More and more families are turning to online tutoring to receive personalized support for their children. If you’ve been thinking about incorporating online tutoring into your homeschool routine but want to understand the pros and cons better, keep reading!
Before we unpack the positives and potential drawbacks of online tutoring, it’s important to say that both online and in-person tutoring offer many of the same key benefits of tutoring in general.
Both types of tutoring can help explain tricky concepts, increase your child’s confidence by stretching and challenging their minds, accelerate their progress, and much more. At the end of the day, choosing between in-person and online tutoring is a personal decision that depends on your child’s own unique needs and preferences.
Benefits of Online Tutoring
Online tutoring has many benefits, including the following:
Wider choice of expert tutors – When you choose online tutoring for your kids, your choice of a tutor is not constrained by your physical location because you can access tutors from across the country and the world. You’ll be able to select from a much wider selection of tutors than if you choose in-person tutoring, meaning you can easily find a tutor who specializes in the specific area your child needs help in and meets their unique learning style. When you arrange your online tutoring through Outschool, you get to choose from a database of thousands of experienced Outschool tutors. Whether you’re looking for tutoring for 3rd-grade math, 7th-grade physics, or high school SAT prep, you’ll be able to find the perfect tutor for your child on Outschool.
Convenience – One of the major perks of online tutoring is that it can be arranged to work with your family’s hectic schedule. So, if you need to squeeze tutoring in before school, after school but before sports practice, or on the weekends, you’re likely to find an online tutor who’s available and can offer your child the support and guidance they need. Plus, you don’t need to worry about travel time, fuel costs, or tidying the house!
Potential Drawbacks of Online Tutoring
While online tutoring has many positives, some parents have concerns about online tutoring, including:
More screen time – Some people may be concerned that as kids are spending increasing amounts of time on digital devices, more screen time in the form of online tutoring isn’t ideal. However, there is a big difference between general ‘entertainment’ screen time and purposeful online learning with the guidance of an expert tutor, and many parents find their kids are engaged and eager to take part in their exciting online learning adventures simply because it is online and ‘‘allowed” screen time!
Distractibility – Some parents also worry that their kids will get easily distracted during online tutoring. But, educators who tutor online are experts in ensuring that this isn’t an issue and that your kids are enthralled in their learning throughout their session.
Benefits of Having an In-Person Tutor
Here are some of the unique benefits of choosing an in-person tutor.
Face-to-face interaction – Of course, the main difference between online and in-person tutoring is the face-to-face interaction that your kids get with an in-person tutor. This physical interaction can benefit some kids, especially when the tutoring focuses on practical, hands-on skills. However, technology has developed significantly over the past few years, which means that nearly everything that is possible for a tutor to do in person can also be replicated virtually. Online tutors are skilled at leveraging a range of virtual tools and in the art of teaching online. Outschool offers their educators access to unique training and resources to help them develop their skills and share new tools, best practices, and ideas to ensure your child receives a top-class tutoring session from the comfort of their home.
Communication with the tutor – Some parents may find that communicating with the tutor and receiving feedback on how their child is progressing is easier with in-person tutoring, as the parent sees the tutor at the start and end of each session.
Potential Drawbacks to In-Person Tutoring
However, in-person tutoring also has its drawbacks, including:
Limited flexibility – Depending on the tutor you choose, you may also have to travel to their location or provide a suitable workspace in your home, both of which can add additional stress and hassle to the tutoring process.
Limited choice – With in-person tutoring, your choice of tutors is constrained by your physical location. This location restriction means you may find it more difficult to find the “perfect” tutor for your child or that you have a far more limited choice of tutors compared to online tutoring. This may mean you end up using a tutor who may not have the exact experience, qualifications, or skills needed to really help your child.
Plus, when searching for an in-person tutor, it can sometimes be challenging to find out how good they actually are or to find reviews that show the honest views of other parents.
So Which One Should I Choose?
As we have seen above, both types of tutoring have their benefits and potential drawbacks, but many parents and kids find that online tutoring offers many of the same benefits as in-person tutoring, with added convenience, cheaper cost, and a wider choice of tutors.
See why real parents love using Outschool for online tutoring. Getting started is easy – find the perfect online tutor and see it for yourself.
Additional Homeschool Resources
Pros and Cons of Online Tutoring for Homeschool
Supporting Students in Online Socialization
The post Adding Tutoring in Your Homeschool first appeared on Homeschool .com.
Read More Are you considering adding tutoring for your homeschooler? This post sponsored by Outschool weighs the pros and cons of in-person vs. online tutoring.
The post Adding Tutoring in Your Homeschool first appeared on Homeschool .com.
Homeschool Planning, Homeschool Resources, homeschool tutoring, online tutoring, sponsored content, tutoring Homeschool .com