Evolutionary convergence of online tutoring business with social media

I have written about different aspects of online tutoring business in my blogs. In this blog; I have tried to integrate various aspects of social media which change the equation of online tutoring business completely.

I never touched the subject of social media emergence in my blogs. The reason is quite simple. I wanted my blogs to be specifically for online tutoring dealing with various problems faced by online tutors in designing and depicting the course curriculum to the children. Now, I know that parents are the key decision makers for enrollment of children in particular online course. But you cannot deny the fact that if a child likes something in a glance it is very difficult for the parents to ignore that and push the child for another alternative. Hence; the situation is quite tricky because now you have two different sets of target audience to please. This can be very taxing because the needs of both the concerned parties are completely different. To avoid this and make things clearer the social medium is used as a means to achieve the desired goals; and draw the target audience in a subtle way.

Now since we are talking about social media let me tell you some staggering facts that deal with social media. According to an article titled “Social Media; I’ve heard the term, but what does it mean to me, or my business?” according to the 2012 stats:

• 66 percent of online adults are connected to one or more social media platforms 
• 50 percent of social media users say they check in to their favorite networks first thing in the morning 
• 45% of social media users are at least ‘somewhat’ comfortable providing credit card details through social media channels 
• By 2015; brands will be generating 50% of their web sales through social media and mobile platforms with a projection of $30 Billion

You can read the entire article by copying and pasting the url mentioned below to a separate browser:

http://www.compucast.com/social-media-marketing.html

The fact is that you cannot ignore the impact of social media on online tutoring. In reality; there are so many things that can be achieved in online tutoring by integrating social media that it is very difficult to ignore it in the scheme of things:

• A key feature for marketing: In this age of digital commercialization, do you think online tutoring can survive without viral marketing? If you are probably saying that I know that it is not possible to imagine online tutoring without viral marketing. That would be an utter nonsense. Because with the advent of social media things have changed quite drastically. Normally we would not have seen the comments posted by eminent personalities; but now with the help of social media platform the world has become a smaller place. You can view comments and post statuses on Facebook in an instant thereby promoting you as a brand. So what are the odds of marketing an online tutoring business through this new social buzz? You can bet the results. It can be tremendous.In addition to this, you can even spread awareness by participating through different social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace etc. The beauty of each of these networks is that their outlook is completely different with different sets of target audiences using these networks. So for example; you can spread awareness of your blogs on online tutoring through Facebook by posting the subject of the blog and providing a brief outline of the subject along with the link. The readers can then read the blog and post their comments on it. Thereby; increasing the visibility of your brand. You can also post interesting anecdotes, quotes, ask questions and give suggestions on different topics related to your domain. Hence; there is a tremendous marketing potential through Facebook. Similarly for Twitter, there is a separate target audience that uses hash tags (#) with limited characters to depict the idea. Hence, the concept is based on the principle of depicting more through less content. Highlight the subject of your blog in a creative manner, and the response rate grow enormously. You can also comment on different topics relevant to your interests. For LinkedIn; you can build professional contacts by adding them to your profile and highlighting your academic qualification and professional experience in a creative manner. You can even promote your blogs, post comments, ask questions and get feedback from fellow members.

• Use it as a medium to hold conference between fellow tutors: We all know that the entire globe is a very small place especially if you decide to share your experiences and knowledge with tutors from different nationalities. This can be a very enriching experience since, there is no dearth of knowledge amongst tutors and the more you share, the more you learn from them. In addition to this; when you hold such conferences there is going to be a discussion and debate which can enlighten you to different online teaching practices which are normally quite difficult to find. It is also quite necessary to learn about different tutoring styles taught in different countries. This can open up new avenues of growth for online tutoring domain and can enhance the knowledge of the participants.

• Creative ways to share notes with students: With the help of various social networking sites; it is possible to upload notes which can be quite useful for students at large. Not only does it free them from waiting for clarification; but it also encourages them to ask relevant questions or provide comments through various social networking sites like, Google docs instantly. This is a boon for students, as they can now get the required notes instantly and clarify their doubts quickly. Being online is not option. But it is the selection of freedom from constrained education. Hence, it is perfect match for online tutoring.

