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Technology and learning

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What makes a good tutor:

Some learners commented on the qualities that they liked about their tutors.  Whilst all the qualities below would be beneficial to any learner, they were especially important to people who had not done a formal course for a long time, or who lacked confidence in their own abilities. 

Supportive, friendly and welcoming tutors.  Some learners will have had a bad experience of school, when they may not have got on well with the teachers.  Tutors need to be friendly and supportive in order to encourage people back into learning, this will put learners at ease.

Knowledge and experience in subject area.  Learners were quick to judge whether or not a tutor had the authority of knowledge and experience to be teaching in a particular subject.  Tutors needed to know what they were talking about otherwise it would be a confusing and disempowering experience for learners. 

The student to tutor ratio was critical.  Students valued having one-to-one time with the tutor and the larger the class size the less this was possible.

Rapid response time when stuck.  This related in particular to IT courses where, if students were stuck, there was nothing they could do until the tutor was able to get round to them.  Feedback from people who have done IT courses suggests that this is a significant issue for some students.  It can, of course, apply to other courses as well.

Tutor not looking down at students.  It was important for some students that the tutor was on their level and not looking down at them.  This helped create a good student-tutor relationship. 

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