Practice and Assessment Concerning the Use of an Online Environment for Dialogue Addressing the Problems of Beginning Teachers at the Higher Education

Abstract

This research deals with real-world practice concerning the application of the online environment "Aloha!" to dialogues related to on-the-job problems faced by beginning university teachers. "Aloha!" is based on the dialogue rules established by Kato (2009), which adopt a narrative approach framework, and makes possible dialogue through a videoconferencing chat format. It was clearly demonstrated that the interaction made possible by the use of "Aloha!" in the practice was linked to the ability of the beginning teachers to cope with their problems either by discovering solutions to them or by changing their "perspectives" concerning these problems. Furthermore, it was shown that among the factors facilitating dialogue through this practice-in addition to the actual functions of "Aloha!"-was the fact that the beginning teachers engaged in the dialogues were on an equal footing, which allowed them to participate in these dialogues with a sense of security.