• An inventive method to keep a check on student behavior: There are times when students take out their frustration on different social networking sites about their online tutors or about the course design. It is a perfect opportunity for online tutors to research on student’s behavior about a particular course curriculum or particular method of teaching. It can not only enlighten the tutors about the need of the hour but also about the different needs of the students of today’s generation. Hence, social media is an excellent tool to research on students’ behavior.

Thomas Edison once quoted, 

“Opportunity is missed by most people; because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

Hence, I would conclude this blog by reiterating the point that the social media networks have given a tremendous opportunity to online tutors to showcase their talent; that should not be wasted.

To learn more about PracTutor follow us at: http://www.facebook.com/PracTutor, http://hardik.practutor.com

PracTutor
12806 Townepark Way

Louisville, KY 40243-2311

United States

http://www.practutor.com

Developing interactive-based learning through online tutoring

Interaction plays a key role in any form of education; more so in online education. Hence, in this blog, I have tried to discuss about different techniques through which online tutors can develop interactive-based learning through novel practice.

I have always wondered how video game developers create such fantastic animations with an in-built commentary that makes it even more interesting for children to play these wonderful games. Now imagine the same creativity in e-learning mechanism. This can be a path-breaking evolution of some kind wherein we understand the limitless opportunities that lie ahead of us in terms of innovation and novelty. I have always been a fan of originality and wanted to do something which was never thought before and can lead to tremendous reaction from critics and observers. It seems that finally the breakthrough is on its way and I am giving you a rough idea of what I presume will be a huge bonus for online tutoring business. So let me cut the suspense and come straight to the point.

In my childhood days I used to play cricket through video games. Not that I was not good at playing it on the field but playing it on video game was a different experience all together. And with the commentary of Barry Richards the playing experience increased by two-folds. That is what I have been trying to understand. If video game developers can use their creativity and understand that without an interactive game it is not possible to get complete attention of their target audience. Then obviously being in a teaching profession, it becomes even more imperative for us to understand that we are talking about children who love playing interactive games and so if we provide them what they crave for then there would be no question of ambiguity. In this case, if we can create courses which are lot more interactive then we find today it would be of great help to the entire online tutoring domain. What I mean to say is that providing online assistance to children is one thing but being there with them at each and every stage of learning has become even more important nowadays. Because now children have become starter they can study at their own pace. They can even opt for multiple courses according to their wish. Hence, it becomes very important to have a constant dialogue with them.

You might be wondering creating a commentary for a cricket video game can be easy because you know the different scenarios that can arise during the game but in real life case, it becomes very difficult to gauge the needs of the children; and provide instant support to them. Now the major question that arises is how to incorporate the changes in the e-learning courses in such a manner that children do not find them monotonous. The answer is quite difficult and many research analysts have tried to find out resolution for this situation but they have not found a concentrate answer for it. The reason being every child is different with a different grasping power hence; it becomes very difficult to understand their psychology and plan the questions with the answers beforehand. Let me give you a blunt example. This will make things clear in your mind: Suppose a 15 year old child has enrolled an online course; and I am the online tutor providing assistance to him. Imagine he sees a math problem with a solution but does not know how did we arrive at the solution? This situation is very bad because the child now knows the answer but is not aware of the method. Maybe he will try to cram the answer for the time being but in tests he will not be able to remember the method. In this situation, we need human commentary of the online tutor to explain each and every step of the resolution to the child so that he understands the method and then try to solve similar problem on his own. Alternatively; I have already discussed that each child is unique with different abilities. So it is possible that he does not understand the method that has been provided in the course. Hence, there should always be a back-up plan available with the tutor; so that they can showcase multiple methods for resolving the same problem.

So the source of the problem that we are currently facing in online tutoring is due to the advancement of technology. The reason for that quite simple; in the past we never had any trouble with teacher-student interaction as education used to take place in a classroom atmosphere; where there was every possibility of one-on-one interaction. But now since technology has grown tremendously, we are seeing children studying independently with minimal interaction with tutors through online medium. That has resulted in lack of interest and poor performance in tests. So what is the solution for this problem? Should we neglect the technology aspect and teach children the traditional way of classroom education? Or should be go for private tutoring? In either of these cases, it would be a backward step; if we opt for it. So the only possible solution is to look forward; and try to create new opportunities by laying innovative strategies for making education an interactive medium for children.

