School shutdowns and closures throughout the coronavirus pandemic have resulted in dramatic shifts in the ways students learn. Online and virtual classes worked well for some students and teachers, and put many others at a disadvantage. Learning to teach a class in an online space is difficult, especially for teachers who have been working in a classroom their entire careers. Learning to stay focused in an online classroom is difficult for many students, especially when presented with the task of being online for hours on end.
Students who want to improve their experience learning online can work with a one-on-one tutor in virtual tutoring sessions. Technology can elevate the quality of teaching and reduce the barriers created by a virtual setting. Here is a breakdown of what you can expect from the technology available in virtual tutoring.
Technology Helps Tutors Lead Successful Sessions
1. Digital Assessments Help Tutors Track Your Performance Progress
One way technology positively impacts students working with online tutors is by tracking progress that is made. Tutors can track their student’s progress through digital assessments. Using technology to track improvements is a great motivator for students who want results from their tutoring sessions and an important process in successful tutoring sessions.
By using technology to track your progress, your tutor can collect data to pinpoint your areas of weakness. Starting your tutoring sessions by laying a strong foundation is important, and understanding the skills, concepts, and habits that a student struggles with is a crucial first step to making a plan. A tutoring session may be less efficient without taking the time to study the student’s weaknesses. To get specific data about the areas in which a student needs to improve, successful tutors use technological tools and assessments.
Once your tutor understands your weaknesses, you will work together to build a study plan. As you focus your time on minimizing weaknesses, your tutor can track your improvements. Keeping a record of the improvements you make is a great motivator for students working hard to reach their goals with a tutor. Sometimes it takes a student longer than they expect to reach their goals. If you have large goals you are working towards, and big improvements to make, it can feel overwhelming. A tutor can help you track big and small improvements to keep you on track.
Using technology to track a student’s performance also offers great opportunities to recognize milestones in their learning. Tutors help students acknowledge when goals are met by using technology focused on data and results. A great tutor will use the technology available to them in a virtual session to call attention to the goals you accomplish through hard work and dedication.
For many students, working toward a large end goal (like getting into their dream school) feels distant. It can be difficult to maintain the level of effort that is necessary to reach your big goals when they require intense time commitments and improvements. By working with a tutor online, students are able to celebrate improvements that occur on their way to achieving their big goals, which is important for students who struggle with motivation or confidence.
2. Meeting Virtually Is Convenient. Convenience Improves Consistency In Learning
Another benefit of online tutoring that contributes to successful sessions is the factor of convenience and availability that technology equips virtual tutors with. Scheduling regular tutoring sessions is a point of stress for some students looking for academic support. With busy schedules or narrow time frames to make improvements, students may feel like working with a tutor is not worth it for the lack of time available. Students who work with tutors online are able to make more efficient and consistent commitments to their tutoring sessions because working online can happen anywhere.
If you struggle with a busy schedule but want to be consistent with your tutoring sessions, consider how the technology of online learning eases the stress of time commitments and scheduling.
Online tutors are often available for you to message and ask questions outside of your sessions together. Not only is it convenient to meet your tutor online from any location, but you can also reach out to them for support when urgent matters arise.
Staying on a consistent schedule with your tutor is super important to ensure your sessions are successful. Students who meet with their online tutors regularly are able to develop a relationship with someone that they can trust, while consistently working on identifying weaknesses and making improvements. Inconsistent tutoring sessions are less effective. If you only schedule meetings with your tutor in the weeks or days before your exams, you will not experience the same benefits as a student who works with a tutor throughout the school year. Take advantage of the technologies that make consistent tutoring accessible!
Kinds Of Technology Tutorly Uses
The most successful tutors will take advantage of multiple technological resources to ensure you are supported through strong communication and consistent, relevant updates. Digital workspaces allow for real time collaboration and engaging explanations. A great tutor should offer tools and resources for students to ask questions, participate in discussions, and learn efficiently. Some tools you can expect to use when working with a Tutorly tutor are Zoom, Whiteboard, Acuity, Notion, Slack, and Bitpaper.
