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Tutors and learning IT

IT tutors have a particularly important role to play for a number of reasons: 

Unfamiliarity with technology means that many people doing basic IT courses are in need of a lot of support.  This was especially the case when people lacked confidence in their own ability.  Tutors had a vital role showing people how to use the equipment, building learners' confidence and helping them out when they got stuck.

IT Courses often hook people back into learning after a break.  Basic IT courses attracted people who had not done any formal learning for a long time, possibly since school.  For these people having a good experience of the course was critical in terms of whether of not they progressed onto other courses.  The tutor's relationship with each individual significantly impacted on that learner's experience of the course. 

The practical nature of the course meant that if people did get stuck, there was nothing they could do except wait for help from the tutor.  This caused frustration when the tutor was busy and people had to wait a long time for help. 

Getting IT Right - Views on IT Courses in Hull found that respondents thought the following things about their IT tutors:

• 89% of people had the same tutor throughout their course.
• 28% of people thought that having the same tutor was beneficial.  Some people just thought that this was beneficial, without saying why.  Others said that it helped students get to know their tutor; one reason why this was a good thing was that it makes it easier for students to ask questions.  It also gave students consistency and continuity in their learning.
• A significant minority of people (14%) who took part in our research on IT courses thought that there were not enough tutors on their course to meet the demands of students.
• As can be seen from the table below, the majority of learners were happy with their IT tutor:

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