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About this project and its objectives
Could an Internet-based solution bolster collaboration, support and resource-sharing within the ACE sector?
If ‘yes’, what kind of solution would best meet the needs of the ACE sector?
E-mentoring versus online community website?
Overview of research done
Revero Web Consultants was commissioned to:
- survey the sector
- research examples of online community & mentoring websites
- report on findings and make recommendations.
Who responded to the survey?
115 of 400 recipients responded – 30% of sector
Majority were women (96%) aged 40-60 years who work in schools (60%).
Statistics reflect sector: 50% work in schools.
What the survey revealed – key findings
Three quarters currently receive ad hoc mentoring and support from others in sector
Sector open to collaboration and a community-approach to problem-solving and information-sharing
Email is most common way for sector to give and receive advice
Relatively active online and offline network already
What the survey revealed – key findings
ACE practitioners face common issues around the country, such as:
- funding and financial management
- resourcing, time management and learner participation
- governance and programme development
- tutoring and learning
- promotions and advertising.
What the survey revealed – key findings
70% of respondents would use Internet technologies to communicate and collaborate with sector
That is 20% of the entire sector
Arguably amounts to sufficient numbers to explore and sustain concept of online community of practice
Respondents who said ‘no’ to getting advice online, are in part the same people who said they don’t actually need advice
What the survey revealed – key findings
80 respondents would like to receive mentoring and support from others online
56 respondents already provide mentoring and support
32 would willingly mentor others online for 1-2 hours per week
Demand for mentoring and support is greater than supply
Same people who need advice also give advice
What the survey revealed – summary
Networking and collaboration are established practices
ACE practitioners typically rely on trial and error, and ad hoc peer-to-peer advice
Information-sharing is ad hoc – info not centralised and not reusable by others
Many ACE practitioners may not realise they are experiencing problems common to others
What the survey revealed – summary
Enough confidence with technology to warrant exploring an online community of practice
Comfortable with email and willing to use other Internet technologies to work together
Online community would expand existing communities of practice and increase their reach
Local and international case studies
http://emss.nsta.org http://www.edna.edu.au www.learn-now.school.nz
www.telementor.org www.tki.org.nz www.mentornet.net
http://tappedin.org www.brightjournals.com www.imentor.org
What the case studies revealed – both e-mentoring & online community sites
Success more likely if proper governance, a charter and quality assurance
Funding is often an issue - sponsorship, user-pays fees and/or government
Web technologies are becoming more sophisticated - many open source (free) options now
Start with clear set of business requirements and keep it simple
Promote site within the target industry
What the case studies revealed – for e-mentoring sites only
E-mentoring sites designed to redress gap in experience between experts and novices in an industry
Matching mentees with suitable mentors is important
1-2 hours per week
Better if mentors receive formal training and structured curriculum
Common challenge can be low participation by mentees
What the case studies revealed – for online community sites
Success more likely if online community augments and supports activities of existing real-world community
Trained community facilitators are important
Facilitators are not just administrative/technical staff
What the case studies revealed – for online community sites
Official content by authorised authors and unofficial content provided by community members
Training people in the use of technology must be part of strategy
Possible to mitigate against alternative solutions sprouting up within the same sector
Proposed concept for the ACE sector
Strong clues from the survey results: Sector relies on peer-to-peer ad hoc support, especially via emailSector also wants access to quality, authoritative resources and document exchange tools
Strong message from the case studies:Start with a clear set of simple requirements and grow from there
Proposed objective:Focus on tools that enable existing activity to be centralised, nationalised and formalised online
Current communication lines
Knowledge shared via email or in conversation
Sector as a wholedoes not benefit
Informationnot reusable or retrievable.
Online community
Follow and join other people’s forum conversations
Chat with other members
View up-and-coming events
Download and upload documents, and much more
Benefits of this approach
Proposed technology is relatively straightforward and economical to implement
Online activity will be centralised and will grow into a valuable searchable resource
Pool of people available to answer questions will come from national network
Quality of answers likely to be better and the speed of finding answers will be quicker
Benefits of this approach
More valuable connections will be made in the sector
People who do not necessarily view themselves as experts may step into the role of advisor
Lead ACE professional development organisation will gain overview of common issues in sector
Information will be centralised and structured in logical ways, and will be searchable, retrievable and available for trend analysis
Recommended features
Online community tools, such as secure member profiles, discussion forums, live chat, noticeboards, web conferencing, document exchange and repositories, search engine, etc
Online facilitators who get members started, help them use the tools, oversee content, encourage regular participation and promote the site
Recommended features
Good quality content (podcasts, blogs, newsletters, announcements, online meetings and events, HTML / PDF resources, online help and tutorials on how to use the community)
Both authoritative content published by experts and resources developed by other members
Simple processes for joining and administering the site
Sustaining this project over time
Leadership and vision of motivated individuals
Trained facilitators keep online communities on track
Regular and meaningful content
Formal governance structures
Realistic funding model for at least 5 years
Reliable technology partner
Feedback loops and monitoring
E-mentoring technology possible option for the future
More formal, one-on-one mentoring between an expert and a new ACE practitioner - not considered necessary right now
Case studies show it can have real merits where appropriate
Requires data-matching technology, a mentoring curriculum, good criteria for selecting mentors and mentees, and training for mentors
Needs sufficient funds and human resources
Four technology options to consider for the first release
A.Off-the-shelf product
B. Software as a service
C. Licensing a sub-community on existing community website
D. Custom-build
OR: A combination of the above
Must investigate how these options may or may not work/ integrate with existing web assets
Indicative pricing for each option
Costs per option
A. Off-the-shelf product
B. Software as a service
C. Part of 3rd party site
D. Custom-built site
Year 1 develop-ment costs
$75 – 100K $60 - 90K $60 - 90K $140 – 200K
Ongoing annual costs
$89 - 106K $80 - 90K $80 - 90K $95 – 106K
The next steps
Determine whether satisfied with levels of sector support
Explore opportunities for collaboration and partnership amongst organisations in the ACE sector, including with Ako Aotearoa
Seek independent advice to assess whether existing web solutions in sector may be expanded to include online ACE community- including Ako Aotearoa’s under development
Confirm project sponsor and governance structure
The next steps
Identify vision for project and synergies with other sector strategies
Identify incentives to engage with internet-based sharing
Seek independent advice to consider a preferred approach for the technical solution
Consider synergies with TKI.org.nz
Define the precise functional and technical requirements
Prepare a RFP tender document and invite qualified vendors to submit proposals