Online mentoring elevates the classic art of mentoring (Shandley, 1989; Jacobi, 1991; Ehrich et al., 2004) into the modern world of technology and innovation. While foundational mentoring principles still apply to online mentoring, definitions are also evolving, The frequently cited definition by Bierema and Merriam (2002) established that it is, “a computer mediated, mutually beneficial relationship between a mentor and a protege which provides learning, advising, encouraging, promoting, and modeling that is often boundaryless, egalitarian, and qualitatively different than traditional face-to-face mentoring” (p. 219). In early online mentoring research, traditional mentoring models were adjusted to be successfully implemented online (Hamilton & Scandura, 2003; Whiting & de Jansz, 2004), Foundational online mentoring research was also missing (Sanyal & Rigby, C. (2017). More contemporary definitions offer a simplified explanation that online mentoring provides a “process in which electronic media are used as the main channel of communication between the mentor and mentee” (Argento-Linares et al., 2017, p. 401).

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, online mentoring has become even more valuable as a development tool as advancements in technology have facilitated and streamlined accessibility and connectivity (Collier, 2022; Tetzlaff et al., 2022). The challenges of remote work and mandated online education also provided new opportunities and necessity for creating trust between employees or students and instructors, building support for the sponsoring organization, and improving inclusion through online mentoring (Tu & Li, 2021). 

In a post-pandemic world, online mentoring is adapting to surpass its previous paradigms, acquiring heightened prominence as transformative educational and professional development strategies (Mullen, 2021). This evolution is characterized by the merging of technology with pedagogical methodologies resulting in a dynamic platform that leverages digital connectivity with fostering mentor-mentee relationships (Tinoco-Giraldo et al., 2020). In this context, online mentoring encompasses a mentor’s guidance, knowledge dissemination, and personal development for the mentee through virtual channels. It also draws on online mentors’ intentional use of strategies including personal competence, availability, career planning and networking, communication, providing feedback, and emotional connection (Byrnes et al., 2019, p. 239). This reframing process for online mentoring capitalizes on the digital landscape's potential for immersive and collaborative learning experiences. 

Table 1 

Comparisons of Online Mentoring Models

(LinkedIn Digital Learning, n.d.) 

A single mentor with a single mentee in an online mentoring interaction compared to multiple mentees and/or mentors.

Advantages 

Online mentoring benefits from being “boundaryless” and “egalitarian” (Bierema & Merriam, 2002, p. 419). First, physical and logistical constraints to mentoring are removed and mentors and mentees can meet in a wider variety of locations than might be available in a traditional 8 a.m.–5 p.m. office setting with a desk and chairs, including outside, in moving vehicles, and with backdrops to hide locations, practically anywhere a reliable internet connection is available. Online mentoring accommodates diverse schedules and offers more possible meeting or messaging communication times for mentees and mentors, including early morning and later at night, and in between other meetings. 

Online mentoring transcends geographical and cultural constraints (Bierema & Merriam, 2002; Pollard & Kumar, 2021). In addition to the time flexibility, online mentoring also provides opportunities for long distance and international mentoring, insuring access for students and employees worldwide that would not be possible in person with mentees and mentors in separate offices, locations, and countries. It may also remove psychological barriers between mentees and mentors due to professional position, stature, or age, and may help improve mentoring relationships where there are potential issues of race, culture, gender, first generation college students, and other criteria that may cause feelings of estrangement or lack of inclusivity among professionals and students (Termini et al., 2021). Online mentoring can help level the conversational landscape for the mentee, allowing them to ask questions with more confidence and facilitate deeper engagement and active listening (Andersen & West, 2021). Working toward this goal of greater equality in mentorship fosters a sense of belonging and enhances an institution's commitment to inclusivity. 

Moreover, online mentoring encourages self-guided learning. Mentees actively participate in mentoring discussions, using online resources and flexible interactions to explore topics they are curious about. This approach promotes independence, critical thinking, and the skill to research on their own—all in line with today's learner-focused methods. Furthermore, online mentoring breaks down barriers and nurtures self-directed learning, making it a powerful tool for modern education (Olivier & Trivedi, 2021). Online mentoring’s autonomy enriches not only academic or workplace success for the mentee, but also personal development, shaping a dynamic and vibrant learning environment. 

Constraints 

There continue to be challenges to overcome in online mentoring requiring careful consideration and strategic management. Connectivity and access to reliable data remain persistent hurdles. If a mentor and mentee cannot have an uninterrupted mentoring conversation, by video conference or messaging, due to insufficient data coverage, even the best mentoring will be inadequate. In many countries, access to high-speed internet is an ongoing difficulty. Even with remote work and online higher education becoming more mainstream, there may still be difficulties with virtual communication perception between mentee and mentor. Visual and auditory cues that facilitate effective interpersonal interactions in face-to-face settings may not be as readily discernible, leading to miscommunication. The efficacy of online mentoring is contingent on the technological fluency and comfort of both mentors and mentees and requires vigilant attention by both participants to ensure up-to-date technology skills and coherent dialogue. Individuals who are apprehensive or ill-at-ease with online communication platforms may struggle to derive optimal benefits from the online mentoring paradigm. 

