Online Tutoring - Which is Better - Tutoring Companies Or Freelance Tutors?

With the explosion in use of the internet for learning, online tutoring has become a favorite for students all over the globe. Online tutoring offers tremendous flexibility to the students as well as the tutors the major advantage for both the students and tutor being that they can learn/teach from the comfort of their homes.

Another major reason for the success of online tutoring is the lower cost of tutoring. The availability of tutors was earlier limited to those living close-by to the student. However with the online tutoring, the tutor can now be located in any corner of the world. Thus the tutors located in the third world countries while being equally competent as their counterparts in the developed world are able to offer their services at much lower prices - primarily due to the difference in valuation of their currencies with the dollar. While a face to face tutoring session would cost nearly $ 70 - 100 per hour earlier, a online tutoring session from tutors in USA / UK costs $ 30 - 50 and those from tutors located in India is available for $ 12 - 15 per hour.

Tutoring Companies. As the demand for online tutoring grew, a number of tutoring companies surfaced on the horizon. These Online Tutoring Companies generally offer tutoring in a variety of subjects so that a student can obtain tutoring in any subject desired by him. This follows the culture where all subjects are available under one roof.

This company culture in tutoring however cannot be termed as the best solution in online tutoring. Most parents would agree that the vital aspect to achieve supportive learning help is the continuity of the tutor with the student. The tutor needs to develop a rapport with the student and identify his strengths and shortcomings. He must then empathize with the student and focus upon helping him overcome his shortcomings while reinforcing his strengths. With large tutoring companies this is often a problem as their tutors cater to a large number of students and thus are not dedicated to a single student. While most online tutoring companies offer the 'preferred tutor' system in some form or the other, the availability of the favorite tutor cannot be guaranteed being booked by a number of students. Thus the child is left to adjust to each of the tutors he comes across and at best is able to achieve 'topic help' rather than supportive, continued learning.

Freelance Tutors. On the other hand are the freelance tutors who offer Online Tutoring on the internet. Most of the tutors list with the tutor directories for their availability. Tutors having their own websites are a rarity - probably due to the costs involved. However the ones who do have their own websites and thus are able to make themselves available on the internet are probably the best choice for online tutoring. They combine the best of online tutoring and offer continued supportive and dedicated learning support to the students.

Training Content. Some of the tutoring companies use their own 'unique training content' which is specifically developed keeping in mind the requirements of the students. There is no doubt that specially developed training content is helpful in imparting instruction. It must however be remembered that there is no shortage of training content on the internet with most schools and college websites providing free high quality training content. What is most important is ability of the tutor to make the student imbibe the training content properly.

Tutor Remuneration. In case of freelance tutors, the complete remuneration made by the students goes to the tutor who is free to set his own price. However in case of tutoring companies, the company would pay the tutors minimum wages, keeping most of the profits for themselves. The tutor compensation in some of the tutoring companies can be as low as $ 2 per hour. This obviously affects the quality of tutors who would be ready to serve with them.

Selecting the Right Tutor. Making the right choice of the Online Tutor however can be difficult. Considering that the websites offering these services are not the swanky big banner sites, it is difficult to gauge the prowess of the tutor at the first instance. It is advisable to go over the credentials and experience of the tutor. However before finally selecting a tutor, the student must ask for a Free Demo Session. Nearly all the tutors offer the introductory demo session so that they can interact with the student. This provides a good opportunity to the student to gauge the tutor first hand and if found suitable, he can interact with the tutor to finalize his schedule.

The quality of tutoring also depends on the tools for teaching used by the tutor. The demo session would also help to confirm the suitability of the web conferencing software including the audio, whiteboard and file sharing. The student should evaluate them well during the demo session before signing up for online tutoring.

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The Tutors That Fit

Tutors come in many shapes and sizes. There are multiple types of tutors, including private tutors, academic coaching, student-to-student (or peer) tutoring, online tutoring, and in-person (or home) tutoring. Private tutoring is when a tutor is hired by a student or a student's family to teach specific subjects to the student or a group of students. The philosophies vary greatly. One tutor may only speak when the student needs to ask a question, and a different one may prepare and run the entire session comprehensively. The tutors that are best for the students are the tutors that have a philosophy that aligns with the student. If a student learns best by having a concept repeatedly spoken to them, they would not work well with a tutor that has laissez-faire attitude. The best method for tutors to find the right student is to be open immediately. Tutors should openly express their abilities and styles, so the student can best assess an appropriate fit. Students should be aware of reviews or feedback pertaining to the tutor. Student should also be aware of what they need from a tutor and what to request of them.

Academic coaching is more along the lines of helping the student learn the best way. The skills that academic coaches can help students with are study skills, time management, stress management, effective reading, note-taking, test-taking, and syllabus reading. Academic coaches can be helpful to highly motivated students that have high sights and standards. Student-to-student or peer tutoring is tutoring between students of similar age and grade level. The tutor would have knowledge in the subject, yet be close enough to have a stronger relationship with the student and their struggles. The peer tutoring can help the instructors and the students; the instructors have their knowledge strengthened by explaining it to others, and the students learn in the process. The location of the tutoring depends on whether the tutoring session is online or in-home. Online tutoring uses chat, whiteboard, and video to shorten the distance gap between the tutors and students. Some online tutoring sites are tutor.com and InstaEDU.com. In-home tutoring is tutoring that occurs in the home of the student or at a predetermined meeting location. Both location types have positives and negatives.

