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Top Five Reasons Why Online Tutoring is so Powerful for Canada's K-12 Students
Top Five Reasons Why Online Tutoring is so Powerful for Canada's K-12 Students

[My Education Room Summary] In-person tutoring is the traditional means by which students have received educational assistance, but that model is being flipped in the 21st century. Here are five reasons why online tutoring is the right fit for you and your child - not tomorrow - Today!


- By Richard Pasin

1) Quality

a) The most important question you need to ask is who will be assisting your child and what type of experience and education do they possess? More importantly, how well are they trained to communicate concepts to children with various learning styles?

Being an expert is one thing. Communicating that knowledge to a child is quite another.

It's why I believe the most consistent method of getting great results is to hire a Canadian certified teacher as the tutor - in person or online. They not only know the latest K-12 curriculum, but are more likely to possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to work effectively with students whose English is a second language, who struggle with learning disabilities, or who seek a challenge and want to go beyond the curriculum taught in the classroom.

b) With over 41,000 certified K-12 teachers, multiple retired teachers possessing active licenses, and a slew of new graduates there is a deep pool of teaching talent here in British Columbia and across the country. There are also a number of unemployed and underemployed Canadian teachers (read Margaret Wente's Globe & Mail article). Why not take advantage of this expertise?

c) Online tutoring platforms allow certified K-12 teachers, regardless of Canadian location, to schedule sessions at times that do not conflict with their current teaching schedules. It also allows them to enhance their technical teaching skills, gain experience, and earn extra income.

2) Time

a) Learning in the comfort of one's own home can allow students( and their parents) to feel safe and empowered.

b) Being a parent would you not want your child to have access to THE best math tutor for your child? If that tutor lives in Vancouver and you live in Nanaimo that problem no longer exists!

c) Look for online or in person tutoring websites that offer reviews on tutors to gain key insights. Also be wary of signing long term expensive contracts for tutoring software and/or tutoring companies guaranteeing results. Read the fine print!

d) Can you pay for a lesson for $25-$50 then switch tutors if you're not happy? Is there a penalty if you stop using the service?

e) With kids having multiple activities after school and homework, time can become an issue especially for working parents. Having an online option, where scheduling can be coordinated, reduces the stress of having to drive your child to meet a tutor or welcoming a tutor into the home.

3) Safety

a) Earlier I recommended certified Canadian teachers as online (or in person) tutors because of their training. I'm also recommending them because of two other very important facts - certified teachers are required to have criminal record checks and they work in a heavily regulated profession.

Tutors may or may not have criminal record checks and the profession is not regulated.

b) In the past twenty years Canadian teachers have been graduating with ever higher levels of proficiency using technology in and out of the classroom. With online classrooms becoming the norm, and students growing up with Internet connected portable devices, online tutoring has become a natural extension of the classroom for today's generation of teachers and students.

4) Cost Effectiveness

a) Tutoring companies often charge by the hour, but sessions may run ninety minutes to two hours in length.

Given that tutors can work from home during online tutoring sessions the costs are often lower than in person sessions.

Check the policies of the online or in person tutoring company for "extra" fees you may encounter for sessions going beyond the scheduled time. If your child is scheduled for a one hour session and the session runs over time by 5-10 minutes how much more are you charged?

b) The tutoring value realized will not become apparent until your child demonstrates they have learned the concepts. That is why parents need to provide oversight of the process. Ask that your child show you they understand the concept(s) and monitor their school performance during and after the tutoring sessions.

With online sessions parents can monitor their child's activity from within the home.

c) Remember that old adage related to human memory?

Students retain:

  • 10 percent of what they READ
  • 20 percent of what they HEAR
  • 30 percent of what they SEE
  • 50 percent of what they SEE and HEAR
  • 70 percent of what they SAY and WRITE
  • 90 percent of what they DO.

Human memory is quite complex. How much your child will retain from a one hour or two hour tutoring session will vary.

Online tutoring may be recorded for playback so your child has the option of reviewing the information presented at any time. Just beware of the length of time the video is posted (i.e. 30 days, 60 days etc) for playback.

5) Relationships

a) The best tutoring sessions occur when there is a healthy relationship between the student and the tutor. With children today growing up with programs like Skype, Google Hangouts, or Apple's Facetime to connect with friends and family they are increasingly at ease using web conferencing programs used to form strong relationships with teachers online. There are now thousands of K-12 students enrolled in online courses such as those offered at LearnNowBC.

b) How long are the sessions? The time required to learn a concept will vary from student to student, but ask yourself if your child would benefit from shorter (30-60 min) or longer (60-90 min) sessions given the complexity of the material being covered - relationship building, time, and communication is important.


My Education Room is a social enterprise whose online platform is designed to allow certified K-12 teachers to provide educational assistance to children seeking to improve their grades, master a concept, get help with a learning disability, or go beyond the K-12 curriculum. We aim to help children, empower teachers, keep rates affordable for parents, and raise funds for our local school communities.

www.myeducationroom.com

 

 
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