Now let me show you some of the ways through which tutors can build interactivity with the students through online tutoring:

• Scenario-based learning: When you try to create a course design try to see at different alternatives through which learning can be derived from the subject. For example; if it is English Grammar there are multiple ways of framing a grammatically correct statement. Moreover, there is nothing right or wrong in grammar. It is all about the understanding. Hence, online tutors need to provide multiple scenarios to children so that they can have variety of options to get the right solution for the problem. Similarly if we are talking about a math problem; if a child is facing problem with a particular question try to solve the question using different methods so that the child can have options to learn the easiest of the solutions provided. Also try to include commentary of various steps that you took to resolve the question. This will build interaction with the child and they will have better understanding of the resolution.

·         Teaching through animations: I have already discussed about this in my previous blog titled “Determining a breakthrough teaching mechanism for English online tutors” about the different ways through which online tutors can teach children through animations. You can go through this article by copying and pasting this link on a separate browser:

 

               http://practutor.blogspot.in/2012/08/determining-breakthrough-teaching.html

I would like to conclude this blog by telling a very famous quote from vivliorasis, “Every interaction creates re-interaction." Hence, it is essential for today’s tutors to have healthy interaction with children so that the online education domain can survive the latent affects of boredom and negligence from children!

If you wish to share your views and opinions about developing interactive-based learning through online tutoring; follow us at: http://www.facebook.com/PracTutor,  http://hardik.practutor.com

PracTutor
12806 Townepark Way

Louisville, KY 40243-2311

United States

http://www.practutor.com

Different Perspectives on Quality of Online Tutoring

Online tutoring has become an integral part of education in the 21st century. In this article; we have discussed about different perspectives on quality of online tutoring.

I have read a lot of things written about online tutoring. Interestingly, I found that quality is one of the most important components of online tutoring. It is very important for the designers to formulate the course pattern in such a manner that the learning objective of the student is met. Let me first discuss about the definition of quality in perspective of online tutoring.

“Online tutoring is apt for individual based learning aptitude, personality and pace of the learning while imparting knowledge, skills and application. So quality of an online course can be measured in terms of knowledge gained by the students and how they can apply problem solving techniques to it.”

FACTORS AFFECTING QUALITY

Quality of online tutoring cannot be evaluated on the basis of information grasped by the students as each and every student has their own grasping power. Hence, there are different factors which determine the quality of online tutoring:

• Quality of the tutor: The role of tutor has a very crucial role by making the content personalized in such a manner that the students do not miss one-on-one teaching. The other criteria which makes the quality aspect an unsurpassable component of online tutoring is the ability of the tutor to engage the children by introducing novelty in the course pattern and provide exciting opportunities to the students to study their favorite subjects. The tutor should have a firm grip on the subject that they are teaching along with proper training of accents so that they can teach students from around the globe.

The major implications for the quality aspect of the tutor include:

• Online course providers should recruit only those tutors who are academically strong in the subject knowledge and teaching skills
• Provide systematic training to the tutors to an alien audience to build their online tutoring skills

• Process control: Online tutoring is a person-to-person service. In order to develop proper synchronization between tutors and students a robust quality monitoring mechanism needs to be developed ensuring quality. Real-time monitoring helps in ensuring quality. Having a centralized teaching facility and tutors helps in building and maintaining quality tutoring.      
• Quality of the content: Content covers up lots of things like teaching material, books, notes and exercises. Since the focus of online tutoring is on personalization different approaches need to be implemented for different students. It is always to take a pre-enrollment test before the student enrolls for the course. This will make the online tutors the strong and weak points of the students and they can then design customized course according to the intelligence quotient of the student.
• Technology and infrastructure: Technology and infrastructure have a key role in designing the course design. If the technology and infrastructure is not apt then it is impossible to design the online course. The voice conferencing software, whiteboard etc. should be reliable and should not lead to wastage of time so that there is smooth functioning of sessions.

To learn more about PracTutor follow us at: http://www.facebook.com/PracTutor, http://www.practutor.com

PracTutor
12806 Townepark Way
Louisville, KY 40243-2311
United States
http://www.practutor.com