There are many advantages of a private online tutor. Below are a few ways that online tutoring can benefit students and their families.
Benefits for the family:
1. Convenience - By having your child log on to the computer at pre-arranged times;
tutoring and homework assistance can take place before you even get home from work.
If your child is able to log on to a computer, then they can certainly get their session
up and running and have their work done by dinnertime.
2. Affordability - Since neither the student nor the tutor are going anywhere but their respective computers,
the cost per hour is greatly reduced. Some families may have more than one child that needs
tutoring assistance or a child may have challenges in more than one subject area.
Benefits for the student:
1. Responsibility - Each student can check out their tutor’s schedule and choose the hours that best fit their week. This gives them a better handle on their own time management as well as their organizational skills as they keep track of appointments and assignments they may have in the coming weeks.
2. Customizable - Your child will receive customized sessions that are tailored to assist with current assignments, projects, and homework. Your child will have the opportunity to work on concepts that may need
extra attention or re-teaching. Since it is tailored to your child's needs and curriculum, the tutor can focus on areas that your child finds are most challenging.
3. Interactive - Students can ask questions and the tutor
can respond by showing samples on the whiteboard as well as explaining
everything via the microphone or chat. They can print out pages for further
review and study once the session is over.
4. Engaging - Students do their assignments with a tutor in a medium that is familiar and interesting to them.
Students Prefer Online Tutoring
It has become very clear that students prefer online tutoring help over
traditional tutoring. It can be a very difficult decision for a tutor trying to
decide whether to tutor in person or online. However, I have done both and I am
aware of the many reasons someone may choose one style over the other, I am
partial to online tutoring. Apparently, so are my students. Students that I have
worked with were asked to fill out questionnaires and below are some of the
comments that they gave regarding why they prefer online tutoring help
over traditional tutoring.
"I don't have to travel anywhere to meet up with the tutor. This is less of a
disruption to my life and my family's life. If my session runs for an hour from
5-6, I get online at 4:58 and log off at 6:02. No time is wasted!"
"My Mom or Dad can overhear the sessions while still working on whatever they need
to do - bathing my siblings, preparing dinner, watching TV... Plus, they can
listen to how the tutor helps me through problems and teach me the same way if I
need help later on. It helps teach my parents also!"
"I can email my tutor stuff that we are working on in class after scanning
it in, stuff found on my teacher's webpage, pages in online books, etc. I
can also work on stuff during the week and email it to my tutor so he can
check it out before we get online together."
"The web is a HUGE resource. Often times my tutor and I will leave our online classroom and visit
websites to help me understand stuff. For instance, I didn't understand the
difference between POP and OOP in programming language and my tutor found a
couple of animations online that helped me understand the processes. The
tutoring sessions don't take place just in the online classroom - we go all over
the web! My tutor helps me with more than one subject. I can get help in
all of my classes from the same person."
"I can schedule my sessions around my busy schedule. This is great for students who are involved in
extra-curricular activities or who have a lot of things to do after school. I
feel less inhibited while talking to a tutor online than I would if I had to
work face-to-face with a tutor, especially when I don't understand something or
know the answer."
"I am very shy in class and don't like to approach my
teacher or stay after school. However, I feel much more confident working with a
tutor online who is there for just the purpose of helping me and only me. He
won't compare me to my other classmates and make me feel stupid. In class, I
feel silly asking questions, but I'm supposed to ask questions during my online
session."
"It may be difficult to get a local tutor for certain subjects. However, there are so many available tutors when you
are looking for a tutor online. I can live in California and have an online
tutor from INDIA! The prices that online tutors charge are often a little
less than what traditional tutors charge. As a college student on a limited
budget, I’m more willing to schedule more sessions online with a tutor than I
would if I had to meet them personally. Plus it is more convenient since I don’t
have a car and can’t travel to meet someone.”
“I LOVE the computer and using technology to learn. Doing homework with pen and paper is boring. Working
out the same problems on the online whiteboard is much more fun."
"Time seems to fly by while I'm working online with my tutor. Before I know it, my
hour is over and I'm ready to schedule my next online tutoring help
session."
