The diary can include anything you like but we would suggest to collect...

Your diary can of course be in your native language but in previous courses we have found that course participants really enjoyed sharing the learning diaries amongst each other and giving each other feedback. This will be much easier if you do your learning diary in English as otherwise you have to find course participants speaking your language.

There is a lot of material on the course and there will be even more once everyone starts discussing and sharing ideas and resources. Not all of this will be relevant to your own situation so to counter getting lost, we recommend you to create this learning diary. This should be a valuable resource for you should you want to revisit the topics of the course at a later stage.

This code of conduct applies to all spaces that are part of the European Schoolnet Academy portal. This includes all our online courses, mailing lists, social media channels, and any third party tools we use to communicate with each other as part of the European Schoolnet Academy activities. In addition, violations of this code outside these spaces may affect a person's ability to participate within them.

We strive to be a community that welcomes and supports people of all backgrounds and identities. This includes, but is not limited to members of any race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, colour, immigration status, social and economic class, educational level, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, size, family status, political belief, religion, and mental and physical ability. It is therefore important that when interacting with each other we are aware of this diversity and do not discriminate against each other.

Because of this diversity our understanding of how things work will be different, our cultural and linguistic references will be different, and we will have very different solutions to the problems which we discuss. This is a key strength of the community but requires us to be patient and friendly when interacting with each other. A reference you make might not be clear to someone else and accordingly their response might be less clear to you. This requires patience and openness in trying to understand someone else’s viewpoint.

Critical reflection is a welcome part of our community’s activities but this should always be friendly and constructive. Criticism should always come with concrete suggestions on how things can be improved and should always take into account as much information as is available about the context of the object of criticism. For example, when reviewing someone else’s work on the community make sure to take into account their cultural background and work conditions when offering suggestions on how to improve the work.

Your work will be used by other people, and you in turn will depend on the work of others. Any decision you take will affect users and colleagues, and you should take those consequences into account when making decisions. Remember that we're a world-wide community, so you might not be communicating in someone else's primary language.

Not all of us will agree all the time, but disagreement is no excuse for poor behavior and poor manners. We might all experience some frustration now and then, but we cannot allow that frustration to turn into a personal attack. It’s important to remember that a community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one. Members of the European Schoolnet Academy community should be respectful when dealing with other members as well as with people outside the Academy’s community.

We are a community of professionals, and we conduct ourselves professionally. Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other participants. Harassment and other exclusionary behavior aren't acceptable. This includes, but is not limited to:

Disagreements, both social and technical, happen all the time and the European Schoolnet Academy is no exception. It is important that we resolve disagreements and differing views constructively. Remember that we’re different. The strength of the Academy comes from its varied community, people from a wide range of backgrounds. Different people have different perspectives on issues. Being unable to understand why someone holds a viewpoint doesn’t mean that they’re wrong. Don’t forget that it is human to err and blaming each other doesn’t get us anywhere. Instead, focus on helping to resolve issues and learning from mistakes.

1- Modules & Activities

The course lasts 6 weeks and is divided into 4 modules, one module per week with an extra 2 weeks to complete all work at the end. We will be opening up a new module every Monday. Once open, the modules will remain open until the end of the course so you can always still catch up at a later time throughout the course.

Each module consists of

2- Duration & Workload

The course will last in total 6 weeks, from 15th May 2017 to 21st June 2017. So the final deadline for all work is the 21st June 2017.

All the course content will remain accessible after that but it won't be possible to do the final activity anymore and receive the course certificate.

Each module lasts 1 week but remains open to complete until the 21st June. This leaves you with enough flexibility should you be very busy during one week and need to catch up at a later date. However, please note that peer review exercises have separate deadlines, so make sure to check the information carefully.

If you are wondering about the workload, we estimate it to be around 3-4 hours per week depending on your level of engagement.

3- Discussions & Exchanges

As part of the activities, you are welcome to share and discuss materials, opinions or experiences related to this course via a variety of online tools, which are integrated directly into each module. We have chosen these tools based on their user friendliness so you should not have to sign up to use them and most of them should be fairly self-explanatory. You will see that for most sections we have focused on the Padlet tool. For an introduction check this FAQ on how to post on Padlet.

However, we also encourage you to share your ideas and thoughts via Twitter using #mentormooc or via our Facebook group.

4- Assessment & Certification

As part of the course you will be completing a self-evaluation of your current mentoring approach and a development plan to further develop your approach. If you are not currently working as a mentor you can still complete these tasks but with a forward-planning perspective and reflecting on your current thinking and ideas of mentoring for the self-evaluation part.

In each module you will continue working on your self-evaluation and development plan based on the areas covered in the module. In each module you are also free to submit your self-evaluation and development plan for peer feedback.

While in Modules 1-3 this is optional, in Module 4 this is a required part of the course and includes the submission of your self-evaluation and development plan as well as providing feedback to 3 of your course peers.

Only if you complete these steps in Module 4 you qualify for the course certificate. 

I agree with Rachel: "summative evaluations should be avoided if possible, as it can be detrimental for building trust in the relationship." 

A Mentor has to establish a open and respectuful relationchip. If the mentor  imposes any idea he could be closing every conection with the mentee.

If you remember back to section 1, Professor Feiman-Nemser argues that there can be significant value if mentoring is combined with evaluation of the mentees work. A key argument being that the mentor will be the only person at school level to have an in-depth understanding of the mentee’s work and development. Rachel, on the other hand, argues that summative evaluations should be avoided if possible, as it can be detrimental for building trust in the relationship. What are your views on this? Discuss the following statement in the forum here.

You are then free to submit your completed document for peer feedback in the next section. This is an optional step in this module. Please know that if you submit your work for feedback you also need to provide feedback to your peers.