The document proposes developing an e-mentoring program to address problems with persistence and engagement in traditional mentoring programs. It would use social media, instant messaging, and blogs to maintain contact between mentors and mentees as they struggle to find sufficient face-to-face meeting time. The program aims to provide ongoing training for mentors and lecturers through blogging and facilitate reflective practice, interaction and participation among participants.

1. Developing e-Mentoring for
Student Engagement
NAJWA NORODIEN-FATAAR
6 JUNE 2012

2. e-Mentoring
Mentoring, students volunteer,
Co- Curriculum
lecturers encourage students
Focus
t0 participate and select mentors
Knowledge of academic conventions
such as referencing, report writing,
Student Needs academic reading and general socialization.
how to use, IM and blogs in mentoring
e-Mentoring training programme, include
use of social media, IM and MXit,
Lecturer Needs more auditory and visual aspects, and
use of blogs in training

3. Rationale for e-Mentoring Programme
Problems in mentoring – persistence and engagement
Mentors and Mentors and
mentees do not have mentees struggle to
sufficient time to maintain
meet face to face, contact. (Terrion and
Leonard (2007)
(Terrion and Leonard , IM would ensure that ,Johnson, 2007)
2007) they maintain contact and will deal
with time constraints, e.g.
‘nightshift’- Vodacom, Blogs will
encourage engagement

4. CONTEXT
Fundani CHED Nature of mentoring Mentor Training Workshop
• Mentorship Training (FtF) • One day initial training,
•Departmental • Ongoing training of mentors via
based blog,
• The blog would give us time and
•Residence based space to continue the training
mentoring • Use of
IM, (Brown, Czerniewicz, 2007)
•Student peer
mentoring
•Blended
mentoring
approach

5. Outcomes and Intentions
Lecturer and mentors: Mentors and Mentees
Communication
Ongoing training between mentors, mentees
through blogging and lecturer via IM, form
‘What’s App
group, collaborative blog
betw. mentors and mentees
Social Presence
Awareness, (Kekwaletswe, 2007
; Kekwaletswe & Ng’ambi, 2006a;

6. Pedagogical strategies:
 Facilitative approach from lecturer
 Interactive
 Participatory
 Workshop based-group discussions,
 Oral presentation of ideas
 Dialogue

7. Theoretical underpinnings
Conceptual and Theoretical framework
 Reflective practice by Schon( 1983, 1987)
 Reflection-in-action: think of what we are dong
while we are doing it, reflect on what is
working, what is not working
 Reflection-0n-action: thinking about our behaviour
after we have acted, conscious thoughtful manner, to
change or improve, on going dialogue

8. Theoretical underpinnings
 Wheeler and Lambert –Heggs (2009): Blogs in
Mentoring:
 Reflexivity
 Immediacy
 Persistence
 Provisionality

9. Wheeler and Lambert- Heggs (2009)
 Immediacy:
approachability, warmth, availability, reciprocal
 Persistence: entire history, record, learning
progress, maintain reflective record
 Provisionality: no content is permanent, can be
edited, copied and pasted, edit prior to posting

10. Boud (2001)
 Boud (2001) lens to consider how students engage in
the e-mentoring programme
 Reflection –on-action process consist of three
processes: (1) return to experience
(2) attending to feelings
(3) re-evaluation of experience

11. Process
Blog
Topics:
questions
Mentors, mentee
s , lecturer form pose
a group on Mentors reflect
‘What’s App’ and by writing
reflect on the
mentoring responses
IM-
SMS, MXi
t, mentors Lecturer
and Collaborative feedback
mentees blog between
mentors, ment
ees and
lectturer, stud
y tips, e.g.,

12. Formative Evaluation
 Lecturer - assess  Students reflect on their
responses of mentors the topics discussed on
weekly on blog, weekly the blog weekly by
feedback posting reflections
 Lecturer poses key  Final Blog: Students
questions for the final reflect on their
blog: Evaluation of the experience as mentors
mentoring and what they have
learnt from the training

13. References
 Bierema, L. L. and S. B. Merriam. 2002. E-mentoring: Using computer mediated
communication to enhance the mentoring process. Innovative Higher Education, 26(3): 211—
227.
 Bower, M (2008) Affordance Analysis – matching learning tasks with learning
technologies, Education Media International, 45(1), 3–15.
 Brown, C. L. and Czerniewicz, L. 2007. If we build it will they come? Investigating the
relationship between students’ access to and use of ICTs for learning. South African Journal of
Higher education, 22(6): 730-745
 Johnson, W. B. 2007. On being a mentor. A guide for higher education faculty, New
York, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
 Kekwaletswe, R. M. 2007. Social presence awareness for knowledge transformation in a mobile
learning environment. International Journal of Education and Development using
Information and Communication Technology, 3 (4): 102-109.
 Terrion, J. L. and D. Leonard. 2007. A taxonomy of the characteristics of student peer mentors
in higher education: Findings from a literature review. Mentoring and Tutoring 15(2): 149--
164.

14. Kekwaletswe, R. M. 2007. Social presence awareness for knowledge transformation in a
mobile learning environment. International Journal of Education and Development
using Information and Communication Technology, 3 (4): 102-109.
Terrion, J. L. and D. Leonard. 2007. A taxonomy of the characteristics of student peer
mentors in higher education: Findings from a literature review. Mentoring and Tutoring
15(2): 149--164.
Terrion. J.L. and Philion. R. 2008. The electronic journal as reflection-on action: a
qualitative analysis of communication and learning in an peer mentoring programme.
Studies in Higher Education 33 (5): 583-597.
Thompson, L., Jefferies, M. and Topping, K. 2010. E-mentoring for e-learning
development. Innovations in Education and Teaching International. 47(3): 05-315
Williams JB, Jacobs J. 2004, Exploring the use of blogs as learning spaces in the higher
education sector. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology. 20(2): 232-247
Wheeler, S. and Lambert-Heggs , W.2009. Connecting distance learners. The Quarterly
Review of Distance Education, 10(4): 323–331
Case study from the University of Edinburgh: Engaging learners in critical reflection
through the use of blogs, http://www.jisc.ac.uk/blog/engage-students-through-blogging/