in luck. Both my mentees were there and I was finally able to talk with the grade eight teacher. He express his disappointment that their school still had no Internet access and it was beginning to look that it still might be awhile before any access was in place. Both mentees however, were still in favour of proceeding with the project, only our focus would have to switch from one of incorporating the Internet into classroom instruction to using the Internet for locating and obtaining resources for the teachers. The grade eight teacher had access to the Internet at home and the grade four teacher could access the Internet from a relative’s house. During the course of the conversation I was assured that email correspondence was forthcoming and we would soon begin our mentorship program, albeit with a slightly different focus.
The Mentorship Begins
Shortly after this phone conversation I received my first email from my mentees. They shared with me the type of resources they would like information on. I was able to find some excellent Web sites which I put into a Filamentality page and then emailed my mentees the address. I also continue to look for more information that might be of use to either of my mentees.
In early February our University class was visited again by Dr. Stephen Kemp to check on the progress of the project. The graduate students expressed concern over the fact that the Saskatchewan Valley School Division still did not have their Internet connection via microwave working. A large number were also concerned about the lack of response they were receiving from their mentees. Dr. Kemp was still very positive and upbeat about the project and said while it now did not look like the Internet would be ready until the coming fall, he had received excellent feedback from a number of the mentees expressing satisfaction with how the project was progressing.
In response to our concerns about the slow or lack of response that we were receiving from our mentees, Dr. Kemp assured us that he would be in contact with each of the participants to check on the progress from their point of view. He liked the idea that many of the graduate students, like myself, had switched the focus of the mentoring project from one of implementing technology in the classroom to one of helping the teachers find resources and preparing them for when they would have reliable Internet access. We all agreed that without the teachers having the kind of Internet access they had been promised, it was very difficult to get them excited and interested in using computers in their instruction.
During the rest of February my mentees asked me to locate some more resources for them. They continued to be satisfied with the information I found for them but expressed disappointment that they could not use the resources with their students. Some of the sites they used as teacher resources and the rest they hoped to share with their next year’s classes.
In early March many of the mentees attended one of our regular Saturday morning classes at the university. This time together was mostly spent finding and compiling a variety of Internet resources. The mentees seemed to find this very worthwhile, unfortunately both of my mentees were unable to attend this session.
Following this session I received an email from my grade eight mentee stating that he was unable to attend our get together due to family reasons. When I asked him to respond to some of the questions I had about the mentorship project some the comments he emailed were:
I. The hardware and connectivity need to be in place before beginning such a mentoring project.
II. He would be interested in participating in a similar project again next year if the above point has been corrected.
III. As a father of three children Saturdays are very important to him and it is difficult to give up time to learn about implementing new technology. He believes that if the adoption of new technology is important, then time should be provided during the week for meetings and workshops.Benefits of Virtual Mentoring Over Traditional Mentoring
To date there has been a great amount of research into mentoring programs both in education and business, however most of the research has focused on traditional face-to-face mentoring with relatively little research conducted on virtual mentoring (Harrington, 1999). One of the challenges of any mentoring program is the availability of time. Face-to-face mentoring requires that both people involved must be available at the same time. In a virtual mentoring program, while time is still a factor, it is not necessary for both participants to be available at the same time. In the Saskatchewan Valley Mentoring Project both myself and my mentees have families and full time jobs. Extra time was something that none of us had to spare. Corresponding with each other through email allowed both parties to communicate at a time that was convenient, which for me was usually late in the evening after the kids had gone to bed.
Not only does a virtual mentoring program provide for greater flexibility in regards to time, it is also place independent. It does not require that mentor and mentee live within close proximity to each other, as does face-to-face mentoring. This mentoring project originated from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, however my mentees live approximately 110 kilometres away and I live approximately 150 kilometres away in another direction. Virtual mentoring allows interested participants from rural or remote areas opportunities that would not otherwise be available if face-to-face mentoring were the only option (Harrington, 1999).
Media Richness Theory suggests that virtual mentoring does not provide adequate feedback capability (Harrington, 1999). However, I would have to agree with Ang and Cummings (1994) that a mentee’s willingness to give feedback increases when the feedback does not need to be delivered face-to-face. My mentees did not hesitate to provide both positive and negative feedback to me throughout the duration of the program.
Limitations of a Virtual Mentoring Program
While time constraints and distance were two factors that dictated that this mentoring project proceed virtually, there were other factors that could be considered as drawback to the project. This virtual mentoring experience for me lacked the intimacy and spontaneity of interpersonal communication that usually develops in face-to-face mentoring. My mentee would ask for assistance locating some web resources and it might take me a day or two to locate them. When I found something that I thought was of value I would email it to them. A few more days or in some instances weeks would go by before I heard anything back from my mentee. In the meantime I lost some of my enthusiasm for the topic. Had we been able to meet face-to-face that feedback would have been immediate and we may have been able to actually generate more interest in the topic or branch off into new areas.
