Mentoring and 2.0

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Rebecca on May 14, 2008 at 6:29am

Hi Cathy.

Are you running a mentoring program yourself? Can you explain how you think it would work if you don't? I'm just learning about mentoring myself and also supporting students who are studying about mentoring.

Rebecca.

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Permalink Reply by Cathy Duffy on May 19, 2008 at 9:12pm

I would like to create a group for the mentors and mentees in my district. Many of our pairings are in different buildings and my thought is that a social network in which all the participants belonged may offer more direct support.

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Permalink Reply by Sue T. on May 17, 2008 at 8:51am

I am new to social networking, I have recently developed a mentoring program for my school district (Southampton, MA) and am working to develop my skills in mentoring and training. I attened several New Teacher Center classes at WSC, in Westfield.

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Permalink Reply by Abby Thaker on May 17, 2008 at 9:56am

I haven't, but I think it's a great idea. I think using Classroom 2.0 would be a way to expand the support new teachers get from the mentor-mentee relationship by providing a way to connect with a whole bunch of educators who are interested in supporting one another.

What do you have in mind... are you thinking of teaching participants about social networking in general and pointing them to a few resources? Or are you thinking of creating a separate group for teachers from your school or district? I'd be interested to hear what you decide to do with this, and how it goes!

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Permalink Reply by Cathy Duffy on May 19, 2008 at 9:07pm

My first thought was to create a separate group for teachers from my school, but I also like the idea of introducing them to social networking as I think they could potentially be exposed to more ideas and support.

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Permalink Reply by Abby Thaker on May 20, 2008 at 6:40pm

I like the idea of doing both - introducing them to other social networking sites for a broader perspective, and then creating a separate group or online space that's limited to teachers at your school.

Depending on what your goals are, it might make sense to consider a wiki, too. Since you're to provide resources for new teachers as part of a mentoring program, a wiki site might be a good way for mentors to post lesson plans, pacing guides, classroom management strategies, and whatever else might be helpful.

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