The Strategic Role of the E-Tutor in New Learning Contexts

Digital media have opened up new opportunities to review e-learning. The three ages of media describe a\r\nshift from technology for distance education, to technology-supported groups and, currently, technology\r\nfor Community development. Reflecting on the profile of the e-tutor in the third phase of e-learning, our\r\nresearch was guided by three key-questions: what functions does the e-tutor fulfill? What tools does the etutor\r\nneed? What actions should the e-tutor take care of, in term of communication? The research plan,\r\ncarried out on 9 online courses, is based on quanti-qualitative method (a pre-course survey, a post-course\r\nsurvey, learning analytics, content analysis of tutor’s interactions and self-report). The results highlight the\r\nstrategic role of the e-tutor in new contexts of learning.