E-mentoring
Encyclopedia
ementoring is a means of providing a guided mentoring relationship using online software or email. It stemmed from mentoring
programs with the invention of the internet, and began to gain popularity around 1993. First used for programs connecting schoolchildren with businesspeople, ementoring is now popular throughout the US, the UK, and some parts of Europe.
communication to link mentors and mentees. Telephone
communication was also occaionally used, known as telementoring. One of the first ementoring programs was developed in Canada in 1990, where teachers from schools in British Columbia were given online support and training by experienced peers. The teachers and peers never met in a face-to-face
context.
An example of an e-mentoring company is MentorNet, a non-profit e-mentoring organization that focuses on women and underrepresented minorities in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields. MentorNet uses an algorithm to match over 27,000 mentor relationships since 1997. The organization is unique because it uses technology to guide relationships between mentors and protégés. MentorNet focuses on college-level protégés for the 8-month matching scheme.
. The medium limits the ability to pick up on visual or social clues, makes immediate feedback difficult and can often be seen as impersonal.
However, ementoring can make participants more willing to offer honest feedback. It is also being embraced more readily by those in business who want to become mentors, as ementoring is less time-consuming than face-to-face mentoring.
Ementoring programs also impact beneficially on the motivation of the youth pursuing post highschool studies. The impression, that is driven from the exchanges with an ementor working in the field of interests of the youth, of "how important the studies are" if he wants to get the job he dreams of is tangible.
Mentoring
Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person....
programs with the invention of the internet, and began to gain popularity around 1993. First used for programs connecting schoolchildren with businesspeople, ementoring is now popular throughout the US, the UK, and some parts of Europe.
Early ementoring
Many early ementoring programs used emailEmail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
communication to link mentors and mentees. Telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
communication was also occaionally used, known as telementoring. One of the first ementoring programs was developed in Canada in 1990, where teachers from schools in British Columbia were given online support and training by experienced peers. The teachers and peers never met in a face-to-face
Face-to-face
The face-to-face relation refers to a concept in the French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas' thought on human sociality.Lévinas' phenomenological account of the "face-to-face" encounter serves as the basis for his ethics and the rest of his philosophy...
context.
Web-based ementoring
Modern ementoring projects tend to rely on web-based solutions, particularly if children are involved. Online software allows both mentors and mentees to log into a secure online environment where they can converse under supervision of moderators and coordinators.An example of an e-mentoring company is MentorNet, a non-profit e-mentoring organization that focuses on women and underrepresented minorities in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields. MentorNet uses an algorithm to match over 27,000 mentor relationships since 1997. The organization is unique because it uses technology to guide relationships between mentors and protégés. MentorNet focuses on college-level protégés for the 8-month matching scheme.
Controversy and debate
Online mentoring is occasionally compared unfavourably with face to face mentoringMentoring
Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person....
. The medium limits the ability to pick up on visual or social clues, makes immediate feedback difficult and can often be seen as impersonal.
However, ementoring can make participants more willing to offer honest feedback. It is also being embraced more readily by those in business who want to become mentors, as ementoring is less time-consuming than face-to-face mentoring.
Impact
It has been suggested that the quality of the mentoring relationship is heavily influenced by the amount of common interest that the mentor and mentee have in common. As such, most charities and businesses that offer eMentoring programmes require some shared interest between the mentor and mentee. It is also generally accepted that any mentoring relationship is most effective during a transitional period in the mentee's life, such as applying to university or making decisions about future careers.Ementoring programs also impact beneficially on the motivation of the youth pursuing post highschool studies. The impression, that is driven from the exchanges with an ementor working in the field of interests of the youth, of "how important the studies are" if he wants to get the job he dreams of is tangible.