No Child Left Behind - Federally Financed Tutoring

April 19th, 2009


The No Child Left Behind Law allows students in schools that have fallen short of performance goals to get free tutoring. With more and more schools and students being classified as ‘failing’, more families are looking into tutoring. As a result of this, tutoring has become a booming private enterprise. Up to 600,000 students in the US are now receiving tutoring. Tutoring is now being offered by private companies and other groups.

Tutors can be paid over 1,000 and private companies are eager to get involved in this lucrative business. Such companies have offered parents incentives like computers and gift certificates if they sign their child up for their tutoring services. This practice may be unseemly but it is not illegal.

These new tutoring providers are comprised of nonprofit and profit organizations along with faith based organizations. Many times the tutoring offered in not in concert with classroom instruction. Other problems are that sometimes tutors don’t show up and tutoring groups of ten or more students do not produce results. There are also few tutoring services available for ESL or special education students.

Of course tutoring is not a bad thing but these new federally financed tutoring programs are not regulated. This concerns school districts and elected officials. Some members of congress want companies that offer private tutoring to be regulated and quality standards introduced. This is to make sure qualified tutors are qualified to work with students and the tutoring companies give services that meet the needs of the student.

There have been problems with tutoring providers in some schools. In Nevada, a school had to call security to remove a tutoring provider because they were harassing families. The parents felt as though they were being pressured to sign their children up for tutoring services. In New York, complaints surfaced about inappropriate incentives being offered to families.

Potential fraud is also an issue. A tutoring company called Platform Learning had to leave seven schools because of the numerous and repeated absences of tutors. Students in need of help are abandoned.

No Child Left Behind requires teachers to be highly qualified but it does not require that of tutors. Standards are lowered because the tutor providers who come in are not familiar with the curriculum, the school or the students.

Some local governments and organizations are trying to improve the situation. The Education Industry Association developed a code of ethics for tutoring providers. In 2005 an education association drafted an ethical code for these tutoring companies to adopt. The code doesn’t discuss student achievement but it does urge tutoring providers to refrain from offering incentive to sign up and misrepresenting their services and programs. What prompted the development of the code was that there were reports that a few tutoring providers were giving a sign-on bonus for using their services. Many people were outraged by this. Officials stated that tutoring is not like sports and sign-on bonuses were inappropriate in the academic arena.

Officials believe the tutoring business needs standards if the industry is going to grow and change.



How to Get the Best Online Tutoring Within Budget

April 19th, 2009


Are you too like me, who is not satisfied with the efforts of the tutor and performance of child but don’t have any better alternative? Is the hefty fee of the tutor delivering a sharp pinch at your pocket too? I discussed these and other related issues with my community members and came to know that these are the common problems being faced by every second or third parent. To find out a way, we discussed this problem with experienced experts of education boards, institutions and online tutoring service providers. Here, in this article, I am going to share those tips, which helped me a lot, you too may get the benefit.

Why online tutoring is better than conventional tutoring? Many parents doubt the effectiveness of online tutoring. But according to Mr. Eddison of tutorskingdom.com, online supplementary help has become a must to avail facility for every student, however purpose may be different. Main reasons behind the popularity of online tutoring are 1: 1 attention, individual assessment policies, technologically advanced teaching practices and flexibility in session schedule. You may ask the selected tutoring company to design the course module and sessions according to your specific requirements. Some tutoring companies provide short term packages also like online assignment help, math help, test preparation and essay writing etc. This feature of online tutoring saves time for students and money for parents. Apart from this, students save lot of energy, time and money in commuting to tutor’s place facing chaos on roads, winter winds and rain falls.

When you expand your hard earned money to get a service, you expect results also, even if it is comparatively a small amount. Is it possible to get quality tutoring service within your budget limitations? The outcome of online tutoring largely depends upon the right selection of tutoring company. When you surf on the Internet to find out a GOOD online tutoring company, you get confused seeing the big claims and attractive promotional schemes. Apart from this, your friends, community members and relatives also suggest different tutoring companies relating their experiences. But, a recommended tutoring company or online tutor proved good for one child may not be equally good for another. Why?

