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 What were the outcomes of the Penn State AAC Mentor Project?What were the outcomes of the Penn State Mentor Leadership Training program? |
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Outcomes of the AAC Mentor Project What were the benefits and challenges of providing a mentor program via the Internet? There were many benefits to using the Internet for the Penn State AAC Mentor Project. Linking mentors and protégés via e-mail allowed adolescents and young adults who used AAC to connect with accomplished mentors who also used AAC from all over the country. Furthermore, e-mail provided a relatively inexpensive way to allow mentors and protégés to “get together” regularly. E-mail allowed mentors and protégés to write messages any time they wanted to at their own convenience. There were, however, some challenges in running the program via the Internet. Some of the mentors and protégés experienced technical problems with their AAC systems that limited their access to E-mail for a period of time. Others had problems with computer viruses or unreliable E-mail providers. Some mentors and protégés lost the e-mail address used to contact their partner. At some point during the yearlong program, most of the mentors and protégés required some reminders and technical or other support from the project staff to make sure that they kept in regular contact with their partner. It was evident that this support was critical to the success of the project. The benefits of using e-mail far outweighed the disadvantages. However regular support from the project team was required to ensure that e-mail was a viable channel of interaction. |
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