In recent years, online education has become very popular because it allows students to earn a degree at home while continuing to work and meet other obligations. Online tutoring is also being offered more and more to students who need that extra motivation. Learn how online tutoring compares to in-person tutoring.
What is Online Tutoring?
Online tutoring is teaching or helping a student learn through a virtual environment. The student and teacher are not in the same room and have no face-to-face interaction. The student sits in front of computer and communicates with the tutor through the Internet. Online tutoring may be provided in different formats.
One method is where the student logs into a platform and receives all of his or her learning materials and instructions. Another method is where all the educational materials are offered through e-mail. Online tutoring is also offered to various students at one time. They are all logged into the same platform at the same time and can interact with each other throughout the sessions.
How is Online Tutoring Different From Traditional Tutoring?
Online tutoring is different than traditional tutoring in several ways, but the biggest difference is that the tutor and students are not together in the same room in online tutoring. Because they are not in the same room and working side-by-side, the teacher has to fully concentrate on the student and his or her individual needs.
This is much easier to do in a conventional face-to-face tutoring session. A big issue many tutors have with online tutoring is that they are not able to see facial expressions or hear the student’s tone of voice. If a student is struggling to understand the material, this can easily be portrayed by the student’s expressions or tone of voice – both of which are missing with online tutoring.
Another difference with online and traditional tutoring is that it’s easy to motivate a student when they’re face-to-face. In-person tutoring sessions are usually set at a certain time on a certain day. Online tutoring, depending on the tutoring service, may be at different times or at the student’s convenience.
Which Type is Best?
It’s not exactly clear cut which tutoring method is better. It all depends on the student and the learning issues. In any type of classroom environment, each student is different and has different needs. Of utmost importance is finding a tutoring company that’s reputable and dedicated to teaching.
