Creating Working Life Mentoring that Utilises Social Media - A Means to Modernise Online Courses
Abstract: Working life should be more actively utilised in higher education as partner in education design. The e-Learning of the Future project (2009–2011, ERDF) meets work-oriented online education development challenges through working life mentoring that utilises social media. The initial phase of the project is examined in this article through two cases, how development of the model was initiated and what problems and challenges emerged at this stage. The study will help to establish directions on including working life in online education development through a virtual media laboratory, the Ning environment. The model’s use in updating online courses that produce authentic content appears promising. Initiation and supervision of a virtual interaction process between higher education teachers and working life mentors, and finding a meaningful role for mentors in the process have emerged as critical factors in the project’s initial phase.