Journeys in peer e-communication: student mentors’ perspectives

There is growing interest in student peer-mentoring as a way to enable new students to tackle the perceived cultural, academic and social boundaries associated with the first-year of study in higher education. This paper explores the experiences of a group of level 2 student mentors, focusing on their communication with level 1 mentees using negotiated technologies. The authors draw upon the potential for web-based tools to help transcend the boundaries between 'formal' and 'informal' learning, in order to question the institutional role in facilitating communication between students-as-peers. This builds on recent research into how students use technologies to facilitate their movement towards more independent learning. The outcomes from this experience will inform practitioners and those involved in mentoring schemes in scoping spaces for student communication in more informal environments.