Online mentoring may also require more direction from mentors regarding online dialogue and etiquette, especially for students who are used to informality from personal communication in online communication (O’Dowd et al., 2020). Mentors may also need to connect with their mentees through multiple modalities to be most effective, which requires time and planning and is essential for cultivating robust and meaningful online mentoring relationships (Sanyal & Rigby, 2017). Cybersecurity is always an issue with online mentoring and the concern that online mentoring interactions may not be secure (Jan & Mahboob, 2022).  In response to these challenges, mentors assume an essential role in guiding and shaping effective online mentoring interactions. As the realm of online mentoring continues to evolve and expand, the development of comprehensive strategies to address these challenges will be integral to realizing its full potential as an impactful learning tool. 

The Future of Online Mentoring 

Online mentoring promises to become more critical to higher education, to business and to development as technology improves and as professionals, students, and society become more engaged in online learning opportunities. This trajectory underscores the growing significance of using online mentoring to foster a diversified spectrum of skills and cultural insights through global mentoring. In this growing trend of global mentoring, mentors and mentees move beyond cultural boundaries in pursuit of enriched learning experiences and the cultivation of intercultural competence (Domer et al., 2021; Rodriguez et al., 2021). Mentors and mentees reach out for mentoring across cultures to improve learning and connection. Benefits include finding global solutions to common challenges, developing a more diverse perspective, building global community and collaboration, especially where participants share common fields, and working together on international projects and programs (Rosser et al., 2020). Mentors and mentees must show resolve for working around barriers such as time differences, language and communication constraints, and cultural difference to achieve “intentionally global” mentoring opportunities. (Rosser et al., 2020, p. 8). More opportunities for global mentoring in business, education, and medicine will enhance academic and professional proficiencies while also fostering a heightened cultural acumen that resonates with the evolving international landscape.

Artificial intelligence methods may also impact online mentoring. While a chatbot cannot replace the role of a mentor, AI could help improve the online mentoring relationship from managing administrative details such as scheduling and providing resources to mentees, thus minimizing the time commitment for mentors, while also providing learner analytics to improve how the mentor guides the mentee, to help with matching mentors and mentees in mentoring programs (Murray et al., 2022). AI-assisted online mentoring may also offer increased access to mentoring and provide more effective mentoring to large populations and diverse and underrepresented groups (Neumann et al., 2021; Ocado et al., 2023).

As the landscape of online education continues to evolve, its collaborative relationship with online mentoring strengthens its impact as a transformative educational tool. As a “community of practice” (Tinoco-Giraldo et al., 2020, p. 23) supplements the absence of online mentoring literature, the field can strengthen and grow. The connection between technological innovation, pedagogical adaptation, and cross-cultural interaction shows potential for creating a generation of students and professional’s adept in both their chosen fields and global perspectives of online mentoring. The nexus of online mentoring thus stands ready to shape the trajectory of education, business, and other disciplines, ushering in a new era of dynamic, interconnected, and culturally astute learning and educational experiences.

References 

Andersen, C. L., & West, R. E. (2021). " We Overwhelm Them with Hope": How Online Mentors Can Support Online Learners. Online Learning, 25(4), 388-415. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v25i4.2440

Argente-Linares, E., Péres-López, M. C., & Ordóñez-Solana, C. (2016). Practical experience of blended mentoring in higher education. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 24(5), 399-414. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611267.2016.1273449

Bierema, L. L., & Merriam, S. B. (2002). E-mentoring: Using computer mediated communication to enhance the mentoring process. Innovative Higher Education, 26(3), 211227.

Boston, W. E., & Ice, P. (2011). Assessing facilitator performance as an influence on student satisfaction. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 14(2), Summer 2011. 

Byrnes, D., Uribe-Flórez, L. J., Trespalacios, J., & Chilson, J. (2019). Doctoral e-mentoring: Current practices and effective strategies. Online Learning Journal, 23(1), 236-248. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v23i1.1446

Collier, P. (2022). How Peer Mentoring Can Help Universities Promote Student Success in a Post-COVID19 Pandemic World. Metropolitan Universities, 33(1), 37-54.

DeWaard, H., & Chavhan, R. (2020). Cross-cultural mentoring: A pathway to building professional relationships and professional learning beyond boundaries. Journal of Teaching and Learning, 14(1), 43-58.

