| Personalized online tutoring is fast becoming a | | | | counselor apart from the teacher and reverse |
| popular concept in the US. The appeal lies in the | | | | feedback mechanisms from student to the |
| personal attention devoted to the learner, ready | | | | teacher and academic counselor helps build |
| availability, convenience of use and increased | | | | accountability. |
| affordability due to off-shoring model followed by | | | | Interestingly, several online tutoring providers |
| several tuition providers. | | | | follow a distributed model of teaching where the |
| From the perspective of a learner, it is important | | | | teacher teaches from his/her own home. Several |
| to understand what online tuition is supposed to | | | | other companies provide a matching service |
| deliver and what should the characteristics of | | | | between online tutors and students. While both |
| quality online instruction be. | | | | these models reduce the overheads, they make |
| What is Quality | | | | real time quality control quite difficult. For example, |
| Online tutoring in its best form is supposed to | | | | a ringing doorbell or a bawling kid in the |
| cater to the individual learning aptitude, personality | | | | background may completely ruin the continuity of |
| and pace of the learner while imparting | | | | a learning session in the |
| knowledge, skills and application. Thus quality of an | | | | teacher-teaches-from-home model. |
| online learning program needs to be measured by | | | | Having a centralized teaching facility and the |
| how much knowledge has the learner grasped and | | | | tutors as full time employees goes a long way in |
| retained and how well can he apply it to problem | | | | building and maintaining quality tutoring. The formal |
| solving. | | | | office environment generates professionalism and |
| Parameters affecting quality | | | | a shared service culture so very important in |
| Since by definition, online tutoring has to cater to | | | | ensuring great person-to-person service. |
| the individual differences between learning aptitude | | | | Content quality |
| of the learners, any discussion on quality should | | | | Content comprises of the teaching material, |
| exclude it from parameters affecting learning | | | | books, notes and exercises. |
| outcome. Effective online tutoring is supposed to | | | | Since the basic premise of online tutoring is total |
| teach no matter whether the learner is fast or | | | | personalization, using standard teaching material |
| slow and that is the determinant of its quality. | | | | greatly reduces the effectiveness of instruction. |
| Thus the factors affecting the quality have to be | | | | Experience shows that a single concept can be |
| intrinsic to the process and operation of providing | | | | taught in several different ways and different |
| online tutoring. Broadly, these factors can be | | | | students respond differently to each of these |
| categorized as:o Instructor qualityo Process | | | | approaches. Thus, it is important to assess which |
| controlo Content quality, and,o Technology & | | | | approach to take for which student and present |
| infrastructure | | | | the study material according to the same. |
| Instructor quality | | | | Standard text or notes become pretty ineffective |
| Online instruction takes personalization of teaching | | | | at this stage. |
| to the next level thereby making the role of | | | | Thus, it is important for online tutoring providers |
| instructor even more significant. | | | | to have dedicated content development function. |
| An enthusiastic teacher with great subject matter | | | | The idea is to customize the study material as |
| expertise and teaching aptitude can make the | | | | per the requirement of the learner so that |
| online classes very exciting. The novelty of | | | | benefits of personalization made possible by |
| learning online from a teacher sitting thousands of | | | | offshore online tutoring can be passed onto the |
| miles away becomes an exciting prospect. | | | | student. |
| Thus, in terms of instructor quality, it is important | | | | Technology & infrastructure |
| to ensure that the instructor has sound | | | | Technology and infrastructure play an extremely |
| knowledge of the subject matter, basic teaching | | | | important role of a facilitator - great infrastructure |
| aptitude, great communication skills and in case of | | | | and technology does not automatically ensure |
| offshore teachers, command over spoken English | | | | great teaching but lack of it does ensure no |
| including neutralized accent and an appreciation of | | | | teaching. |
| cross-cultural nuances. | | | | The voice conferencing software, whiteboard etc |
| While the subject matter expertise and teaching | | | | should be reliable and not lead to wasted time in |
| aptitude is to be tested before recruitment, | | | | trying to get the session run smoothly. |
| proper training enables the instructor to | | | | Contrary to popular belief, teaching online students |
| effectively communicate to students across the | | | | across half the earth calls for more than just a |
| globe. | | | | PC with broadband. It is important that the |
| From a process perspective, the implications | | | | tutoring provider invests enough in infrastructure |
| are:a) Online tutoring provider should have | | | | and processes to ensure quality tutoring |
| stringent recruitment criteria to ensure teachers | | | | consistently |
| with good subject knowledge and teaching skillsb) | | | | Conclusion |
| Systematic training be provided to build online | | | | Offshore online tutoring making quality |
| teaching skills to an alien audience (eg students in | | | | personalized help accessible to all is a great |
| an entirely different country) | | | | promise. Quality control of service delivery is |
| Process control | | | | extremely important to impart effective learning. |
| Online tutoring is a person-to-person service. To | | | | Proper recruitment & training processes for |
| ensure quality of interaction between the teacher | | | | tutors, real time process monitoring & |
| and the student, robust quality monitoring and | | | | control, content customization and adequate |
| quality control mechanisms are necessary, | | | | technology & infrastructure are extremely |
| especially while a session is going on. | | | | important to providing exceptional online tutoring, |
| Real time monitoring contributes significantly | | | | consistently. |
| towards ensuring quality. Having an academic | | | | |