Because every child has different learning capabilities, weak points, tendency and likings. Before selecting the tutoring service, it is must to define the purpose like help in a particular subject, homework help, preparation for competition and improving a particular learning skill like writing or analyzing or expressing etc. Can you assess your weak-points yourself even after defining the ultimate goal?

Appearing in assessment test, conducted by many good companies like the one Tutorskingdom.com free of cost is the best way to assess particular requirements. Anytime free access to previous sessions, free question banks, assessment policies, session monitoring, teaching practices and previous records etc are important aspects about which one should compulsorily ask before finalizing the deal. Attending ‘free trial sessions’ is an ideal way to judge the quality of sessions and suitability of teaching tools like software, whiteboards and language etc. As being the service user, you deserve the right to investigate in the claims. It is better, if you could find out some references in your community. Before finalizing the deal with a tutoring company, you may also ask for ‘Return Back’ policy.

At last, students too need to take some own initiatives to make the hired budgetary online tutoring more interesting and result oriented. Wouldn’t you like to know - how? Just visit http://tutorskingdom.com/ or mail at info@tutorskingdom.com.  



Online Tutoring Applications

April 18th, 2009


Online tutoring is most effective when voice, video, graphics, and text can all be used at the same time. However, this option may not be practical for those who are only using dial-up connections or other low-bandwidth Internet connection types. Most of these technologies are tailored for low bandwidth usage, with the exception of real time video, full color document sharing, and high quality sound replication. In most cases, any modern computer purchased post 2005 should easily be able to handle the applications required.

Differences between Regular Tutoring and Online Tutoring

Traditional tutors have an advantage over online tutors as they have physical face to face communication capabilities. This allows traditional tutors to gain a personal rappor for the students being tutored, and allows them to determine with a look what might take significant time to determine over an online tutoring session.

Online tutors have an additional burden as they have to have access to computer equipment, an Internet connection, appropriate useful tutorial applications, or applications that suit well for online tutoring, and additional computer hardware that may assist in the tutorial practice. Some of these additional hardware peripherals might include a webcam, headset with microphone, scanner, fax, and drawing tablet.

Because of the limitations in bandwidth and ease of using online tutoring applications or programs, online tutoring requires more time and effort on the tutor?s part. With online tutoring, tutors needs to prepare more materials before the session itself to maximize the efficiency of the tutorial session. Online tutors also need more time beforehand to prepare the slides to be used in the course; the whiteboard will be used only to emphasize important points.

Depending on the bandwidth, the size of the class must also be limited to ensure that every student has access to the needed materials. The attention span of students is also shorter in online tutoring than in conventional means. This is because there a lot more distractions like the TV, radio, etc. in an online tutoring class than in a conventional one.

Requirements for Online Tutoring

For online tutoring, the following applications or programs and equipment are required. For maximum effectiveness, a broadband connection with a minimum speed of 128 kilobytes per second is prescribed. This will ensure that the tutoring process will be smooth. A headset containing a microphone and a speaker to be used in conjunction with voice chat applications is also required in order to save on phone bills. An online whiteboard or a shared screen where the lesson will be posted and discussed and a web camera for videos are also necessary.

Security is a primary concern, however; parents must ensure the security of their children. This is possible if parents use only trusted online tutoring sites.

Conclusion

Offshore online tutoring making quality personalized help accessible to all is a great promise. Quality control of service delivery is extremely important to impart effective learning.

Proper recruitment & training processes for tutors, real time process monitoring & control, content customization and adequate technology & infrastructure are extremely important to providing exceptional online tutoring, consistently.

Go to www.tulasicorp.com to learn more about online tutoring and watch a sample versions of materials inside of oursite. All tutors are screened, qualified and ready to help your child get better grades!



Online Tutoring – Introduction and Benefits

April 17th, 2009


Online tutoring is not just about providing study material on the Web. It’s a form of self-motivated learning that is delivered to learners at their desktops. Online tutoring encompasses the entire world of one-to-one tutoring sessions (live tutoring), threaded discussions, bulletin boards, video conferencing, Webinars, and VoIP. Online tutoring may not involve a face-to-face interaction with faculty members, but it’s technologically tailored to create an environment for easy and requirement-specific learning. Live tutors take care of the diverse backgrounds and varied interests of their target audience. Like classrooms, online tutoring also needs to be monitored on a time schedule. It has to meet the expectations of students on a synchronous mode. The rise in the demand for online tutoring is a reflection of students’ needs for quality learning that allows them to seek best value from experts worldwide. Online tutoring also does not require students to attend classroom sessions. Other advantages that are weaved into online tutoring are access to valuable educational resources, immediate resolution of their queries, and collaboration.

