Online Tutoring: The Continuing Journey

**Admin** Fri Sep 30, 2011 10:40 pm

We are still trying to get to grips with the internet revolution. Amid some dire warnings about how bad the internet can be, we also all know that the potential for good is massive. The role of the internet in advancing education is one of those potentials, and online tutoring and distance learning are key examples.

It’s hard to believe that online tutoring and teaching is little more than a decade old. Anyone involved in online tutoring – as a service user but especially as a service provider – needs to recognize that it’s a continuing journey, with changes happening all the time.

Although a great deal of research into the effectiveness of online tutoring and education has been done, ten years or so is not enough time to really appreciate its impact. People who are actively engaged in online tutoring know the bonuses and the pitfalls that online tutoring presents.

On the plus side, it’s easier and cheaper than ever before in history to get personalized educational help. This is ever more important as education becomes vital for landing a good job in an increasingly competitive employment market. On the down side, online courses and online tutors are aware of the fact that attrition (dropout) rates are higher than in face-to-face education in conventional bricks-and-mortar schools and colleges.

Online tutoring is growing and becoming a more commonplace part of education in general. This means that more and more people seek to become online educators, to meet the expanding demand. The bonus for the consumer is that this helps to drive prices down and increase the affordability of online tutoring and other private educational assistance.

Of course, this isn’t quite such good news for people making a living by providing an online tutoring service, but the best tutors aren’t in it mainly for the money anyway. But they still need to make a living. Staying competitive in the world of online tutoring service provision means tutors have to keep up to speed with technology, on the one hand, and educational methods and research on the other.

Anyone who has spent time giving online tutoring help will be aware of the learning curve that switching to the internet involves. Addressing the problem of dropout rates (mainly attributable to the fact that it will always be somewhat more remote than face-to-face teaching) is one lesson effective providers of online tutoring will be familiar with.

But good online tutoring is more than mastering the medium. Keeping up with new developments is the next layer of a good online tutoring service. But in the continuing journey of online tutoring, there is something else to consider: the journey doesn’t happen by itself.

Neither are developments in online tutoring simply technology-driven. Thousands of the best and most dedicated tutors are actively shaping the online tutoring revolution, day by day and year by year.

Tutors who are at the top of their game contribute to the evolution of online tutoring through their own innovations and by sharing their expertise and experiences with others. Online tutoring is a multi-layered occupation. People seeking a quick and easy buck should not apply. High quality online tutoring is being pioneered by committed and insightful individuals, who are helping take it to the next level. All tutors should aspire to be part of this journey.

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