Tutoring is helpful because it allows the student constant exposure (there's that term again) to the educational material, and that is the best way to learn. Instructors are able to answer questions and concerns students have on the material in a quick and efficient manner. The students also receive personalized one-on-one care by the tutor or academic coach. This is certainly helpful for the student, who likely does not receive appropriate corroboration in the public school system.

There are many tutoring sites that connect the students to the tutors. These sites include:

InstaEDU is an online site that has white board, text, audio, and video capabilities. There are over 3,000 tutors available in a wide range of subjects, calculus included.

LivePerson is another tutoring site that allows you to reach out directly via LivePerson's chat feature. They have an extensive database of educators to assist in many subjects.

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Pricing Strategies for Private Tutors

Pricing plays an important role in the success of any tutoring business. However, there is a lot of confusion about the best way to price your tutoring services and how to go about finding the right price. This article looks at pricing strategies for independent tutors and tutoring companies and how to research prices in your market.

Setting your Pricing Level

The first step in determining how much you should charge for your tutoring services is to determine what other tutoring services in your area are charging. You'll want to focus on tutoring companies that offer similar services to your own tutoring business since there can be a large variation in tutoring prices for different types of tutoring.

The next step is to do some research just like someone searching for tutoring would. Search for tutoring services in your area online, check the phone book, ask guidance counselors about other tutoring companies. When you have a list of similar tutoring companies in your area you can find out about prices by calling them up and asking or checking their website for prices. You can also check online tutoring directories to find out what independent tutors are charging for the subjects your company offers.

If your company is new and you or your tutors have average experience and credentials then you should try to price your services a bit above the average price.

If your company has been operating for a while, you have satisfied customers, and you or your tutors have teaching experience and credentials then you should price closer to the upper range of comparable tutoring services.

Many new tutoring companies think they need to start with low prices in order to attract clients, but this is a risky strategy and can actually hurt your business more than help it. The reason for this is that if your prices are very low, you will be generating very little profit to reinvest into promoting your business. If you are paying tutors to work for you, you will also have a difficult time attracting and keeping high quality tutors which are extremely important for building your reputation and creating satisfied customers who will refer you to other clients.

Early on it might make sense to focus on an under-served segment of the tutoring market in your area. This will allow you to charge higher rates, and generate higher profits which will help you afford more marketing and better tutors. These in turn will help you establish a base from which to expand into more competitive segments of the tutoring market.

Tutoring Price List

Providing different pricing options can also help your business meet the needs of more clients. There are several pricing or billing methods you can use.

Pay per Session

This pricing option has clients pay before or after each tutoring session. This is a good method if your business does not have much of an operating history. It also puts new clients at ease if they are new to your business and are wary of paying for a longer period of time in advance.

Pay per period

Paying per period may have clients pay for a week or month in advance based on the number of sessions they will have during that period. This method is good for tutoring businesses because you receive the money up front and don't have to worry about students forgetting to pay for each session. It's more convenient for clients because they can pay for a week or month and don't have to worry about writing a check for every single session. Some tutoring companies may bill at the end of each week or month, but for new companies it's best to require payment in advance since this will allow you to receive payment for tutoring sessions before you need to pay your tutors.

Prepaid Packages

Some tutoring companies sell prepaid bundles of tutoring services. Such as 10 hours of math tutoring or 12 hours of English tutoring. These hours can then be scheduled over the following months as the student schedules them. This method allows you to offer volume pricing which can encourage potential clients to commit to more tutoring sessions.

Adapting your Prices

The tutoring market is constantly changing so it's important that you're flexible with your tutoring company's pricing. If your pricing structure is not helping you meet your business goals you simply need to try tweaking your prices or possibly your services. People are concerned with value so if you offer more value in your tutoring services you may not need to lower your prices or if you offer more value than you did a year ago then it might be a good idea to raise your prices.

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Advantages of Tutoring Companies Over Independent Tutors

Tutoring companies face strong competition from other companies and independent tutors. Independent tutors can often afford to charge much lower rates, which makes them more attractive to many potential customers - so how can companies position themselves to attract clients despite their higher rates? There are several benefits companies offer potential clients that independents don't - and by emphasizing these benefits, tutoring companies can attract more clients.

The following five characteristics can set tutoring companies apart from independent tutors. The extra value clients receive from these characteristics justify the higher rates that companies charge - companies just need to make clients aware of these benefits in order to attract more clients.

1. Time Savings

It's quite easy to become an independent tutor, so there are lots of people with a wide range of education, experience and skills in this field. People looking for tutoring services typically look for a balance between the quality of the teaching they will receive and the price they will pay. However, evaluating independent tutors to determine the quality of their teaching can be a difficult and time-consuming process. Companies can help by completing this process for people.