EduWizardS is emerging as the leader for live, one-on-one tutoring sessions. Its professional, private tutors are experts in their fields with at least a University degree in the subjects they teach. Many of them have Masters or Doctoral qualifications. They even have degrees from Ivy League and other top universities such as Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, Stanford, IIT (India). At EduWizardS you have the freedom to visit profiles of tutors and select a private tutor for your one-to-one, live learning sessions. You can find experienced tutors for all academic subjects, and you can browse student/parent feedback, hourly charges and other details before choosing an online tutor. The tutors give half-hour trial sessions - absolutely free, with no strings attached. There is no limit to the total number of free tutoring trials a student can take. However, within a certain period of time, only a fixed maximum number of half-hour free trials are allowed. This feature sets EduWizardS apart because it is the only Web site that allows you to select a private tutor and take free online tutoring sessions. This online, one-to-one tutoring is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

No special and expensive resources are needed to be tutored online. Tutoring online has been made very simple by recent advances in whiteboard and voice technology. For online tutoring, all you need is an Internet connection, a computer microphone, and computer speakers. A computer headset with microphone (costs about $ 10-15) is recommended.

Therefore, online tutoring can be considered as the best option for students who wish to pursue education in the way they like it!



Online Tutoring, Effective and Creative Way to Learn Computer

April 16th, 2009


 

Computer education has come to mean attaining access to the world and learning how to negotiate through the intense exposure and use of computer technology that surrounds us daily. The computer education is rapidly increasing as it is required in every field. If you want to learn computer applications, then you need to contact well known computer franchise or private tutor and usually they ask for high fees and scheduled time which is suitable for the tutors and you. But they provide limited education as per your program schedule; if you want to learn all the concepts of computer then you generally have to pay huge tutoring fees, which is not affordable for everyone.

Online learning has gained a good reputation amongst teachers, students and school administration, so much so that many companies have started providing online tutoring services, for a small cost as compared to a traditional tutor. Students can receive individualized assistance at home via online tutors. There are large numbers of online tutoring service and they have large range of subjects and fees. These online tutoring service providers hire tutors with advance education so that they can tutor the student through the program.

Online tutoring is almost similar to the regular tutor, with the difference being all work is done through the computer. There are many advantages of online sessions of computer tutors is that it can be accessed anywhere there is a computer, tailor made sessions for tutoring that are done at home, help for homework and it is affordable compared to traditional tutors. You can gain a serious advantage in your academic career when you do online tutoring courses. Online tutoring has emerged as an effective, convenient and beneficial way to get effective academic support. Students that utilize online tutoring are much likely to admit that they don’t understand something, feeling more ease ask more questions. Online tutoring is usually very productive as a result.

Eduwizards, the leading provider of online tutoring offers highly experienced computer tutor. Online tutoring from the Eduwizards is the most effective and productive way to learn computer.



Having a Positive Online Tutoring Experience

April 14th, 2009


When a child tries to learn something new he faces some initial problems that occur either due to student’s capabilities or due to faulty tutoring approach. If these problems are not handled carefully in time, child’s motivation and interest get affected severely. In this condition even the best way of teaching proves a failure because it is a fact that one can lead the horse to water but he can’t force the horse to drink. Today, online tutoring is the most sought solution for improving grade in class or competitions.

Apart from other benefits, the most significant benefit of online tutoring is that in this process knowledge is provided with parental touch. Personal touch, use of latest technology, conferences, online discussions, regular monitoring and progress assessment make the online tutoring more effective and interesting than traditional tutoring. When parents hire online tutoring service for this kids they want to see immediate result. Is it right? Is it tutoring agency only that is solely responsible for the improvement of child’s academic performance? 

