A case study of e-tutors' training program

In the present study the training program of four in-service secondary educators to undertake the role of e-tutor is presented. The training program was based on the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework and realized via a blended learning environment. After the completion of the training program the educators acted as e-tutors in a pilot e-tutoring program. Once the pilot e-tutoring was finished the educators gave semi-structured interviews and participated in a focus group, where issues raised during the implementation of the pilot program were discussed. The analysis of the interviews highlighted how important the educators considered the understanding of the different context in which e-tutoring is taking place in contrast with that of a conventional classroom. They also pointed out the technological and pedagogical knowledge that e-tutors need to have so that they can work on the e-tutoring environment.