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Cybermentoring

Aired November 15 and 16, 1997

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This is Internet On The Air. I'm Todd Mundt. Using technology to bring people together. Details in a moment.

Funding Credit: Internet On The Air is a production of the University of Michigan School of Information and Michigan radio, made possible by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

"Cybermentoring" is a term that describes people working in different places using e-mail and the World Wide Web to learn from each other.

Cybermentoring has been attracting attention recently as people and organizations look for new, quick ways to share their expertise. For example, at the University of Michigan, the English Composition Board trains writing tutors, who then apply on-line technology in their work with undergraduate students. Critiques and conversations are carried out by e-mail.

The cybermentoring program of the English Composition Board has been extended to off-campus locations. At Detroit Murray-Wright High Scho ol, students have an incentive for using the program to improve their writing skills. If they score high enough on standardized tests for college entrance programs, they are eligible for scholarships provided by the Detroit Compact, a coalition of local businesses, government and educational institutions.

Detroit-Murray Wright is also a test site for the next generation of exams conducted by the American College Test, or A-C-T...this version will rely on a portfolio of writing samples instead of muliple choice questions to assess writing skills.

So far, college mentors and high school participants have learned a great deal about each other's world's. Teachers say that students' writing skills are improving, although conclusive evidence is still a few years off.

Universities, corporations and individuals also are interested in exploring the possiblities of cybermentoring, especially since these programs are easy to transfer and apply to new settings.

To learn more about cybermentoring, visit our Web site at www.iota.org. For Internet On The Air, I'm Todd Mundt.

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Related Links

Pictures, updates and background on the U-M/Murray Wright Cybermentoring Program are available on this site.

For further information, try these Web sites:

• The International Telementor Center is a program at Center for Science, Mathematics & Technology Education at the Colorado State University (CSMATE ) that facilitates electronic mentoring relationships between professional adults and students worldwide.
  Current Telementor partners include Hewlett Packard and the Merck Institute for Science Education
  
  
• The Information Access Laboratory at the University of Delaware matches disabled students with professionals who encourage the kids to pursue science careers.
  
  
• At the Univ. of Texas - Electronic Emissary site, interested students and adults fill out forms and are matched (after screening) by site administrators at the University of Texas at Austin.

More cybermentoring examples can be found on this Find a Mentor page.

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The Interview

There was no interview recorded for this show.

Please direct questions or comments to iota.webmaster@umich.edu.

Last Updated January 26, 2000