Outcome of online tutoring depends upon several factors like – selection of right agency, selection of right course module, proper analysis of child’s requirements, improving child’s personal attitude and capabilities and encouragement to do better etc. Though hiring the right online tutoring agency is important but taking some own initiative to get the positive experience is also not less important. Here are some simple tips which may help you for getting the better results of online tutoring.  

* Various online tutoring providers follow different strategies, so the tutoring agency recommended by your friend/relative may not be good for your child. Before hiring the online tutoring service for your child, it is must to assess his aptitude, personal liking, ability and weakness etc. Parents are expected to tell about the child’s personal qualities to the selected tutoring agency. This will help the experts of the hired agency to devise suitable strategies to deal with negative aspects of child’s behavior and personality.   

* Some kids learn more quickly by hearing while some learn easily by seeing or DIY exercises. So, assess the tendency of your child and ask the tutoring agency to develop the tutoring strategy accordingly.

  

* Basic knowledge about the ‘topic’ prior to scheduled online tutoring session helps the student to ask more and to eliminate his doubts. This practice makes the learning more interesting because child feels himself learning. So, always inspire your child to get prepared for the upcoming session and to write down all his queries to be asked.    

* It is always good to keep the child in right spirit of learning and to perform better. But, it is also not good to place extra pressure for getting top ranks in the class. Set up easy targets consulting the child like removing particular weakness and boost the confidence of achieving those targets. Once, a child achieves initial targets, he gets convinced about the results of ongoing tutoring sessions as a result he becomes more eager to learn.  

* It is good to remain in constant touch of assessment team of online tutoring agency. If you want some changes in the tutoring style or course modules, inform the experts. 

* By hiring online tutoring service, you can’t expect the results overnight, so keep patience. Changing tutoring agency or tutor frequently serves no purpose.

To know more about various aspects of ‘online tutoring’, readers may contact the author at  http://tutorskingdom.com/.



Tutors - How Selecting the Right Tutor Makes a Difference

April 14th, 2009


I am a public school teacher. My wife is a public school teacher. My peers are public school teachers. It seems that there is a common frustration among all of us. So many times in our schools, we see teachers struggle to give the attention each student needs in overcrowded classrooms. The child who is falling behind is getting frustrated because he needs someone, anyone, to help him through this one topic but he can’t get the attention he needs in a classroom of thirty-plus students. That one topic of frustration becomes two topics (because the second topic builds off the first) and then two topics becomes three and so until the student is so frustrated, he or she gives up entirely. Then there is the gifted student who finishes their work quickly but sits for a majority of the class waiting for others to catch up. The gifted student falls behind, not on the grade book, but rather towards fulfilling their potential. Then there is the student with the learning disability or the attention disorder; you can imagine how they feel.

So many wonderful teachers out there are doing their best to meet these students needs but it is near impossible nowadays. Classes are held in rooms that were previously closets or in dilapidated trailers and class sizes increase every year. The need for supplemental education to support students has become more important than ever.

Parents usually have a couple places they can turn. They will ask a neighbor who might then refer them to someone down the street they heard was a teacher. Or they will ask the guidance office at the school who will give them a list of twenty tutors or tutoring services. They might ask the teacher as well, but most schools will not allow teachers to tutor students from the same school for compensation and the time the teacher gives after or before school just isn’t enough.

The problem the parent runs into is the fact that, even if they find a tutor, they don’t know anything about the tutor. They don’t have a background on the tutor. They know very little about their qualifications. They don’t if the tutor’s schedule will fit theirs. And then there is that awkward conversation about price (made even more awkward if it is a friend or neighbor).

Those are the barriers to finding good tutors. A tutoring service can help but it’s important to ask these key questions:



How do I know if the tutors in your service are qualified?

Do I have any choice in the tutor I can select?

Will I be able to see profiles or backgrounds and qualifications of ALL your tutors so I can make the choice?

How do I know which tutors service my area?

How do I know which tutors fit my schedule?

How much will this cost? Is the tutoring service upfront with pricing or do they make you call their number and set-up a consultation before you know the price?

If I am not totally satisfied with the tutor, can I switch quickly?



