Some students prefer remote tutoring for scheduling reasons, others for convenience; many simply prefer a session over Zoom or FaceTime to one in person. Through the use of appropriate technology and methods, instruction over the internet can actually facilitate a student's goals and needs in ways that in-person tutoring cannot.
AN effective approach
Comfort - Students, simply put, like the internet. Sitting in front of a computer screen (as opposed to in a classroom or other in-person format) puts students at ease, making the learning process more effective.
Technology - Through the use of programs like Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, as well as Twiddla and Idroo, tutors and students can look at and edit the exact same documents, spreadsheets or blackboard in real time.
Integration - Most of the work that students do these days - writing, researching, communicating with other students and teachers - is done over the internet, and adding tutoring to that list is a logical step. It means that students can accomplish everything in one place.
Rapt Attention -.Meeting over the internet via programs like Skype and FaceTime forces both tutor and student to look right at one another (due to the physical placement of webcams). This focus is reinforced by the fact that tutors and students are usually looking at the same documents or research on their respective screens at the same time.
Complementary - Some students who participate in group or one-on-one courses with Ascendant request additional time or sessions. Internet sessions often effectively complement in-person learning.
A FEASIBLE solution
Deadlines - Sometimes, students need last-minute help finishing, proofreading, or editing an assignment or preparing for a test. It can often be difficult to schedule an impromptu in-person session, whereas scheduling one at the last minute over the internet is much more feasible.
Scheduling - Students often have schedules that are as busy as many adults, or busier. They leave for school early and get home - from jobs, internships, sports teams and other extracurricular activities - late. These hectic schedules make scheduling sessions difficult, as neither students nor tutors want to meet in-person early in the morning or late at night; meeting over the internet at those times makes more sense.
Advanced Topics - When a student needs help with a particularly difficult, obscure, or advanced topic, - such as advanced mathematics or science topics, or graduate thesis editing - it may not be easy to find a tutor anywhere who can help. Ascendant has those specialists on its team, but they may live in a different city from the student, so meeting via the internet or over the phone is the only reasonable solution.
Distance - Finding a local tutor who can come to your home isn't only difficult for advanced topics. Most tutors live inside major metropolitan areas - but there are students who need help all across the country, and world. When your family lives outside a metropolitan area, or a student goes to boarding school or college outside of a major city, teletutoring may be the only feasible choice.
