on the cusp of a paradigm shift
December 6th, 2007 by jseguritanGreetings everyone!
My name is Jeffrey and I very much appreciate this opportunity to communicate to other tutors (particularly prospective ones) about how I started out on Ziizoo and what I’ve learned thus far in navigating through the initiation stages of this online tutoring marketplace.
I first learned about Ziizoo after a serendipitous click of a Facebook link I found on the Marketplace application when it was still in its early stages, sometime in the middle of this year. I had gone through several tutoring gigs while at college and for the Princeton Review, and was curious by the very concept of “online tutoring”. On a first glance, it was a concept that seemed anathema to what we generally consider the best virtues of traditional tutoring–the face-to-face setting, the interaction of personalities, the ability to discern a student’s body language, and just the palpable sense of energy and charisma that can be displayed. That is not easy to translate into the ostensibly faceless, distant and virtual internet platform. But I soon learned that it is possible to mitigate, through experience and savvy, that perception and reality, while appreciating the incredible potential that unfolded before me. It is now possible to teach and tutor students in any subject from anywhere in the world at any time, adding more glue to the creation of a truly global community of which we are rapidly forming part of.
So what is the best way to be smart about entering the world of online tutoring? Some people have considered tutoring to be a science governed by some hard-and-fast rules and time-honored best practices, while perhaps a larger school of thought believe it to be more of an art that hinges on creativity and flexibility to adapt to the pedagogical needs of students. Surely it is both, but above all, the most important thing to keep in mind about online tutoring is that it is first and foremost a RELATIONSHIP. So is face-to-face tutoring, but this is the ultimate burden of tutoring online–having to raze those extra barriers inextricably erected in any and all online interaction. You need to have a rather transparent and vibrant online personality, and you need to do those extra little things that will cement that proverbial trust between yourself and your student–things like offering a free trial session, entertaining various ad-hoc questions and requests, being available at times convenient for your student, and not wasting their time in a session. You should aim to traverse the extra mile when it comes to exhibiting patience, subject expertise, cheerful optimism and simple faith in your student’s aptitudes, so that your student will come to realize your best intentions and your best attributes.
I’m eager to hear about many of your thoughts about online tutoring and how you perceive this experience and potential to be. I believe Ziizoo is making great strides to become the platform for online tutoring, and I certainly invite and challenge each of you to join me in making that happen.
December 6th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
I agree that online tutoring has a huge potential and a bright future. The concept ziizoo is implementing is very promising. Some students are attracted by the convenience of their credit card being billed after the tutoring session, not having to prepay in advance via a third-party site or service. More and more students are looking for online tutoring, reaching out to tutors far away from their home towns. So talent and quality are growing in relative importance, making geographical location less of a factor for students when they chose a tutor. The inevitable development in Internet communication tools will only accelerate this change.