 

When my wife and I created our tutoring business, we decided to make sure that these answers were upfront on our website. We carefully selected and pre-screened our tutors, including extensive interviews, criminal background checks, and reference checks. We posted their qualifications, philosophies, teaching styles, and schedule availability on the site. We posted pricing information clearly for the parent. We posted our philosophy. We made it so parents could schedule tutors right on the website immediately. It was our goal to make finding an effective tutor affordable and convenient. These are the gaps we found when we saw parents searching in vain for tutors. These are the things you should be looking for when you choose a tutoring service.

Remember, your time is valuable and having the power to choose the educator who will be spending so much time with your child is something you should not take lightly.



Doubt if Online Tutoring is Right for Your Kid? Myths Revealed!

April 13th, 2009


Many parents are apprehensive about getting their children tutored online. Let’s, one by one, look at the reasons parents may be reluctant in enrolling their kids in an online tutoring program and suggest ways to overcome their anxiety.

1) Effectiveness- Parents think that tutoring cannot be effective unless the tutor is sitting right in front of their child, gauging his reaction and monitoring his every move.

Is it true? No. Some children need personal attention while learning but as long as they have the right learning tools and a competent online tutor, online learning can be as effective, if not more. Some kids are shy by nature and they may feel more comfortable asking questions and clearing their doubts in a virtual environment where they cannot actually see the tutor. For such kids, face-to-face tutoring can be intimidating and if they don’t feel comfortable with their tutor, their whole point of learning is defeated. Kids may also be inclined to take more initiative because even if they solve something incorrectly, chances of awkwardness with the tutor are less.

2) Safety- Is it safe for my child?

Of course it’s safe. It is, perhaps, the safest way to get tutoring help to your child. You can sit right next to your child’s computer when the tutoring is in progress or you can continue with your daily chores while your child is sitting in the same room and talking to his tutor. It’s much better than driving around your child to a learning center or having a stranger come in to your house every week.

3) Too much work- How will the tutor know what my child is learning in school and how will the teaching take place without the book?

We are living in a communication rich world my friend. If the same book is not available, study material and lesson plans can be faxed, scanned and emailed very easily to the tutor. Emails make it very convenient for regular updates to be communicated to the tutor.

4) Software- How much will I need to invest?

As long as you have a headset to establish voice communication with the teacher, you don’t need to invest in any software. Most software needed for online tutoring programs are free to download and don’t occupy too much space on your computer either. If you have a reliable computer with internet connection, you are good to go.

5) Scheduling- How frequent are the sessions? My kids are involved in a lot of extracurricular activities.

Scheduling online sessions is very convenient and you can choose as many sessions as you want. Most programs offer enough flexibility to reschedule in case of any last minute changes and there are no long-term contracts to bind you. Your child just has to go online, take sessions and you can take a break or discontinue whenever you want. Isn’t that sweet?

6) Cost- It must be expensive. Can I afford it?

Online tutoring is the most affordable tutoring option you’ll find in the market. Involving a global talent pool with the help of technology makes tutoring extremely affordable. You save on gas and don’t pay any premium to use high-priced learning centers or private tutors.

Being parents, concern about kids’ security and future is completely justifiable but depriving kids of services that may actually benefit their future and aid learning is pure ignorance. Save time and money and give your children the most convenient and effective tool to strengthen their concepts and to improve their grades.



Online Tutoring Company Verses Independent Tutor

April 12th, 2009


The popularity of online tutoring is increasing day by day all over the world. When parents or students conduct search for the online tutoring source, they get astonishing number of options. Ever increasing number of online tutoring agencies and the students seeking online help proves the extra edge of online tutoring process over the private tutoring. What are the ‘significant’ plus points of online tutoring comparative to traditional Pvt. tutoring?

1. Perfect match of student and tutor:

Most tutoring companies have a wide database of the capable, seasoned and reliable tutors to teach each and every topic. The subject experts of online tutoring companies like the one Tutorkingdom.com conduct assessment test prior to delivery of tutoring session to judge the capability, specific weakness, liking, tendency and real weak points of the student. This strategy helps the tutoring company to select and deploy the best tutor to deliver time-framed results.