Dorner, H., Misic, G., & Rymarenko, M. (2021). Online mentoring for academic practice: strategies, implications, and innovations. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1483(1), 98-111. https://doi.org/:10.1111/nyas.14301

Ehrich, L. C., Hansford, B., & Tennent, L. (2004). Formal mentoring programs in  education and other professions: A review of the literature. Educational  Administration Quarterly, 40(4), 518–540. doi: 10.1177/0013161X04267118  

Hamilton, B. A., & Scandura, T. A. (2003). E-Mentoring: Implications for organizational  learning and development in a wired world. Organizational Dynamics, 31(4), 388–402.  doi: 10.1016/S0090-2616(02)00128-6

Jacobi, M. (1991). Mentoring and undergraduate academic success: A literature  review. Review of Educational Research, 61(4), 505–532.

Jan, S., & Mahboob, U. (2022). Online mentoring: Challenges and strategies. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 38(8), 2272. 

Mullen, C. A. (2021). Online doctoral mentoring in a pandemic: help or hindrance to academic progress on dissertations?. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 10(2), 139-157. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMCE-06-2020-0029

Murray, S. A., Shuler, H., Spencer, E. C., & Hinton, A., Jr (2022). Mentoring future science leaders to thrive. Trends in pharmacological sciences, 43(6), 457–460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tips.2022.03.012.

Neumann, A. T., Arndt, T., Köbis, L., Meissner, R., Martin, A., de Lange, P., ... & Wollersheim, H. W. (2021). Chatbots as a tool to scale mentoring processes: Individually supporting self-study in higher education. Frontiers in artificial intelligence, 4, 668220.

O'Dowd, R., Sauro, S., & Spector‐Cohen, E. (2020). The role of pedagogical mentoring in virtual exchange. Tesol Quarterly, 54(1), 146-172. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.543

Olivier, J., & Trivedi, S. (2021). Self-directed Learning, Online Mentoring and Online Coaching. Radical Solutions for Education in Africa: Open Education and Self-directed Learning in the Continent, 87-104. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4099-5_5   

Okado, Y., Nye, B. D., Aguirre, A., & Swartout, W. Can Virtual Agents Scale Up Mentoring?: Insights from College Students' Experiences Using the CareerFair. ai Platform at an American Hispanic-Serving Institution. In Artificial Intelligence in Education: 24th International Conference, AIED 2023, Tokyo, Japan, July 3–7, 2023, Proceedings (p. 189). Springer Nature.

Pollard, R., & Kumar, S. (2021). Mentoring graduate students online: Strategies and challenges. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 22(2), 267-284.

Rodríguez, D. C., Jessani, N. S., Zunt, J., Ardila-Gómez, S., Muwanguzi, P. A., Atanga, S. N., ... & Nasuuna, E. (2021). Experiential learning and mentorship in Global Health leadership programs: capturing lessons from across the globe. Annals of global health, 87(1).

Rosser, E., Buckner, E., Avedissian, T., Cheung, D. S. K., Eviza, K., Hafsteinsdóttir, T. B., ... & Waweru, S. (2020). The Global Leadership Mentoring Community: building capacity across seven global regions. International Nursing Review, 67(4), 484-494.

Sanyal, C., & Rigby, C. (2017). E-mentoring as a HRD intervention: An exploratory  action research study within an international professional mentoring scheme. Human Resource Development International, 20(1), 18–36. doi: 10.1080/13678868.2016.1220156 

Termini, C. M., Hinton, A. O., Jr, Garza-López, E., Koomoa, D. L., Davis, J. S., & Martínez-Montemayor, M. M. (2021). Building Diverse Mentoring Networks that Transcend Boundaries in Cancer Research. Trends in cancer, 7(5), 385–388. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trecan.2021.01.001

Tinoco-Giraldo, H., Torrecilla Sanchez, E. M., & García-Peñalvo, F. J. (2020). E-mentoring in higher education: A structured literature review and implications for future research. Sustainability, 12(11), 4344. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114344 

Tetzlaff, J., Lomberk, G., Smith, H. M., Agrawal, H., Siegel, D. H., & Apps, J. N. (2022). Adapting mentoring in times of crisis: what we learned from COVID-19. Academic Psychiatry, 46(6), 774-779. 

Tu, M., & Li, M. (2021). What great mentorship looks like in a hybrid workplace. Harvard Business Review (2021, May 12).

What are some examples of effective online mentoring models for teacher professional development? (n.d.) LinkedIn Learning. Retrieved November 24, 2023, from https://www.linkedin.com/advice/0/what-some-examples-effective-online-mentoring-vleve#here%E2%80%99s-what-else-to-consider

Whiting, V. R., & de Jansz, S. C. (2004). Mentoring in the 21st century: Using the internet to build skills and networks. Journal of Management Education, 28(3), 275-293. https://doi.org/10.1177/1052562903252639