Onine Mentoring

Online mentoring is an emerging approach. It is sometimes used as an adjunct to face-to-face-meetings, but sometimes the primary method of meeting is online chatting. It is used by organizations and teacher development programs. (New Teacher Center, Santa Cruz) Mentors and mentees could communicate via emails back and forth, meetings in person, chatrooms, instant messages, skype, or phone calls. Little seems to be published about the depth and success of these mentoring relationships. Much of the literature tends to measure success in terms of the number of matches that are made. I am more interested in the length of the relationship, the success seen from both sides, the duration, and the outcomes resulting from the mentor/mentee relationship. Mentor programs usually elicit an agreement from mentors to stay with the mentee for a time period of at least six months to one year.

Researchers evaluating an online mentoring program for those suffering from depression. They found that most of the participants communicated in similar ways to face to face contacts. Participants felt high levels of support, acceptance and positive feelings, and felt the group participation helped their general feeling of well being. (Salem, 1997)

E-therapy research observes that online counseling may be helpful with addressing many difficulties that people bring to their in-person therapist. As of 2002, there were over 200 therapy sites providing access to many different kinds of counselors. (Segall, 2000)

Online mentoring may provide many affordances that are not alwsys possible for face-to-face mentoring. Access to mentoring by providing it online solves geographic, physical distance and time constraints that both mentors and mentees face. The time spent is not in getting somewhere, but in the actual discussion forum online. This may help the matching of appropriate mentors to mentees, since there is not a geographic distance problem to be overcome. Time constraints are also solved if mentees have nothing to share during a daytime session but asynchronously connect via email or a forum late at night to leave disclosures or new ideas about goals to their mentor. Instant messaging can also provide real time bite sized communications to occur between mentor and mentee. Some kind of written correspondence between the mentors and mentees allows monitoring of the relationship and creates rich data to evaluate the process and the outcomes. The digital divide is still a reality that may block access of disadvantaged youth to mentoring programs.

The absence of the social cue of age, race, physical appearance or dress may be an advantage in the initial stages of building the mentor/mentee relationship. Sometimes these first impressions can shape the relationships, and when they are removed in the beginning, the relationship develops based on deeper characteristics and commonalities. (Ensher, 1997)

Different ties are developed through online mentoring. Sometimes the online ties can be more compelling and replace closer ties. (Saito, 2003) Email only relationships created weak ties characterized by less contact, more narrow focus, more superficial and easily broken bonds, contrasted with better social and emotional outcomes from strong ties characterized by frequent contact, sharing across life areas, deep affection, and a mutual obligation. (Kraut, 1998). The researchers found that individuals who meet online have discussions and support that are less applicable because they don't have access to each other's lives. There seems to be a slower development of the mentoring relationship online. Females also tend to share more through email than males, using personal information as building friendships. (Boneva, 2001)


References
•Ellen A. Ensher, Christian Heun, Anita Blanchard, Online mentoring and computer-mediated communication: New directions in research, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Volume 63, Issue 2, October 2003, Pages 264-288, ISSN 0001-8791, 10.1016/S0001-8791(03)00044-7.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001879103000447)
Keywords: Mentoring; E-mentoring; Online mentoring; Computer-mediated communication
•Mentoring Online about Mentoring: Possibilities and practice, Catherine Sinclair, •Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, Vol. 11, Iss. 1, 2010.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1361126032000054826
•Duff, Carole, Online Mentoring, Educational Leadership, October 2000 | Volume 58 | Number 2 Teaching the Information Generation Pages 49-52.
•Salem, Deborah A; Bogat, G. Anne; Reid, Christina. Mutual help goes on-line. Journal of Community Psychology. Vol 25(2) Mar 1997, 189-207. Lawrence Erlbaum, US.
•Segall, R. (2000).Online shrinks. Psychology Today 32 (3), 38-44; Hatcher, S. (2002). Using email with your patients. Austrailasian Psychiatry, 9, 207-209.
•Ensher, E. & Murphy, S. E. (1997). Effects of race, gender, perceived similarity, and contact on mentor relationships, Journal of Vocational Behavior 50(3), 460-481.
•Saito, R. N. & Sipe, C. L. (2003). E-mentoring: The digital heroes campaign Year Two Evaluation Results. Unpublished report prepared for MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership and AOL Time Warner Foundation.
•Kraut, R, Lundmark, V., Patterson, M., Kiesler, S., Mukopadhyay, T., and Scherlis, W. (1998). Internet Paradox: A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being? American Psychologist, 9, 1017-1031. Click here (http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~kraut/RKraut.site.files/articles/kraut98-InternetParadox.pdf)
•Boneva, B., Kraut, R., Fronhlich, D. (2001). Using e-mail for personal relationships: The difference gender makes. American Behavioral Scientist, 45, 530-549.