2. Flexibility of session:

Online tutoring company offers 24X7 hrs service, so student can chose appropriate time of online tuition without disturbing his regular study schedule. Besides this, student can contact the tutor anytime if he needs help even after/before his regular tutoring period.      

3. Quality of tutoring service:

Online tutoring course modules are designed by the highly qualified subject experts and are amended regularly incorporating latest changes in courses or examination pattern. This leaves no scope of missing a portion of the course. Most online tutoring companies follow strict academic, professional, professional, behavioral and personal standards while employing the tutors. Apart from this, the content being delivered is continuously     monitored and checked by the highly qualified subject experts, so, you can rely upon the quality of delivered text.   

4. Reliability:

Sometimes a private tutor stops tutoring due to various reasons like health problem, shifting, retirement and family circumstances etc. Some online tutoring companies allow the students to change the tutor in the mid of course. Here, we should keep in mind that getting results through online tutoring is not a short time affair but it needs sufficient time. Even then, if you decide to change the tutor, you wouldn’t face any loss because you get another teacher, equally qualified and experienced, immediately to avoid any gap in your preparation plan. Familiarity with the tutoring pattern and teaching tools like Webex software, white boards and digital pens etc null the effect of tutor replacement. Besides this in today’s competitive environment, trusted tutoring company has too much to lose so it tries its best to satisfy the students and parents both for the sake of mouth publicity. 

5. Professionalism: Online tutoring companies provide services more professionally than private tutors that too at approx. 60% cost of in-house private tutoring. The experts of the online tutoring agency regularly monitor the performance of tutors and students both. Anytime access to recorded session database is a unique feature of online tutoring that makes it incomparable with Pvt. tutoring.    

6. Multi task achievement:

When you join online tutoring company, your writing, creative, grasping, retaining and expressing capabilities are evaluated by the subject and psychological experts to deliver time bound results. While delivering the online lessons, experts take care of your ‘spotted’ personal weaknesses also, which results in overall improvement. The most significant advantage of online tutoring is that due to ‘multi task tutoring strategies’, nether you nor your parents feel extra burdened. Application of latest and customized teaching practices inspires and motivates you to learn more and more. 



Where Can You Find A Tutor?

April 12th, 2009


If you decide that your child needs a tutor you can find help online. There are different services online that offer tutors from your city. These tutors offer their service at your home, in libraries, community centers, and other after school facilities, and online.

Many of these tutoring services have tutors in different countries. So wherever you live you can find help for your child’s educational needs.

They offer tutoring in core subjects like math, English, reading, science, and history. They also offer help with study skills, foreign languages, and standardize test prep. Help with ACT and SAT exams are part of tutoring services. Many offer music lessons.

Accredited online schools that your child can enroll in are also available. They have lesson modules that cover up to K-12. There are programs for gifted learners, traditional tutoring, and home schoolers.

With all of these different types of tutoring services that you can locate online, there is one that is right for your child. In order to decide which is best for your child’s needs, you’ll want to determine any problem areas. Then you can get tutoring for your child in math, science or whichever subject needs more attention.

If on the other hand, your child is gifted in music or languages, then tutoring to increase his knowledge in his gifted area is going to advance him faster and help him to succeed later in life using this ability.

The great aspect of tutoring is that whether online or in a local facility your child will receive instruction on a one on one basis. If online through the modules on the site and through chat and email communication. If in person then through face to face instruction, but either way he’ll get the help he needs to learn subject matter or to learn test preparation.

You can contact as many online services to see what they offer online and in your city. This is a perfect way to find just he right service and tutor for you child. You can compare the prices of several services and see what accreditation they hold. You can view the credentials of the tutors.

Then after you have learned it all over, you can compare them, and evaluate their offerings. This is the wave of the future in tutoring and you can take advantage of it today.

You may want to try organizations that offer free tutoring, some of which al so offer field trips, workshops, in-school programs, and drop-in tutoring. Other organizations provide tutoring for homeschoolers and you can search in your state to see if such an organization is available.

There are many options out thee for you to choose from and you can find what’s right for you and your child and your budget. So what are you waiting for? There’s definitely a service, program, or volunteer organization that provides tutoring in your town and you can take advantage of a full online service to get a tutor for your child.



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