5.3 Integrated Guidance After COVID – What Did We Learn?

Integration of Online Communication Tools

The COVID-19 pandemic altered our world in many ways including the acceleration of digital transformation. A lot of tools focusing on making learning accessible to everyone through technology are now available and have been extensively used during the rise of COVID – 19 and the consequent lockdowns that took place around the world. This was a huge learning opportunity for people engaged in any kind of learning provision to find out what works well and what doesn’t work that well for their audience and topic.

Some general tips are:

Establish trust and expectations – A very healthy and proactive way to start a virtual mentorship program is to establish expectations from the beginning. Setting together goals to reach and making those goals as clear as possible will help the participants have a focus and feel respected and heard.
Be as communicative as possible – Communication between mentors and mentees is essential for virtual mentoring programs to flourish and be as successful and meaningful as possible. Constant and meaningful communication allows nuanced expression of feelings and ideas and better intimacy and sense of togetherness. Furthermore, frequent reminders and check-ins from the mentor will remind participants of their commitment to the program and help them feel connected even outside of the mentorship relationship.

Reflective questions for the reader:

Think about how you can make your virtual mentoring program more appealing for a specific group.
What changes or adaptations might you make for implementing an online mentoring program?