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The rapid growth of online education has caused both concern and excitement among educators (Cuthrell & Lyon, 2007). In addition to concerns about presenting content in meaningful ways, relating to students via the Internet can also cause educational apprehension (Cuthrell & Lyon, 2007). Therefore, in any online environment, understanding the value of instructional mentoring can enhance the overall student experience. As Director of Education, for higher online education, mentoring and cultivating student relationships is a top priority and expectation for any faculty member teaching in an online classroom.

While mentoring can look differently depending on the circumstances, understanding various students learning styles, philosophies, and theories in an effort to best meet the need of the individual learner should be the primary focus. Many theories of adult learning maintain that knowledge is actively constructed through interactions with other learners. Online educators and theorists have identified the constructivist approach necessary for student-centered learning and refer to online learning as a socially constructivist experience (Stewart, Bachman, & Babb, 2009). Because constructivist-style teaching usually involves the instructor taking the role of a coach or mentor, instructors who embrace this viewpoint often find face-to-face interactions particularly valuable and critical to the success of their pedagogy (Howard, 2009). According to Johnson (2007) these interactions are grounded in social learning theory which contends cognitive processes experienced and observed in social settings are then internalized by individuals. Equally important as teaching style and given the diversity of learning styles present in online classes, mentors should consider designing online courses helps students to cope with, adapt to, and become confident in using the modes that will enable their success in the course (Howard, 2009).

Mentors must also be savvy in their pursuit and adaptation of technological pedagogies available in the online classroom. Anderson, as cited in Howard (2009), indicates that an absence of social presence can lead to disagreements and confusion regarding viewpoints and differences from colleagues and instructors. Therefore, and as Howard’s (2009) study points out, it is critical for a mentor to incorporate social delivery modes such as tools with audio and video capabilities. He shares emerging audio- and video-conferencing technologies, can be considered a mentoring tool (Howard, 2007). Ice, Curtis, Phillips, and Wells (2007) concur indicating a high student satisfaction with embedded asynchronous audio feedback as compared to asynchrononous text only feedback. While audio and video are strategic mentoring tools, (Davie and Berlach (2010), another very useful technology tool that has been shown to have considerable educational merit for mentors is a Wiki.


 * References**

Cuthrell, K., & Lyon, A. (2007). Instructional strategies: What do online student prefer? //Journal// //of Online Learning and Teaching//, //3//(4), 357-362. Davie, S., & Berlach, R. (2010). Using wikis to facilitate communication for rural, remote, and at-risk practicum students. //Journal of Online Learning and Teaching//, //6//(1). Retrieved from [] Howard, S. (2009). The benefits of face-to-face interaction in the online freshman composition course. //Journal of Online Learning and Teaching//, //5//(4). Retrieved from [] Johnson, E. (2007). Promoting learner-learner interactions through ecological assessments of the online environment. //Journal of Online Learning and Teaching//, //3//(2), 142-165. Stewart, C., Bacman, C., & Babb, S. (2009). Replacing professor monologues with online dialogues: A constructivist approach to online course template design. //Journal of Online Learning and Teaching//, //5//(3). Retrieved from http://jolt.merlot.org/vol5no3/stewart_0909.htm Activity 3