A docent (the word being derived from the Latin word docēre, meaning to teach) is officially defined as a professor or university lecturer, but the term has been expanded to designate the corps of volunteer guides who staff many of the museums and other educational institutions in the world.

In a museum setting, docents are educators, trained to further the public's understanding of the cultural and historical collections of the institution. In many cases, docents, in addition to their prescribed function as guides, also conduct research utilizing the institution's facilities.

Docent. (n.d.). Worthless Words for the Day. Retrieved May 09, 2007, from Answers.com Web site: http://www.answers.com/topic/docent

One of the most unique aspects of the UMKC School of Medicine is their Docent Experience. In the Docent Experience, the students are divided into groups of about 12 students and are then assigned to a medical physician who is then their "docent doctor". The second week the students start in the UMKC School of Medicine, they are inside the hospital seeing patients and experiencing the medical environment with their fellow docent members and their leading doctor.

University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Medicine. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved May 09, 2007, from Answers.com Web site: http://www.answers.com/topic/university-of-missouri-kansas-city-school-of-medicine

 

Cyberdocent in the Museum setting

An introduction to the idea of the cyberdocent.

Rayward, W.B. & Twidale, M.B. (1999). From Docent to Cyberdocent: Education and Guidance in the Virtual Museum. Archives and Museum Informatics 13(1) 23-53. Also Technical Report ISRN UIUCLIS--1999/8+CSCW. 

Consideration of the use of scenario-based design and comparing museum visitors and city tourists uses of networked technologies.

Twidale, M.B. & Cheverst, K. (2000). Exploring the design space of networked technologies. Paper presented at "Technologies that cross boundaries: exploring the gap between wireless networks, bits, interfaces and work practices" Workshop at CSCW2000, Philadelphia.

A research proposal to explore the idea, focusing on the potential of wireless PDAs.

Twidale, M.B. (2000). Cyberdocents: an exploration of education and guidance in and around museums.

Cyberdocent in Lifelong Learning

 

Timmerman (1998) discusses the role of older adults engaged in mentoring, advocating, and facilitating other older adults. She states, "Older adult educators may find that their role is one of advocate and facilitator as older adults cautiously approach the information superhighway. And they may make their greatest contribution by recruiting older adults as "cyberdocents" who are technologically savvy and skilled at the computer to teach and coach their peers, ...and to develop new ways to use the technology for older adult learning "(p. 71).

Timmerman, S. (1998). Information technology in older adult learning.  In J.C. Fisher & M. A. Wolf (Eds.) Using learning to meet the challenges of older adulthood (pp. 61-71). New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education,  No. 77. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.