The ‘Train the Trainers’ workshop is part of the Diplo Programme assisting the Africa-Caribbean-Pacific region, and part of the @CP-ICT programme financed by the European Development Fund, assisting the region to design, implement, and evaluate national and regional Internet and communication technology policies. Fifteen of the most successful participants from ACP countries were selected from the ICT policy and IG online course. They were invited to take part in the Train the Trainers online course, which was held in June-July 2010. On 10 June, the Train the Trainers faculty lounge welcomed participants who went through the theory of online course tutoring, including tutor-participant interaction and online communication. The course also dealt with the practical side of teaching online courses, and included hands-on activities. The second phase of the online Train the Trainers course took place in December 2010. This additional online course was introduced to teach the practical components of online tutoring, so that theory is applied in a uniform manner. In addition, the need to ensure that evaluation techniques are understood and implemented in an objective, but motivating and supportive manner was underlined. It was also recognised that online tutoring is complex and there is a need to communicate in a dynamic way without relying on ‘in person’ contact, so that participants do not feel isolated.
