Author: Bethany Spencer
Posted: 04 May 2017
Estimated time to read: 3 mins
When most people think of tutoring it drums up connotations of ferrying their child to and from their tutor’s house for them to spend the next hour focusing on a specific subject area to help drive their grades up. Despite their proven benefits they can be invasive to family life, expensive and time consuming. Not to mention that good tutors, who your child gets along with, who are willing to make the journey to your house and are up to date with the national curriculum are hard to come by.
However, with the innovations in teaching and technology, you no longer have to sit in the car for an hour whilst your child receives additional lessons, you can opt for online tutoring sessions that take place in the comfort of your own home, in front of a computer, with a real curriculum teacher.
The realm of online tutoring may be daunting, so here’s some of the main benefits.
Convenience and Flexibility
Not having to travel to your tutoring session means that you can allow more flexibility as to when your session is and who your session is with. You’re no longer constrained by your postcode and don’t have to take into account time for travelling, so your evening isn’t disrupted and you can still enjoy some down time.
Familiar Medium
The idea of learning through the web may strike you as alien, but this is second nature to your children. Students are constantly Skyping and Facetiming so the thought of learning through video isn’t one that’s unfamiliar to them. If you’re concerned that there will be limitations with learning online, many channels allow tutors to view their tutees’ work, write on interactive whiteboards and share screens.
No Compromises
Perhaps the most beneficial factor of online tutoring is that it offers the same possibilities as learning in person. Using a webcam means that tutors can still see when a child is struggling and show enthusiasm and encouragement when they need it. Furthermore, you don’t need to compromise on the skillset of the teacher or whether or not your child gets along with them. You have the opportunity to find the perfect tutor for your child and ensure that they will always be available for your sessions.
Feedback
When it comes to tutoring, feedback and criticisms can be quite difficult to factor in. Not only do you want to ensure that you’re kept in the loop, but you also want to make sure that classroom teachers are too. Some online tutoring services provide their tutors with a feedback form where they can make notes and give details on the performance and improvements made by your child, as well as what has been covered in the session.
This can then be passed over to you and the classroom teachers so that you are both aware of how your child is getting on.
Skills
Possibly one of the most beneficial factors that tutoring can offer your child is helping them to manage their workload and prioritise their time. Many children may feel put off the idea of tutoring because it takes up their personal time after school. This is true, but having a tutor when it’s needed means that everything you’ve learnt in those sessions can be applied to any homework, revision or assignments, making that task a lot quicker.