I have been working in various education systems for over six years, first as a tutor, then as a coach at schools, and most recently as the founder of Tutero, an education startup that now employs over 250 people as tutors or team members. Over this time period, I have had several conversations with parents, teachers, and tutors regarding the merits and drawbacks of online tutoring.

‍

This guide serves as a comprehensive summary of my lessons learned, with the goal of presenting parents with all the information they need to make an informed decision when determining if online tutoring is worth the investment for their child. In this article, I will explore:

‍

• What is online tutoring?
• The benefits of online tutoring
• The downsides of online tutoring
• Does online tutoring support academic growth?
• How online tutoring works at Tutero
• Testimonials and reviews from satisfied parents
• How to create a safe and secure online tutoring environment
• How online tutoring programs can fit various budgets
• Are Tutero’s online tutors qualified and compliant?
• For which students is online tutoring best suited?
• What subjects are available for online tutoring?
• Is online tutoring worth the financial investment?

What is online tutoring?

‍

Online tutoring involves matching students and teachers in a virtual learning environment for the purpose of direct instruction in a particular subject. Just like in traditional tutoring, online tutors will help students understand difficult concepts, work on problem-solving skills, and prepare for tests and examinations.

‍

‍

As one of the founders of Tutero, I have seen first-hand how our tutoring services have transformed the academic trajectory of thousands of Australian students. In a matter of months, I have seen students repair gaps in their foundational understanding, grow in confidence, and achieve grades they previously thought were unattainable. I believe that the ability of our tutors to deliver instruction in a learning environment where students feel comfortable is one of the core drivers of this success.

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The benefits of online tutoring

‍

When deciding whether online tutoring is a worthy investment, it is absolutely essential to understand the benefits for both students and parents. There are several benefits, but I will choose the four that I see resonate with parents most frequently.

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1. Convenience for families

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In the past, tutoring has meant either a stranger coming into your home at peculiar times or driving your child through after-school traffic to a busy tutoring centre. None of that inconvenience is faced when thinking about online tutoring as it removes the need for travel or face-to-face interaction with a tutor. We also have a flexible scheduling model at Tutero which allows parents to choose the times that they would like lessons to occur, enabling them to organise tutoring around their calendar.

‍

Families with multiple siblings will often organise lessons to all occur at the same time so that parents only need to block out one time in their calendar for tutoring for all their kids. As long as the students can access the virtual lessons in different rooms of the house, this is a very convenient solution for families.

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2. Personalised teaching and attention

‍

In a traditional classroom setting, teachers often struggle to cater to the individual needs of every student. Online tutoring can address this issue, offering personalised instruction tailored to each student's unique learning style and pace.

‍

Because tutoring lessons occur online, tutors can easily share their screen on a common learning platform that is accessible by the student. At Tutero, our Australian curriculum aligned learning platform allows tutors to set diagnostic quizzes for their students to pinpoint where the students have gaps. Based on this data, we will then generate a personalised learning program that the tutor follows during their online instruction.

‍

Students also have the uninterrupted attention of their tutor for the entire 60 minute lesson. This direct attention ensures that students remain focused and engaged. It also creates a sense of accountability that results in students completing their homework and independent exercises between tutoring lessons.

‍

3. Engaging teaching methods

‍

The third unique benefit of online tutoring that I have seen parents appreciate is the creative and interactive and digital educational methods we can employ. Online education provides the ability to utilise a range of digital tools that can bring concepts to life in a way that is beyond the reach of traditional classrooms constrained by physical resources.

‍

Consider the teaching of complex scientific concepts, such as the structure of a cell. A conventional classroom often relies on 2D diagrams in textbooks and verbal explanations. However, online tutoring with Tutero transforms this learning experience into an interactive, almost real-life, 3D adventure where students can virtually 'travel' within different parts of a cell. By harnessing the power of interactive software, our tutors guide students to 'zoom into' the cell, allowing them to view its components from different angles and interact with them in real-time.

‍

Such teaching methods promote exploration, curiosity, and active learning — all of which are key elements in successful education. There is nothing more exciting than watching students learn with our tech-enabled interactive teaching methods, that truly offer exceptional opportunities to foster a passion for knowledge in students.

‍

4. Higher quality tutors and student matching

‍

The beauty of online tutoring is that it opens doors to a more comprehensive range of tutors, unhindered by geography. The form of distance learning allows us to explore a wide variety of tutors across the entire state for Year 11 & 12 students, and nationwide for younger year levels. For example, if a student is seeking tutoring in Sydney, we may discover that the best teacher is actually a maths tutor in Brisbane.

