Virtual Mentor: an Virtual Mentor: an innovation in student innovation in student support?support?

Joanne Smailes, Pat Gannon-Leary, Christopher Laing and Lynne ConnissNorthumbria University

Peer Mentoring BenefitsPeer Mentoring Benefitsan effective way to improve the first year

experience of students. (e.g. Watson, 2000; Farrell et al., 2004);

increasing student retention (e.g. Boud et al., 1999; Packham & Miller, 2000);

improving achievement; with some suggesting peer mentoring users gain higher mean grades than non-users (e.g. Congos & Schoeps, 1993; Kenney & Kallison, 1994);

of benefit to those students acting as the mentors in improving employability skills (e.g. Dolan & Castley, 1998; Bond, 1999;)

Research AimsResearch Aims

Would students support peer

mentoring?

What aspects are important to

them?Would an alternative model be

more suitable?

DemographicsDemographics311 questionnaire returns; 2:1

female/male ratio50% students from North-East;

36% other UK or EU; 13% international

Just under half were year 1 students

KILLER QUESTION (KQ) ...Additional 10 interviewees

Support for Peer Support for Peer MentoringMentoring

12

48

13.5

56.9

5

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Only atbeginning

ofprogramme

Weekly Fortnightly Monthly Only when Ihave a

particularissue

Unlikely touse

1/3 wanted Face to

Face

77.2% Virtual Only fine

Operational IssuesOperational IssuesShould mentor be on the same

programme as themselves?Would it be useful to have a mentor

for each module?Would one or two mentors who could

be contacted about anything be sufficient?

Prefer to select their own peer mentor?

Should the sessions with a peer mentor be part of my programme’s timetable?

Agree

84.9%

49.8%

54.7%

46.6%

82.3%

Same programme...Same programme...“I would appreciate somebody who was on my

course, because they differ so much … it wouldn’t really have been much use if it had been say in Sciences, when I do English and after that, its kind of a complex thing… there are people who are at University to have fun, and there are people who are at University to do work. And the people who are there to work wouldn’t necessarily appreciate a mentor who was there to have fun and vice versa…they’re not going to know the right things. It’s a very difficult thing to match up.”

One thing which would have One thing which would have been useful for me to know been useful for me to know about university life when I about university life when I started was...started was...

Killer Question...Killer Question...

Categories by popularityCategories by popularitySocial IssuesFinancialAcademicLocation/AccommodationTime/timetablingTechnology

Social...Social...

Would you like an experienced student to help learn about social activities?

Would you like a more expereinced student to help meet other people?

75% AGREE27% strongly

63% AGREE

Accommodation/LocationAccommodation/Location

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Help withaccommodation

issues

Find your way aroundcampus facilities e.g.library, sports centre

Learn more aboutNewcastle

Learn more aboutthe surrounding area

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

2/3 non-local

40% local

Academic IssuesAcademic Issues

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Option Choices on Programme

Understand subject matter

Understand learning outcomes

Learn about team-working

What to expect from a seminar

What to expect from a lecture

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

Academic IssuesAcademic Issues

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Ask questions you wouldn't dareask academic staff

What to expect from assessment

Understand assessment criteria

Revision skills

Stay motivated

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

Virtual ModelsVirtual Models

Virtual Learning Environmentse.g. Blackboard ™

Social Networking Sitese.g. Facebook™

Personal Learning Environmentse.g. Second Life ™

Virtual Learning Virtual Learning EnvironmentsEnvironments

Positives Negatives

I use eLP (the VLE) to allow me to interact with other students and lecturers via the discussion boards and it often helps when I am struggling with work especially when I know others are also finding it difficult.

Students use the eLP just because their tutors ask them to do it. They do not use it on their own initiative …

VLEs are more concerned with content and consumption (Downes, 2007)

…unable to facilitate social communities of informal /impromptu learning (O’Hear, 2008).

Social Networking SitesSocial Networking SitesAccess to social networking sites

(SNS) is a day to day occurrence (Bausch and Han, 2006; Licaardi et al., 2007)

In US 80-90% of all students have a profile on a SNS. (Stutzman, 2006)

Tufekci (2008) found 44% 1st years heavy users of SNS

Social Networking SitesSocial Networking Sites

Positives Negatives

potential for to create social learning environments that offer ‘social communities of practice’ |(Cain, 2008; Phipps, 2008)

take ‘the work out of meeting people’ whilst ‘giving you the benefit you desire’. (Tufekci, 2008)

“potential damage to an institution’s image.” (Kolek and Saunders, 2008)

complex difficulties which can arise through SNS relationships (Lipka, 2007)

institutions at the very least “should develop clear policies and procedures for the use of SNS”(Kolek and Saunders, 2008)

Personal Learning Personal Learning EnvironmentsEnvironmentsSecond Life is not simply the latest online

fad, but part of a continuum of instructional technology tools that corresponds to twentieth and twenty-first century developments in educational theory.” (Cheal,2007)

Gilly Salmon believes that with the use of Second Life avatar characters , “there are not going to be the usual discrimination issues of the face-to-face environment…the student and the teacher are on the same level.”

ConclusionConclusionDefinite demand for peer mentoringProgramme Connection requiredFace to Face not necessarySupport for Virtual Models

◦VLE: unlikley to be engaged with◦SNS: large engagement potential but

could have some complex relational difficulties

◦PLE: Emerging technology, unknown current student engagement.