There are many different types of online education courses. They range from downloadable self-paced courses to real-time, instructor-led courses. And while most people can understand each end of this spectrum, it is in the middle ground where most of the confusion lies.

The middle ground is loosely called 'mentored-learning'. Today, over 66% of online educational institutions offer some form of mentored-learning. Unfortunately, nobody knows what it means. 'Mentored-learning' can mean anything from sending a student a couple of emails to diligently monitoring a student's progress twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. For the prospective student, trying to understand what you're getting is a formidable task.

The rest of this article describes what we mean by mentored-learning. It also provides you with some questions that you can ask eLearning companies to help you understand what they mean by mentored-learning.

Our idea of mentored-learning
In our model, mentored-learning plays a key role in the overall learning experience. We couple self-paced reading materials and practical assignments with several kinds of communications such as student-to-instructor email, student-to-student email, real-time classroom chat, and bulletin board discussion groups. This means that throughout the course, students are performing one of four operations:

1) Reading through the course materials
In our courses, students spend their time reading and interacting with the course content. This means reading though a series of lesson modules and taking quizzes to prepare themselves for the practical assignments. This is very much like traditional studying. For this, students typically choose to use the CD-ROM that they receive so that they don't tie up their phone line or have to endure Internet delays (though they are welcome to use the online version if they wish).

2) Completing the assignments
Throughout their studies, students work with course software, researching, creating, assembling and submitting assignments. This will be a combination of resources on their machine and from the server.

3) Working with other students
For the duration of the course, students will work with other students via email, via chat and via discussion groups to either discuss topics or complete group assignments.

4) Being mentored by the instructor
The phrase 'instructor-mentored' means students are being monitored and guided through these activities by a course instructor, course markers and/or visiting experts. It has three linked forms.

Email exchanges: Either instructors or students can initiate Email exchanges. Success is measured by the speed of the response. We try for 'inside 24' - response times of less than 24 hours. Instructors respond at best speed, often within minutes, and we notify students of the times during the day when they can expect more immediate responses. Circumstances dictate that there may be some delays, but these do not exceed 48 hours. In return, we expect students to check their email and to participate in course activities at regular intervals.

Discussion groups: Discussion groups in which students take leadership on specific topics of their experience or issues of importance to them in their studies. Here too our instructors are involved, comment, support and link users. We provide answers, but we also listen and promote student-based initiatives, ideas and models.

Marking: We mark assignments closely, electronically, with comments linked inside the student materials themselves so readers see exactly where work can be improved, corrected and - most important - how this can be achieved. The comments deal directly with the work at each stage and then link the stages together in summary comments, with a grade, at the conclusion of the assignment. That is mentored-learning.

So how do eLearning companies compare?
Good question. Not all eLearning companies share our view of 'mentored learning'. So when it comes to your education, you'll want to make sure that you know what you're buying. So how can you know if you are sentenced to email limbo? It's tough, but here are some questions you might want to ask and things you might want to do:

Read the testimonials and look for instructor accolades
Any reputable eLearning site will have a list of student testimonials on their courses. If they don't, don't take their courses. We list our student testimonials on each of the course description pages and on a separate testimonials page. We're extremely proud of what people have to say about our courses. For example, here is what Judy Ferril of Positive Solutions, Inc. recently had to say about one of our instructors:

"I am currently enrolled in your Professional XML Authoring Course with Susan Bodnik as my instructor. It is a very challenging course, but I am enjoying it. I feel as if I am on my way to developing a good skill set. One thing that impressed me about online-learning.com is if I have a question (even before enrolling), there is always a quick response. This is critical when distance is involved. Susan is very good about getting me through difficult issues and keeping in touch with the class."

Does the company offer profiles of the instructors?
Just because a course is online, doesn't mean it has to be 'instructorless'. We insist on putting our instructor's names and bios on each course for two reasons. First, we believe it is more credible for you as a consumer so obviously it helps us 'promote' our courses. Second, we believe it is important for our instructors to take ownership and pride in the courses they mentor.

Am I able to contact the instructor before and during the course?
At the risk of being deluged in email, if you're really interested in a particular course and have some questions, try sending the company an email and ask for the specific instructor to answer it. Then see how many hours, days, weeks, months, or years it takes them to respond.

