Mentorship

Improving Internet Training of Teachers Through Mentorship:
As classes ended in June of 1997, New Brunswick completed a $23 million quest to connect every school to the World Wide Web. (MacLeans magazine) With the arrival of these new computers and tools, came an onslaught of challenges for teachers. First, for many educators who thought a mouse still had four legs, this 'Internet', whatever it was, was just a mind-boggling task too complex to undertake. Secondly, for those with limited computer knowledge, the challenge was to gain enough know-how to integrate the Internet into the instructional process. No matter what the level of computer literacy though, the introduction of this latest teaching tool has necessitated that teachers rethink their role in the classroom. This new idea that "teachers, long parked at the head of the class, must move into the passenger seat, where they will observe, coach, and accompany students on the giddy ride down the information highway" (MacLeans), has frightened many.
Like any innovation in education, the 'plugging-in' of classrooms has met with opposition. Some parents feel that in our haste to get on the information highway, we have neglected the basics. Others claim that "multimedia co

Mentorship provides teachers with the personalized attention so neccesary to become computer literate. Mentors are able to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their mentees, and work to overcome weaknesses and develop strengths. They continue to have contact with teachers and thus in effect, have many more sessions throughout the year than would have previously been available.

The successful applicants were seconded; they spent the next several weeks making contacts in district schools, and began a relationship with these contacts. Then, through the contacts, teachers made appointments for the mentors to visit with them at their convenience.They met either during class time for class activities, during their preparatory periods, or after school for individual help. Teachers requested tutoring in the areas in which they needed the most help; in this way, meeting individual needs was no longer a difficulty of training. Because sessions were booked in advance, mentors had the time to prepare individualized meetings in each of the desired topic areas. The areas which were most often requested were: Excel; Clarisworks; Word 6.0; downloading and unzipping files; E-Mail; and Search Tools for the Internet. Also, because of the continuing nature of the program, mentors were able to meet with, assess teachers capabilities, and then progress throughout the year privately or with the teacher's classes. Thus allowing teachers to be involved with, but not responsible for, bringing cyberspace into the classroom.