‍

This enhanced scope revolutionises the tutor-student matching process. Rather than being constrained by local tutors, we can identify the perfect fit for each student, extending beyond academic capabilities to shared interests, hobbies, and complementary teaching-learning styles. This nuanced approach to pairing is a crucial component of the future of online learning.

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The cons of online tutoring

‍

While online tutoring brings a slew of advantages to the table, it's also important to consider the potential downsides to ensure it's the right fit for your child's learning needs. Two areas where online tutoring can fall short are in offering collaborative learning experiences and teaching certain hands-on skills, such as handwriting.

‍

1. Misses collaborative aspects

‍

A key component of effective learning, as traditionally practised in educational institutions, is collaborative learning. This style of learning emphasises the value of interaction and cooperation among students. It enables children to learn from their peers, boost their social and communication skills, and stay engaged in the learning process.

‍

While online tutoring can offer opportunities for interaction and collaboration, it may not completely mirror the depth of in-person group activities. Online platforms may limit the dynamic exchanges that occur face-to-face. These collaborative experiences can play a crucial role in shaping a student's learning style and ability to work in a team.

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2. Teaching certain skills can be more difficult (eg. handwriting)

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Some learning strategies rely heavily on face-to-face interaction and physical demonstration. Handwriting is a notable example. While many skills can be effectively taught in an online environment, teaching handwriting can be more challenging.

‍

A tutor who is physically present can guide a child's hand, correct their grip, and observe their writing from various angles to provide specific feedback. This facet of teaching and learning handwriting might be difficult to replicate in an online setup. Thus, parents might need to provide additional support in this area or consider combining online tutoring with some in-person assistance.

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How does online tutoring support academic growth?

‍

The principal benefit of online tutoring is the fast rate of academic growth it can create for students. Bloom’s famous research on the two sigma problem highlights that one-to-one tutoring is the most effective educational instrument, leading to students performing two standard deviations above those in a traditional classroom. Further research, conducted through surveys of our tutors, indicates that Tutero’s tutoring software boosts learning outcomes from tutoring sessions by 2.7 times. This serves as compelling evidence of the efficacy of online tutoring classes.

‍

1. Higher quality tutors lead to increased grades

‍

Quality tutors, alongside thoughtful course design and comprehensive course materials, form the foundation for improved grades. When students connect with tutors in our virtual classrooms, we observe a rapid increase in engagement. Tutors adeptly weave curriculum elaborations with real-life examples, such as climate change, effectively bringing the course materials to life for the students. These broader context-driven explanations can also support student’s personal development.

‍

2. The learning environment is private

‍

As students engage with their tutors in a private virtual classroom, they step into a setting where they can acquire knowledge and confidently progress along their learning curve. This lesson design can result in significantly improved learning outcomes, especially for shy students who might feel uneasy in a busy tutoring center or during face-to-face tutoring lessons.

‍

There is strong proof highlighting how this form of private education delivery fosters enhanced confidence growth in students. For instance, in a 2022 survey of our customer base, 98.1% of Tutero students reported "noticeable increases" in confidence as a direct result of their tutoring program.

‍

‍

How online tutoring works at Tutero

‍

At Tutero, our mission is to build the future of online learning. That means designing an online tutoring service that consistently delivers the highest quality educational outcomes and an exceptional customer service to parents. We understand that selecting a tutor for your child is a significant decision, which is why we would like to provide you with some insight into our five-step online tutoring process.

‍

1. We pair students with the right tutor

‍

When students need tutoring, the type of tutor they require depends on the subjects they are currently studying, whether they are in primary school or high school, and their previous experience with home tutors.

‍

At Tutero, you can schedule an educational consultation with one of our experienced learning advisors to discuss your child's needs. The goal of this education consultation is to learn about why your child needs tutoring, set concrete goals for the program and find the perfect tutor. When we match one of our online tutors with a student we consider availability, compatibility and alignment of teaching and active learning styles.

‍

2. Students access lessons with video calling

‍

Once we have found the right tutor for each student, it is then important that the student meet the tutor in the first scheduled lesson. We utilise the latest communication technologies (eg. Zoom and Google Meet) to ensure that lessons can be easily accessed by all students. This creates a dynamic and engaging learning environment.

‍

3. We design a personalised curriculum for students

‍

We know that every student is unique with different strengths, weaknesses and learning goals. Our personalised instructional design process ensures that the course content is tailored to the specific needs and goals of each individual learner, creating a learning program that is both effective and enjoyable.

‍

4. Each family has a dedicated account manager

‍

As we scale our tutoring services, it is very important that we have a good management system to ensure we continue to deliver seamless experiences to each family. That is why we have recently introduced our latest offer, a dedicated account manager for every family.

