Online Mentoring

The practice of mentoring has existed as long as civilization. Mentoring as a practice was noted in Homer’s The Odyssey, and a mentor, a word from the ancient Greeks, is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as: a person who acts as guide and adviser to another person, especially one who is younger and less experienced. Later, more generally: a person who offers support and guidance to another; an experienced and trusted counselor or friend; a patron, a sponsor. Traditionally, a mentor shares his or her experience and knowledge with a less experienced and knowledgeable individual, in a relationship upon which both parties agree. In recent years, an emergence of online, e-mentoring or telementoring relationships is taking place across the Web, taking the traditional, longstanding face-to-face practice into the electronic environment. Online mentoring relationships exist among formal and informal learners of all ages. Effective e-mentoring requires extensive planning and commitment (National Mentoring Center, 2002).