Kaboutjie SA Mommy Blogs by Lynne Huysamen
Along with many salient aspects of our lives, the pandemic has drastically affected our children’s education system. Recent research by UNESCO shows that partial and full school closures have affected the learning journey of more than half of the world’s children.
Educational institutions across the world are taking adaptive measures for educational recovery. Still, more than 100 million children are expected to lag in attaining their minimum proficiency level in reading and math.
With the Covid-19 health crisis on our heads, along with its variants and alarming spreading rate, parents now have a relatively new – worth exploring – option i.e. online tutoring.
But is online tutoring actually beneficial for students? Does it have the potential to help children recover from academic losses they have faced since 2019?
We’ve tried to answer these questions by listing the benefits of online tutoring backed by thorough research and observation.
Offers Unmatched Convenience and Flexibility
When we think about tutoring as boomers or millennials, we usually picture ourselves driving for even hours to reach our tutor. But, even if your tutor lives nearby, molding your daily schedule to match your tutor’s timings and availability is quite challenging.
However, the option of online tutoring offers the convenience and flexibility your children need for effective learning. They no longer need to go through exhaustive commutes or study at hours they can’t or don’t want to.
Instead, they can connect with their teacher from the comfort of their homes and even bedrooms. This provides a favorable environment for learning and eliminates everyday stress and fatigue that comes with untimely study schedules.
Besides that, you can even select online tutoring hours for your children based on your own availability. This way, you can assist them during their sessions without compromising on your daily commitments.
Personalization
There are two basic ways you can arrange online tutoring for your children: Either arrange skype or zoom sessions with a tutor or teacher you already know or, you can approach an online tutoring website. The website can help create tailor-made courses for your children.
Whichever option you go for, you will find online tutoring provides a favorable level of personalization as compared to in-person tutoring. One great advantage of online tutoring is that you can select the subjects or courses you want for your children.
Unlike one-on-one tutoring classes where teachers usually follow a pre-curated curriculum to cater to multiple students, it’s only your child and the tutor in online tutoring.
Easy Worldwide Access
This is perhaps the most prominent benefit of online tutoring for students. Students have no geographical limits regarding the tutors and subject experts. Therefore, they can learn from anyone, anywhere, when pursuing online tutoring.
Popular online tutoring platforms let students and parents navigate through hundreds of experts from all over the world. This way, they can learn and interact with the best people in the field from the comfort of their homes. This would otherwise be impossible in conventional tutoring.
Similarly, online tuitions can provide students access to learning materials, activities, and courses worldwide. This broadens the horizons for feisty learners and helps them explore their utmost academic potential without any boundaries.
Maintaining the Right Pace
In conventional tutoring, teachers don’t have the time to cater individually to each student. While one-on-one tutoring is possible for particular topics and courses, independent learning can boost a child’s self-confidence in the long run.
But, with online tutoring, a student can learn at his own pace without fearing the judgment of his peers. They don’t have to face the pressure of keeping up with the entire class or fear of asking questions.
If an online tutor detects a weakness in his student in a particular area, they can dedicate the time needed to make them grasp the concept before moving on.
Effective Learning through Online Learning Tools
The emergence and improvement of numerous online learning tools amidst the pandemic has made life easier for teachers and students alike. Online tutors use programs like virtual whiteboards, interactive courses, and engaging assessment modules.
This eliminates the tedious aspect of conventional learning for students. As a result, they actually enjoy studying complex subjects.
Similarly, online teaching provides more room for integrating gamified learning, imagery, and graphic organization of complex concepts. These techniques not only help students learn quickly but also develop their Multiple Intelligence Quotient (MIQ).
This drastic paradigm shift enhances their potential for creative learning and promotes thinking out of the box.
Moreover, the academic content taught by online tutors can be easily shared as PDFs, images, and other online documents. This eliminates the need for students to copy and write each and everything during the lesson. This way, the experience becomes enjoyable and stress-free.
Learning in an Accustomed Setting
Gen Z students are relatively more tech-savvy than their parents and teachers. So, while online tutoring and learning might sound like an alien concept to us, it is the ultimate comfort zone for today’s students.
This is the most appealing benefit for students today, as they can use the tools and systems they’re already accustomed to.
Moreover, the advancements in online tutoring systems mentioned above helps them relate to these sessions as fun and recreational. This psychological aspect increases their learning ability by tenfolds during online tutoring sessions. This way, they can soak up more content in less time.
Cost-Effective
Believe it or not, online tutoring is a cost-effective option compared to in-person tutors.
Firstly, the system requires minimal miscellaneous expenses. All you need is a stable wifi connection and an electronic device to get your child online, both of which are readily available in today’s households.
Meanwhile, in-person tutoring also includes the cost of your commute, meals, and other physical learning tools like bags, books, and stationery.
So, with online tutoring, you can easily afford expert tutors. Plus, you can also get your child to learn multiple courses and expand their learning potential.
Final Words
In a nutshell, online tutoring is highly beneficial for students. It offers a wider range of benefits like flexibility, comfort, engagement, and confidence as compared to conventional tutoring.
However, parents need to choose the right online tutoring platform for their children to keep them safe from malicious content. Therefore, conduct complete due diligence and research regarding the website you sign your child up for before making the final choice. That way, you can avail the maximum benefits of online tutoring.
I like how you mentioned that online supplemental learning provides students an opportunity to learn in a setting they are familiar with. The familiarity of the online environment is sure to help them feel more comfortable and at home when it comes to learning. I think that the online setting has been quite beneficial to my child as she has been more participative in her classes and her grades went up. I’m worried that she may fall behind again when face-to-face classes resume. I’m thinking of getting her an online tutor for when that time comes and I hope it will help her retain her high grades. Your article helped me see that the benefits outweigh the costs, thank you.