What is the relationship between the course experts and the courses?
Again, any reputable eLearning site will outline who is associated with the company. They should also be able to tell you what role those people play in developing and reviewing course materials.

How much time do they plan to spend marking the assignments?
Our instructors average about two hours marking a six-page assignment. Obviously this number will vary greatly depending upon the quality of the assignment. Weak assignments can take three to four times as long to mark than an 'A' paper that is clear, concise and error-free. But it is this extended attention to detail and marking that makes the difference between good and bad mentoring. A thoroughly marked assignment, with links to the problem areas and their resolution can do more than whole other courses where you receive a grade and a comment like 'poorly expressed.' Instructors will often exchange emails with students because marking comments generate additional discussion. And the subsequent revisions usually produce a work well above anything the student has ever done before.

How many hours do they allocate to student support?
To be honest, the number of hours for student support varies greatly. Some students require extensive support -- several emails per day and lots of advice throughout the assignments. It is typically heaviest at the start of the course when everything is new - the technology, the course content, our expectations, the other class members, their expectations (and reliability), determining the 'tempo', how long things take to accomplish, how complete and thorough they have to be. Other surges occur in the days before assignment submissions and around any processes involving more than one classmate. Each new piece of software has its own demands and surprises. Scheduling our resources to meet these expeditiously and with patience is probably the hardest task from the instructor's point of view. Again, we feel the testimonials speak for themselves.

We allocate up to 8 hours per student per course for personalized help, communications, marking and administration. These numbers can be increased, if necessary, but they seldom fall below that average across the members of a class. We also encourage students to work together, sharing their materials and results, commenting and advising on work in progress, pointing out options and additional resources and we post these results to the entire class, noting who has helped and how. This open exchange bears large results in trust, good will and respect among classmates, and it provides a significant part of personal support and information in every class.

The advantage is that we don't place any limit on the support that a student requests. So those who need the extra guidance are able to receive the help they need.

Ask how many people actually complete their courses?
Depending upon which report you read, eLearning drop out rates range from 65% to 80%. For example, Forrester Research claims that eLearning suffers from student drop out rates as high as 80%. At online-learning.com, our rate is between 15% and 20% depending upon the course. We're extremely proud of this fact. We feel it is a reflection of our mentored-learning model and, to be frank, the fact that we employ instructors who care about their students. If you think about it, our drop out rate is actually better than most major universities and high schools across Canada or the United States. Again, there are numerous studies, but the British Broadcasting Corporation puts the United States' university drop out rates at 37%.

Ask how many people have jobs after they graduate?
Like it or not, education today is about preparing students for jobs. So the mark of a good course would be its placement rate. At online-learning.com, many of our students are already employed before they take our courses. They come to our courses to refresh or upgrade their skills. As a result, it is impossible for us to make the claim that our mentored-process gets people jobs. It does however lend credence to the fact that our courses are perceived to be credible by industry professionals and their employers.

The future of learning
Online education is often touted as the future of learning. As we approach this future, we believe that it will be the learning models that will decide the fate of most online schools. The educational institutions that implement the best models will reap the highest rewards.

We believe that mentored-learning offers the right balance between self-paced courses and classroom-based courses. It offers students a personalized learning experience. It allows them to learn at their own speed, at their level and at their convenience. And it ensures that they have access to an experienced instructor who can guide them through the learning process. Our model was built on these beliefs, and it is these beliefs that will lead us into the future.

About the author
Doug Talbott is the vice president of eContent at online-learning.com. He comes to online-learning.com from Nortel Networks' Design Interpretive Group where he directed a wide range of user interface design, human factors engineering and technical documentation projects. Prior to joining Nortel, Doug ran an Ottawa-based design and communications consultancy that won numerous awards across Canada and the United States. In addition, Doug was a member of the three-person management team that created and operated the Honeywell Institute. The Institute invented and introduced the concept of immersive training by offering intensive four-month training programs in systems design and computer programming. He has designed and taught courses throughout his career at the Institute, as a private consultant, and at Nortel and for Carleton University in the areas of computer programming, human computer interaction and visual interaction design.
© 2002 Online-learning.com