Online Tutoring Amid the Reopening of Schools

What is online tutoring?

Online tutoring is something that we have seen grow popular over the course of the pandemic. Between 2017-2021 the on-demand online tutoring market has grown by 12.75% (Ravitpati, 2021). Although the return to in-person learning has begun, online tutoring can offer many benefits. When using this format, the student can join their tutoring session from any place they have an internet connection through a computer, tablet, or smartphone. The tutor can also have this flexibility when tutoring a student, along with having greater availability for their students.

The Benefits of Choosing Online Tutoring

Working online with a tutor eliminates the problem of getting lost in a large classroom of students.
Online tutoring benefits all students including: students with learning disabilities, students in specific therapy services, and students who are in a special education program.
Online tutoring is flexible to the schedule of the students. A tutoring company, like Tutor Zone, has tutors who are available at a variety of times with different subject masteries that can be matched to a specific student’s need and time.
Students will have the ability to learn in the comfort of their own environment and at the speed they choose to run the session.
Overall, online tutoring is convenient for both the student and their family. There is no longer a need to account for a ride, travel time or travel expenses. All a student needs is a device that can connect to the internet, and they will have the ability to access their tutor!

Looking Forward with Online Tutoring

Although nearly all schools have returned to an in-person learning format, the demand for online-tutoring remains high. The projected growth rate for online tutoring enrollment is expected to be 15.6% from 2021 to 2028 (Grand View Research). During the pandemic a number of parents enrolled their children in online tutoring to help with the difficulty of online learning. Parents were unable to take up the role of being a teacher at home due to the stress of working, and the difficulty of the class material. Online tutoring helped students and their families no longer feel overwhelmed when it came to school work, but instead supported through the use of an accessible tutor.

A number of school districts have understood the importance of having access to a form of virtual tutoring which has led to partnerships being created with tutoring companies (Farivar, 2021). For example, Tutor Zone has created a program called Homework Zone, which is a partnership with the ABC School District. This partnership allows for students to attend an online form of office hours in which they can ask for help, or simply lean on our tutors for homework support. Homework Zone’s goal is to reinforce what is learned in class in order to contribute to the improved understanding of concepts.

As students return to school they not only are struggling to catch-up on material, but also having to deal with the adjustment of going back to learning in-person. Meeting students’ academic needs is not the same as it was before virtual learning. Teachers now need to account for the stress students have endured, and also for the material they have failed to learn at home. For parents, “The idea of equitably supporting your students is no longer a nice-to-have — it’s a must-have” (Cutler, 2021). Online tutoring is no longer only a benefit to students who are falling behind, but also to students who simply need that one-on-one connection with an educator who can satisfy their specific academic needs.