Most tutoring companies have hiring processes in place for screening resumes, conducting interviews, evaluating experience and skills, completing background checks and more. They spend time finding high quality tutors, which saves parents and students from this process. Parents and students can simply ask a company how they screen their teachers and based on the response they will quickly be able to determine if the company will have high-quality teachers.

2. Quality

Not only do thorough screening processes save parents and students time when searching for tutors, they also help tutoring companies find top-quality tutors. As companies gain more experience they will be able to refine their hiring processes to find better teachers - this will lead to a better reputation and the ability to command higher rates.

In addition to finding high quality teachers, tutoring companies also usually have more established systems for handling scheduling, billing, communication and performance tracking than independents. Established systems that have been honed over the years make the entire tutoring process go smoother for clients which is valuable to many clients. Some independent tutors may be organized but the probability of finding one with well-established processes that ensure a smooth teaching process is lower than with companies.

3. Accountability

Another advantage tutoring companies have over independent tutors is that they have more invested in their reputations. Whereas independent tutors might have a couple students and rely on free advertising, companies have tens or dozens of students and invest considerable money in marketing and building their brands. In order to build and protect their brands, tutoring companies have more motivation than independent tutors to ensure their students receive top-quality teaching. Mention your business's reputation in your marketing materials and when meeting with potential clients, talk about the number of years you have been in business, the number of students you have tutored, the size of your company and more. All of these things demonstrate that you are an established company that is obviously doing something right and that has a reputation to uphold.

4. The Right Fit

The x-factor in the tutor-student relationship is how well a student and tutor get along. A lot of this has to do with the personality of the two individuals. This relationship has a large impact on the effectiveness of a tutor and often can't be evaluated until the tutor and student have been working together for a while. The problem with independent tutors is that the parent has likely invested significant time into finding the ideal tutor - one with the right education, experience and skills. But if the tutor and student's personalities conflict the parent will have to settle for poor results or will have to begin the tutor search all over again.

Tutoring companies make it easier to match the right teacher to the right student. Companies have already screened their teachers so most should be high-quality. If a tutor and student don't get along well, the company can assign a new one to the student with little disruption.

5. Focused on Teaching

Independent tutors often face the challenge of managing both the administrative and the teaching side of their business. This can be a distraction since the independent tutor is not focused solely on teaching his or her students, but rather also needs to focus on finding new students, billing, collecting payments, etc.

Tutor's in working for a company or agency are able to focus solely on teaching their students while the company's admins handle the administrative work. This results in more focused and productive tutors that can teach better.

6. Reliability

Tutoring companies can usually offer more reliable service than independent tutors. When unexpected events come up such as an illness, moving, or other problems a company is able to quickly assign a new tutor to a student and continue where the last one left off. When the same unexpected events come up with an independent tutor, the student may have to go for a period of time without tutoring or will have to look for a new teacher entirely. Even when a new one is found, the transition won't be seemless because they won't have the teaching records from the previous tutor to refer to. The ability for tutoring companies to offer reliable service is a definite benefit and many parents and students are willing to pay extra for it.

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What Makes a Good Tutor?

Due to the increasing importance of education, many parents and schools choose to hire tutors. Parents hire freelancer tutors and work with private tutoring services. Parents hire instructors for tasks such as math tutoring, and SAT prep. However, many parents do not exactly understand what makes a good tutor.

Tutors often think that they are well qualified because they possess adequate understanding of the subject matter. Many people say that one possesses adequate knowledge of a subject when he can lecture in the subject. However, there are many other aspects to being a good tutor and having adequate knowledge in the subject will not necessarily make the tutor a good tutor.

Of course, understanding the subject matter is critical to being a good tutor. No tutor is able to adequately explain material to a struggling student if he does not understand it well enough himself. That does not mean that the tutor has to have every single minor aspect of the subject memorize. But the tutor should be able to understand the subject matter after a short review before the session.

Simple knowledge of a subject is generally insufficient to be a good tutor. A tutor has to have true understanding of a subject. For example, an inexperienced math tutor may know the Quadratic formula but a great tutor can also derive it. A decent Literature tutor understands the plot and themes of To Kill a Mockingbird. But a great tutor also understands the history behind the novel.

A good tutor should be an experienced tutor. The more experienced the tutor is, the more likely he will address the student's issues. Inexperienced tutors should first consider volunteering and tutoring family and friends before charging for their services.

Another important aspect of tutoring is having good communication skills. A tutor has to not only know the subject matter but also be able to adequately explain it. Someone may be able to solve any math problem but he will not necessarily make his solution understandable to the student.

A good tutor is a good evaluator of the student's performance. Often, students do not understand exactly what their problems in a course are. They often just know that they are struggling or that they are getting bad grades. A good tutor can understand what gaps and misunderstandings the student has and can provide review of these particular subject areas.

Another characteristic of a good tutor is the ability to understand the student's situation. Students who work with tutors generally are frustrated and a tutor should not never make the situation worse. Also, students can often have learning disabilities so a tutor may need to explain certain aspects differently or use a slower tutoring pace. They should also be forgiving of minor misbehavior by a student as the misbehavior may be caused by stress.

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