For consumers around the world Ebay provides an online platform where an amazing array of buyers and sellers meet in an open marketplace where price is determined (in large part) by demand for the products listed. Learn why My Education Room was inspired by Ebay's model to create a unique online education market connecting certified teachers (sellers) and parents/students (buyers).
- By Richard Pasin
All too often parents are faced with a dilemma when their child struggles to understand concepts whether the subject is math, English, social studies, or physics. What does one do if your the parent?
Ideally the child receives help using the resources available within the school system, but all too often children still struggle to graduate, attain the grades necessary to enter post secondary institutions, enrol in the university/college program of their choice, downgrade their electives (sometimes at the behest of school councilors seeking to ensure your child graduates on time), or – worst case scenario - drop out.
When parents perceive their child needs assistance beyond that provided by the public system they often seek out private tutoring companies. Most of these organizations rely on monthly subscription models that can prove quite costly for families. For tutors income is limited as the majority of revenue flows back to the tutoring company.
My Education Room is seeking to flip this model by creating an open market for lessons conducted “live” online via web conferencing. The platform offers enticing reasons to join for new, current, or recently retired teachers possessing an active license to teach.
1) Lessons are conducted "live" online with each lesson recorded so students can replay the lesson back later (for up to 30 days)
2) Teachers set their own lesson rates and keep the majority of revenue earned for each lesson taught
3) Teachers control the size of the class (tutor one-on-one or host multiple students) & set their own schedules
4) Teachers can conduct the lessons from the comfort of their own home. For safety reasons there are no cameras, but the added benefit is having students focused on the material being taught - not distracted by people's physical appearance.
For parents and students, the platform offers a host of advantages:
1) It’s a chance to purchase affordable lessons (regardless of where you live) from provincially certified K-12 teachers who are far more likely to have teaching experience, skill sets to address learning disabilities, and knowledge of the curriculum than non-certified tutors
2) There are no monthly subscriptions. Like Ebay It’s a pay-as-you-go platform with a low fee included in the cost of each lesson.
3) Parents and students may opt to take one lesson or a series of lessons
4) Like Ebay - Users may rate each lesson based on their experience providing valuable feedback to flow between buyers and sellers. If the parent or student is not happy they may simply opt to purchase lessons from another teacher. It’s the difference of paying $25 for a lesson and changing teachers and paying hundreds of dollars for a subscription service and being “locked in."
Perhaps the biggest difference to be found is where the money flows after the lessons have been taught. While most of the profits generated by private tutoring companies flows to their corporate head office (some are publicly traded behemoths) My Education Room, as a social enterprise, has taken on a different approach. In this model profits are allocated toward bursaries for Parent Advisory Council’s (PAC’s) to redistribute within local school communities.
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.