Zoom
Tutorly tutors meet with students virtually through Zoom. Zoom’s video conferencing tools are a great way to connect with your tutor from anywhere. Conversations, presentations, group meetings, and messaging are possible through Zoom.
Whiteboard
Whiteboard allows tutors and students to collaborate in a shared digital workspace. Tutors may use Whiteboard to provide feedback or show step by step processes. Whiteboard is a great tool that mimics a whiteboard in a classroom, so tutors and students can present, collaborate, draw diagrams, sketch, annotate, and more through a shared digital canvas.
Acuity
Acuity is a great scheduling tool that Tutorly tutors use to make appointments with students. Students and tutors can provide their availability in Acuity, and self-schedule to minimize any time consuming back and forth discussions. Scheduling tutoring sessions is crucial to maintaining consistent study habits, and Acuity is a great tool for booking appointments.
Notion
Tutorly tutors use Notion as a workspace to take notes, organize deadlines, coordinate assignments, and boost efficiency. Notion provides a great technological advantage for students looking to improve their workflow and boost their productivity through better organization.
Slack
Tutors may also use Slack as a messaging platform to organize and streamline communication with their students. Students can benefit from Slack’s technology by reaching out to their tutors whenever they need them. Easy communication and collaboration can make a huge difference in a student’s improvements! Slack is a great tool to improve the communication between tutors and students.
Bitpaper
Bitpaper is another digital workspace where students and tutors can upload images, documents, and files to collaborate on. Bitpaper offers the technology to video call, write content, annotate, review, and screen share in real time. When tutors and students use Bitpaper as a digital canvas, they can save their work and come back to it later for review. Bitpaper specializes in importing content which is useful for tutors and students to go over homework, essays, and assignments without meeting in person.
Ways Technology Can Be Used To Overcome Boredom And Lack Of Attention
Boredom and lack of attention are normal issues that tutors face while working with students. But technology can be used to make boring topics and skills much more engaging. Feeling interested really helps you learn more effectively!
It might not be reasonable to expect students to be excited and enthusiastic about everything they learn in school. If you are a student who struggles to retain information or stay focused in the classes where you feel bored, consider how the technology available in virtual learning can help you overcome boredom and reach your academic goals.
The Convenience Of Online Tutoring Allows Students And Tutors To Meet Consistently, Which Builds Accountability
Another way to hold yourself accountable for your work while minimizing boredom is by sticking to a schedule. By working with a tutor virtually, students are often able to schedule more consistent sessions. If you struggle to hold yourself accountable for the work that is necessary to reach your goals, you can start by structuring your study plan to have regular meetings with your tutor.
Students can avoid boredom by staying busy and focused on their goals. To drive the best results possible, work with your tutor regularly. The best way to maintain a consistent schedule with your tutor is by meeting conveniently, and many students find that a digital meeting is the most accessible for their schedules. Hold yourself accountable for engaging in the subjects that may otherwise bore you by signing up for a tutor who knows the goals you have and will help you stay on track.
When selecting a tutor, it is important to understand how the technology behind successful tutoring sessions works. Consider how working with a tutor online can effectively track your progress. Tracking and recording your progress is one of the ways technology aids a tutor’s ability to build up a student’s confidence and motivation. You should also consider how working in a technologically-centered learning environment enables you to meet with your tutor more consistently. Regular practice and dedication to your progress are crucial for students, and working with a one-on-one tutor online is a great way to conveniently commit your time.
Tutorly offers highly trained, experienced, and empathetic tutors who work with students virtually to achieve their goals. All Tutorly tutors are experts in online learning, and devoted to ensuring students have all of the tools and resources to avoid boredom, stay engaged in their school work, and reach their full academic potential. If you are looking to support or improve your learning experience by working with a tutor in a one-on-one session, sign up for Tutorly!