Also, since this project was primarily text-based, communication between participants was lacking in richness. El-Shinnawy and Markus (1997) argue that using email in mentoring exchanges which include some negotiating, explanation or exchange of subjective views is not as effective as face-to-face exchanges. While most of the exchanges within this case study did not evolve to the level of interaction mentioned above there still lacked the human interaction that is possible in face-to-face mentoring.
Benefits to the Mentor From a Virtual Mentoring Program
When I first began this mentoring program my thoughts and efforts revolved around how I could best help a fellow teacher to incorporate technology and the Internet into their teaching. Having been involved in both the use and implementation of computers for almost twenty years I was hoping to share some of my experiences and knowledge with other teachers who were just beginning to use technology in the classroom. While this virtual mentoring project did not proceed as I had initially planned and hoped for, I believe from the responses I received from my mentees that they found the project to be beneficial. However, even if the project would have been a failure from their point of view, the professional benefits for me would rate the project as a success.
I echo the result obtained from the study conducted by Ackley and Gall (1992) which found that mentors reported that their mentoring experience had enhanced their enjoyment of teaching, increased their own professional growth, and renewed their enthusiasm for teaching. It was always a fun challenge when I would receive an email from my mentee asking for help locating resources on a particular topic. I would search for information to help them out as quickly as I could in an effort to assist my mentees. At times it was very frustrating when I would not receive any feedback from my mentees for many days as to the usefulness of the information I had passed along.
Working with others has also been a frequently cited and major source of fulfillment for mentors (Wighton, 1993). As a mentor it was nice to feel needed and having the opportunity to contribute to the professional growth of other teachers helped to enhance my own professional identity. Luna and Cullen’s (1995) studies have also shown that mentoring programs renew the sharing power and the advocacy of collegiality amongst mentors.
Points to Consider When Implementing a Virtual Mentoring Project
The main lesson to be learned from this case study was to make sure the technology is in place and working correctly before implementing such a project. Trying to get teachers interested and excited about incorporating technology into their teaching can be difficult at the best of times, but if the technology is not there or not working it can be almost impossible.
If at all possible when implementing a virtual mentoring project, allow for some face-to-face contact. Providing the mentee and the mentor the opportunity to get together at the start of this case study not only gave a name to the face but it also helped to establish a common bond and a real desire by both parties to make the project a success. I believe that while the technology let us down during this project, one of the main reasons why the project was able to make it through to completion occurred as a result of the initial contact made between mentee and mentor. Had this face-to-face meeting not taken place, participants would have been more inclined to give up on the entire project.
Also, when implementing a virtual mentoring project make sure that both mentees and mentors are willing participants. In this case study my mentees had willing volunteered to be part of the project for they saw it as an opportunity to learn how to use computers for more than just playing educational games.
A successful mentoring program must also have a mechanism or personnel in place to provide support and encouragement for the mentors (Wighton, 1993). In this case study not only did I have a professor to both monitor and support the project but there was also Dr. Kemp from the Saskatchewan Valley School Division who took an active role in supporting both the mentors and mentees. He visited on our class on two occasions to offer his services to assist the project in whatever way he could. Dr. Kemp also contacted my mentees to check on their progress.
Researchers have concluded that a lack of time is the most commonly-cited problem of both mentors and mentees (Willbur, 1989). Making sure that a mentoring program is well-structured, with concise directions and time lines, assures that both participants precious time will be spent on task. My mentees both have a family and if they had been required to commit to a large investment in time, their willingness to participate in the project would have greatly decreased.
Summary
In order to get teachers interested and excited about using computers and the Internet in their everyday instruction, technology has to be in place and it must be reliable. My mentees from the Saskatchewan Valley School Division were promised both new computers and high speed Internet access for their school and when this failed to materialize, due to reasons beyond their control, their enthusiasm for implementing computers into teaching greatly decreased. What started off as an exciting undertaking quickly evolved into a project of lets worry about it next year.
While this project did not proceed as initially planned, many lessons about both the advantages and limitations of virtual mentoring were learned. If at all possible when implementing a virtual mentoring project try to build in at least one face-to-face meeting. This will help to create a desire on the part of both the mentor and mentee to make the project a success. Virtual mentoring is an excellent method of providing busy teachers with training and inservice in new areas. Not only does it allow teachers the flexibility to follow their own time schedule it also provides them with access to support and expertise that may not be available in their local community.
References
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