Online Tutor - Blog Post 7

   The article on the differences between the role of an online tutor versus an in-person tutor impressed me with how much it broke down the feedback process. When talking with a student face-to-face, it's easy to give a general answer. If the student is confused, you can immediately tell it based on their reaction and clarify without hassle. With an actual written response, there is more of commitment. Nobody likes constantly emailing back and forth, so there is an expectation that what you send to a student will be helpful without immediate feedback from them.

    This brings up the obvious question: How do we take those virtues and add them to our current approach to tutoring? One possibility would be to add extra work by asking the student to send and receive tutoring through email in addition to the weekly tutoring sessions. The problem with adding this element is that it would be a lot more work for both the student and the tutor. A better approach then may be to provide written examples during the face-to-face online meetings, using the whiteboard function. Tutor examples take time to write, so this would be most feasible if the student provides their own writing before the meeting... But this is a good idea in general, as a prepared tutor is always more helpful. 

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