The world of virtual tutoring has significantly improved and become increasingly popular over the past few years. Despite the fact that some students obviously benefit from in-person learning, virtual learning has numerous benefits from less time lost in travel to greater flexibility in meeting times! Below are some of the greatest benefits to virtual tutoring:
1. Optimal time management
The lives of most students are very busy, from studying to extracurricular activities to athletics to part time employment. With that being said, sometimes the time necessary to plan for a tutoring session simply becomes too much of a hassle. Tutoring online offers the opportunity to tutor at any time without the necessity to plan a place to meet with the added complications of travel and traffic!
2. No geographical constraints
Without the necessity to physically be in the same location, the world of online tutoring expands your access to those best suited to your needs and allows you to meet with top tutors in your field of study or research. It also allows students to begin making global connections from a young age as they learn of new opportunities from diverse tutors and mentors.
3. Ability to record sessions
How many times have you attended a lecture or learned something at school just to get home and open up the assignment to find you have forgotten how to start a problem? Likewise, how many times has your child come home from school and tried to complete their homework only to come to the conclusion that he or she cannot remember how the teacher said to begin the problem. With online tutoring, it is possible to record the session and revisit the information at any time! Of course, you should always ask for permission before recording a lecture or session though.
4. Advanced technology
With the advancement of online meeting platforms (Zoom, GoogleMeet, etc.) and online whiteboards (Bitpaper, Mural, Ziteboard, etc.), tutoring virtually has become increasingly similar to meeting in-person. Additionally, virtual tutoring offers the benefit of teaching students how to use technology as a resource. Through screen sharing, I have been able to walk students through how to use different computer applications such as excel as well as other statistical or data analysis programs. It is also a great resource for teaching students how to use reference managers and create citations when developing writing skills.
5. Engaging and hands-on
Technology has improved so significantly in recent years that meeting virtually or remotely no longer has to be isolating or boring! Meeting online can actually be engaging and hands-on through the use of video and audio (of course) as well as through performing fun experiments and activities together using common household items. I have hosted my fair share of "virtual" science experiments from extracting DNA from bananas to exciting chemistry "explosions" (reactions) to nature scavenger hunts! Virtual learning does not have to be boring!
6. Flexibility in scheduling
The flexibility of online tutoring is endless! I have met with students and provided assistance during all kinds of situations at all hours of the day! Whether it be during study hall, while driving to their next activity, while in the airport waiting for a flight for a family vacation, while getting their hair or nails done before an event.... The possibilities are endless! Of course, this is dependent upon the student as some students focus better in a quiet, distraction-free setting, sometimes in the busy life of a student, meeting for 30 minutes while driving to soccer practice can make all the difference! This same flexibility also offers the opportunity of a little homework assistance being only a simple text message away!