Everything You Need to Know About Online Tutoring for Kids

If you are a parent looking to help your child in school, you may be considering online tutoring.  Here you will find information about how tutors can leverage technology to work online with students, how near-peer tutoring can help your child, and why online tutoring is often a convenient option. 

New Trends in Online Tutoring

Students are understandably grateful to be back in the classroom with their peers, engaging in group learning and socializing in person. But when it comes to academic material where students are struggling, personalized one-on-one online tutoring offers benefits students can’t access during their regular school day. 

Despite their eagerness to return to school, over 15 months of online learning many students found components of the digital classroom that worked for them: moving at their own pace, pursuing topics of particular interest, and being able to focus without distraction in their own private study space at home. The good news is that with convenient and affordable online tutoring, families can keep the best of what the digital classroom has to offer even though regular classes are back in brick-and-mortar schools. 

How does online tutoring work? 

Students are now accustomed to learning online with tools like Zoom and Google Meet that allowed them to attend classes during the pandemic. GoPeer tutors utilize familiar tools like video streaming and screen sharing, as well as GoPeer’s innovative shared whiteboard tool, to meet students where they are at and tailor instruction to their needs. Trained and experienced tutors, all of them students at selective colleges and universities, can hone in on any learning gaps that students were left with in the wake of distance learning, helping students catch up quickly and preventing them from falling behind again this year.   

Unfortunately, without their usual in-school support, many students did lose ground during the 2020-2021 academic year. While some of these supports are back in place now that students have returned to school buildings, the continued need for masking and social distancing can present a disadvantage. The majority of students rely on that personal, face-to-face connection in order to make their learning stick. Although this may not be happening at school, it’s easy to come by via on-line tutoring. With a national pool of tutors to choose from, students are also able to connect online with tutors whose expertise and skills dovetail perfectly with their own interests and needs, all from the comfort of home. 

The benefits of near-peer tutoring

With select college students working with your K-12 student, they will get the benefits of near peer tutoring, which studies show to be as effective as expert teaching in medical education. Near peer tutoring can be defined as a more advanced student tutoring another student, rather than both students being true peers in ability. With GoPeer’s college-aged tutors, your tutor will be close enough in age to your child to understand their perspective and foresee misunderstandings, but with the experience and maturity that allows them to maximize their effectiveness as a tutor. As most parents have experienced, there is such a thing as too close for tutoring. When we were all trying to teach our kids at home at the start of the pandemic, it felt like trying to mix oil and water! Teaching and learning relationships benefit from just enough distance to make them productive. 

College students also make appropriate mentors for your child. You can, for example, find a tutor who is studying topics your child is interested in, or who is attending a school where your child intends to apply. Tutors may have overcome some of the same obstacles your child is facing and have tips and strategies to share with your young learner. 

Online tutoring allows you to be selective without sacrificing quality or convenience 

Online tutoring offers a one-on-one learning experience that allows students to overcome challenges and master difficult material. GoPeer even has the new technological capability of allowing two tutors to work with a student at the same time if your situation calls for it. 

With online tutoring, you are not limited to the knowledge base of tutors available in your area at the distance of a convenient commute. With minimal interruption to their schedule, your student can catch up on learning they may have missed due to the struggles of the pandemic and be certain not to fall behind with the current challenges presented by social distancing. Students looking for enrichment learning to supplement their schoolwork will also find tutors eager to engage their curiosity. With personalized online tutoring, you will find a tutor whose expertise matches your child’s individual needs, setting the stage for a successful and productive relationship. 

How to Find the Perfect Tutor for Your Child 

Finding the right tutor to meet your child’s needs can be overwhelming and anxiety-inducing. An online algorithm can simplify this process. 

When you first begin to look for help for your child, you will likely be faced with a bevy of individuals and agencies vying for your attention, some of them peddling services at outrageous cost. You may wonder if spending more money is necessary to get your child the help they need. Teachers who haven’t been able to reach your child may recommend interventions that simply aren’t feasible. The laborious process of locating and vetting available tutors would require many hours of time that you simply don’t have. 

Simplifying the task of finding the right tutor

With GoPeer online tutoring, you are able to select from a diversity of tutors available across the country to work with your child’s specific needs—and the best part is that you don’t have to do the footwork on your own. GoPeer’s algorithm will use your child’s age and the subject or area in which they need help to find the best available tutors for them. You will have the opportunity to interview a tutor prior to signing your child up for a session, and once you feel good about a match your child and their new tutor can get right down to work. 

Online safety is always a concern for parents, who know that not all kids understand the permanence of their digital footprints. With GoPeer, students can use private chats that don’t leave their communication exposed. Parents are able to use family portals in order to protect their privacy. 

Best of all, by selecting from the large number of tutors available with GoPeer, you will be able to find someone who perfectly matches your child’s temperament, interests, and needs, whether those are for remediation or enrichment.