The eLearning Tutor

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It is accepted practice in all educational institutions that students need tutorial support. This may be academic or pastoral support, and the roles undertaken by those in a tutorial role will vary depending on epistemological frameworks and expectations of what learners need to achieve. 

The same holds true within Blended & eLearning environments but with an added caveat that there might be new roles which the context creates. This might be facilitating the development of those skills required to be successful online, for example.

Roles of the Blended or eLearning Tutor

Denis et al (2004) define this role as "someone who interacts directly with learners to support their learning process when they are separated from the tutor in time and place for some or all these direct interactions".  They go on to outline the following roles:

  • Content Facilitator: someone who intervenes as a subject expert, sometimes as interpreter and guide through the concepts of subject matter;
  • Metacognition Facilitator: someone who supports reflection on learning activities and outcomes, and study skills development;
  • Process Facilitator: someone who supports learners' learning strategies and time management;
  • Advisor/ Counsellor: someone who provides pastoral support and the doorway to institutional or local support systems;
  • Assessor: someone who gives feedback on task achievement and performance, assignment development, and when required is the examiner;
  • Technologist: someone who is a guide, first-line support with technologies and tools for learning;
  • Resource Provider: someone who identifies and locates, develops and produces resources to provide 'just in case' or 'just in time' learning support.

In addition to these 'Central Roles' they also identify some peripheral roles:

  • Manager/ Administrator: someone who manages the course and keeps records;
  • Designer: someone who helps to design the course, including pedagogical direction;
  • Co-Learner: someone who 'walks' with the learners and is learning alongside them;
  • Researcher: someone who can be a reflective practitioner and action researcher from their experience of being an eLearning tutor.

They do identify that there are specific competencies aligned with each of these roles, but I think that the digital literacies we covered earlier in the course gives a reasonable fit for these.

The eModerator

Gilly Salmon has developed a five-stage model which looks at the role of what she describes as an eModerator and the journey a group takes when learning online.

In Stage 1 eModerators provide support and allow sufficient time to enable learners to access their course materials. Maintaining motivation in the early stages is important because you do not want to deter your learners before they have properly started the course. At this early stage, there will be little interaction between learners. 

In Stage 2 eModerators focus upon encouraging  learners to get to know each other; even when teaching students online as part of a blended learning approach, and everyone has already met each other in the lecture theatre or seminar room, it is still important to go through this process in the online environment too. 

In Stage 3 eModerators encourage learners to share information as they continue to connect and build upon the relationships they started to develop with each other earlier. Exchanging information can be fun and beneficial but it can also be overwhelming if too much is shared and learners cannot identify what is useful to them.

In Stage 4 eModerators encourage more active online learning and learners can begin to construct new knowledge as a result of their interaction with one another, drawing upon each other's skills and experience.

In Stage 5  learners become more independent from the eModerator and take more responsibility for their own learning and their group. Learner interaction with peers is not necessarily as frequent and demanding as seen in stages two to four, as learners can become more focused upon their individual learning goals again.

I have used this model effectively in planning and reviewing my online courses, but I am not sure of its value in a MOOC environment where student motivation is so diverse.

In this video from YouTube, Professor Salmon explains her model:

 

sittingonworldmansmall.pngReferences and Reading

Denis, B. Watland, P. Pirotte, S. & Verday, N. (2004) Roles and Competencies of the e-Tutor. Proceedings of the Networked Learning Conference 2004 [WWW] http://www.networkedlearningconference.org.uk/past/nic2004/proceedings/symposia/symposium6/denis_et_al.htm Links to an external site.

Gilly Salmon's website at http://www.atimod.com Links to an external site.