Online tutoring is about helping learners move towards their goals. Those goals will vary according to the specific type of online tutoring service you provide. Homework help is one thing; test prep or remedial teaching are something else. To ensure that everything goes smoothly and with a shared purpose, be certain that those learning goals and objectives are clearly defined.
As an online tutor you need to be clear about your methods. Online tutoring gives you lots of opportunities to provide your learners with lessons and tutorials that are fun and engaging. Using the possibilities that computers and the internet provide is a great way to keep your students on track.
This is especially important because research shows that there is a higher drop-out rate in online tutoring as opposed to conventional educational scenarios where the meeting is face to face. Educational games, interactive learning materials and even online learning communities are all effective ways to enhance the learning experience.
With all these educational aids, which kids in particular will love, it is absolutely vital not to lose sight of the prize. People who are less experienced in online tutoring can do exactly that. The basic error is giving learners what they want, rather than what they need.
One of the criticisms of educational games, or ‘edutainment’, is that young learners should realize that education is not actually just a game. To say that education is a matter of ‘no pain no gain’ is possibly an overstatement. Regardless, mastering a subject or skill isn’t a walk in the park. In online tutoring, one goal that is often present is for students to work independently, as well as with teachers and tutors.
Learning typically involves self-discipline and hard work, even when the learner doesn’t feel like doing it. Just like top athletes don’t get there by giving up when their muscles hurt, successful students have to take the rough with the smooth. Being able to master their own impulses is part of the educational journey for younger learners.
The fact is that making tutorials fun for learners is also often fun for the people providing the online tutoring service. It’s not just students who can be distracted by the potential of computer learning to be entertaining. But in online tutoring it’s the tutor’s job to keep the goals uppermost in the process and to make sure that edutainment is strictly geared towards attaining the objectives.
Setting out learning objectives and keeping an eye on the methods you use to keep learners engaged during their online tutoring is a major part of what you need to do. One of the ways you can keep tabs on how things are going is by making regular formal or semi-formal assessments on both progress towards the pre-defined learning objectives and student satisfaction with the process. If learners want more edutainment, maybe you’re not providing enough – or maybe they are too deep in the mindset that it if it isn’t fun, it’s not worth doing. By focusing and refocusing on students’ real educational needs, as well as making learning pleasurable, you can deliver a top-flight online tutoring service.
