The effectiveness of an institution-wide mentoring program for improving online teaching and learning

Abstract

THE PAPER is set in the context of examining the complex set of interrelated factors that need to be managed if effective use of computers in university teaching and learning is to be achieved. Data from a national study in Australia are used to illustrate these factors. One issue that is highlighted is the gulf between innovators/early adopters of technology, and users who only use technology when it is mainstream or were very reluctant users. The majority of the paper describes a university-wide development scheme for teachers involving more than 140 university teachers at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University in Australia. This scheme utilized the skills and enthusiasm of early adopters by formally appointing them as Learning Technology Mentors who were supported to work with colleagues in their Departments. The achievements and challenges of this scheme are summarized in order to provide some guidance about the complex task of designing, at an institutional level, effective policy for the support of online teaching and learning.