Online informal professional development for distance tutors: experiences from The Open University in Scotland

Abstract

Academic staff who work away from the university campus have few informal opportunities to keep in touch with their peers, and the provision of appropriate professional development for them can be problematic. At the Open University in Scotland an online forum provides a platform for the development of an informal community of distance tutors. It encourages exchange and reflection on the subject of using online media to support students, and has been running continuously for over three years. This paper presents the findings from research undertaken to establish who uses the forum, how and for what purposes, and draws out issues relevant to others supporting and developing staff at a distance.

Keywords:

• communities of practice
• distance tutoring
• informal professional development
• online staff development
• virtual community

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully thank Shaun Harley, an SOS team member who has been a tireless moderator of the SOS forum from its inception, and all those tutors who participated in the questionnaire survey.