Benefits for the family:
1. Convenience - By having your child log on to the computer at pre-arranged times;
tutoring and homework assistance can take place before you even get home from work.
If your child is able to log on to a computer, then they can certainly get their session
up and running and have their work done by dinnertime.
2. Affordability - Since neither the student nor the tutor are going anywhere but their respective computers,
the cost per hour is greatly reduced. Some families may have more than one child that needs
tutoring assistance or a child may have challenges in more than one subject area.
Benefits for the student:
1. Responsibility - Each student can check out their tutor’s schedule and choose the hours that best fit their week. This gives them a better handle on their own time management as well as their organizational skills as they keep track of appointments and assignments they may have in the coming weeks.
2. Customizable - Your child will receive customized sessions that are tailored to assist with current assignments, projects, and homework. Your child will have the opportunity to work on concepts that may need
extra attention or re-teaching. Since it is tailored to your child's needs and curriculum, the tutor can focus on areas that your child finds are most challenging.
3. Interactive - Students can ask questions and the tutor
can respond by showing samples on the whiteboard as well as explaining
everything via the microphone or chat. They can print out pages for further
review and study once the session is over.
4. Engaging - Students do their assignments with a tutor in a medium that is familiar and interesting to them.
Students Prefer Online Tutoring
It has become very clear that students prefer online tutoring help over
traditional tutoring. It can be a very difficult decision for a tutor trying to
decide whether to tutor in person or online. However, I have done both and I am
aware of the many reasons someone may choose one style over the other, I am
partial to online tutoring. Apparently, so are my students. Students that I have
worked with were asked to fill out questionnaires and below are some of the
comments that they gave regarding why they prefer online tutoring help
over traditional tutoring.
"I don't have to travel anywhere to meet up with the tutor. This is less of a
disruption to my life and my family's life. If my session runs for an hour from
5-6, I get online at 4:58 and log off at 6:02. No time is wasted!"
"My Mom or Dad can overhear the sessions while still working on whatever they need
to do - bathing my siblings, preparing dinner, watching TV... Plus, they can
listen to how the tutor helps me through problems and teach me the same way if I
need help later on. It helps teach my parents also!"
"I can email my tutor stuff that we are working on in class after scanning
it in, stuff found on my teacher's webpage, pages in online books, etc. I
can also work on stuff during the week and email it to my tutor so he can
check it out before we get online together."
"The web is a HUGE resource. Often times my tutor and I will leave our online classroom and visit
websites to help me understand stuff. For instance, I didn't understand the
difference between POP and OOP in programming language and my tutor found a
couple of animations online that helped me understand the processes. The
tutoring sessions don't take place just in the online classroom - we go all over
the web! My tutor helps me with more than one subject. I can get help in
all of my classes from the same person."
"I can schedule my sessions around my busy schedule. This is great for students who are involved in
extra-curricular activities or who have a lot of things to do after school. I
feel less inhibited while talking to a tutor online than I would if I had to
work face-to-face with a tutor, especially when I don't understand something or
know the answer."
"I am very shy in class and don't like to approach my
teacher or stay after school. However, I feel much more confident working with a
tutor online who is there for just the purpose of helping me and only me. He
won't compare me to my other classmates and make me feel stupid. In class, I
feel silly asking questions, but I'm supposed to ask questions during my online
session."
"It may be difficult to get a local tutor for certain subjects. However, there are so many available tutors when you
are looking for a tutor online. I can live in California and have an online
tutor from INDIA! The prices that online tutors charge are often a little
less than what traditional tutors charge. As a college student on a limited
budget, I’m more willing to schedule more sessions online with a tutor than I
would if I had to meet them personally. Plus it is more convenient since I don’t
have a car and can’t travel to meet someone.”
“I LOVE the computer and using technology to learn. Doing homework with pen and paper is boring. Working
out the same problems on the online whiteboard is much more fun."
"Time seems to fly by while I'm working online with my tutor. Before I know it, my
hour is over and I'm ready to schedule my next online tutoring help
session."