Abstract:

Distance education in recent decades has grown exponentially, by reason of the great advantages of modifying the time-space paradigm.
We observe that various universities, while not totally virtual, offer courses, specialties or degrees in virtual mode.
From experience in these types of courses are wide differences in students regarding the appropriation of knowledge and although you would think in the first instance at the student's abilities on the generation of their self-learning, the truth is that increasingly there is a need of a tutor / teacher with higher skills.
Clearly, the student does not build knowledge alone, but through interaction with others both in the educational virtual or in site modality and at a particular cultural context.
Through a case study analysis of a virtual master in Mexico, it has been observed that the tutor not only has the function of orientation in a particular educational area, but requires extra skills largest the exclusively academic.
Thus, the main function of the tutor is to guide their students, help them build knowledge, but must go further. A true tutor must go to the personal, and this by virtue of that knowledge building is part of a human being made not only by knowledge but by emotions, personal problems, doubts, perceptions.
This paper will present some of the main considerations from the analysis of a case study we present the need for tutors not only in the academic field but also in the personal sphere. These results are part of a larger research being done at the National Polytechnic Institute (Mexico) in the field of distance education.

Keywords:

Tutor, distance education, skills tutor, personal sphere.