‍

This person is responsible for handling all administrative and logistical issues, leaving parents free to focus on supporting their child's learning journey. What this means is that families are not staying with Tutero for a short course of teaching, but instead we become a long-term education provider, often supporting multiple siblings within the same family.

‍

5. Students access thousands of resources

‍

We have a vast array of digital learning resources, all designed to enhance and support the learning experience. This allows Tutero’s online tutoring students to also access self-paced learning modules that allow students to reinforce their knowledge and understanding at their own pace. Our learning community loves these resources and we have even heard stories of them being shared with classmates at school.

‍

At the end of each lesson, parents will be able to access detailed progress reports to evaluate their child’s strengths and weaknesses, and stay attuned to their progress along the national curriculum.

‍

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Testimonials and reviews from satisfied parents

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Since we began delivering tutoring services in February 2021, we have been fortunate enough to support over 2,000 families with high-quality educational support. Over this time, we have learned how to improve our offering to ensure that every student that begins with Tutero receives Australia’s best educational support.

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How parents hear about Tutero

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Our founding team is based in Melbourne, so initially we saw most demand for our tutoring in Melbourne but over time parents started to hear about Tutero through our sales and marketing on Facebook, Instagram and Google. Now we are seeing  parents share Tutero (and testimonials about our virtual learning) with their friends and colleagues through word-of-mouth.

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Positive feedback & testimonials

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We have received positive feedback for multiple aspects of our online tutoring:

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1. The quality of our tutors
2. Our content and learning resources
3. The care that our Learning Advisors have when choosing tutors
4. The quality of our parent and student portals (online learning platform)
5. The affordability of our services

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We work tirelessly to recruit the best online instructors, produce leading resources, and develop excellent software for our families. We are grateful that our customers appreciate our efforts to create the best distance education service in Australia.

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We have also interviewed several parents about their experiences with Tutero, you can watch these videos and learn about our success stories at this page here.

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Constructive feedback we receive

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Over the past few years, we have received constructive feedback from parents. While we aim to deliver perfect experiences, we acknowledge that this feedback helps us refine and improve our offerings for future customers. Here are some of the feedback points we have received:

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1. Slow loading virtual environment (lesson space)
2. Tutors missing important classes due to illness
3. Lessons are not structured in the most efficient manner

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Since receiving feedback from parents, we have made several improvements to our product. These include improving its speed, providing clear guidelines to our tutors regarding the importance of consistency, and offering more detailed training on how to structure lessons for students of different ages.

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How to create a safe and secure online tutoring environment

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At Tutero, I've made it a key focus to ensure a safe and comfortable online tutoring environment, and that begins with a careful tutor selection process. Every year, we are lucky enough to get over 10,000 excellent applications to join our tutoring team. We only pick the very best (top 2%) of these tutors to ensure that we maintain the highest quality of tutoring.

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Once the tutors join the team, they need to complete on a rigorous program of online study. This training program teaches them about managing students in an online learning environment. They delve into our custom 12-module training program that covers every facet of learning management, online student engagement, and effective tutoring pedagogy. Tutors are also required to complete specific modules that focus on the subjects they teach. For example, our primary school tutors are required to complete the compulsory English and maths modules.

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Every tutor also needs to sit an exam once they have completed the training to ensure that they are truly equipped with the tools they need to deliver top-quality tutoring sessions consistently.

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But our commitment doesn't stop there. Our dedicated team tutor operations team oversees and evaluates the performance of tutors, ensuring the quality of learning and the safety of our online environment. We also have a cyber security team that works to ensure that all information is kept private and is only accessible to the relevant stakeholders when learning online.

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We are a national tutoring provider, with hundreds of online tutors in Australia. All of this work is how we ensure that our online tutoring is still known for its safety and reliability.

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How online tutoring programs can fit various budgets

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Because online tutoring programs can be adapted, they can be designed in a way that fits any budget. Families with limited budgets can opt for shorter and less frequent tutoring sessions at a lower cost, which can help to reduce the overall program cost. The decreased teaching time can be offset by higher levels of independent learning by the student. In these circumstances, we will often ask our tutors to create a structured homework program to ensure that students get the full value of their educational program even if if they don’t attend classes as regularly.

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Our Learning Advisors frequently speak with cost-conscious parents who know that starting with a tutoring company is a material investment. Therefore they are trained to follow the above playbook to reduce the expenses associated with our online education. The advantage of having many learning technologies included in the online tutoring price is that students are not limited in terms of their learning outcomes. Their school tutor will still provide resources and structure outside of classes.

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Unlike online courses, these programs provide students with one-on-one instruction, resulting in higher levels of understanding and participation. This also increases the probability of students completing the course and improving their confidence and grades at school. We believe that having flexible pricing for our tutoring programs is an essential step towards creating a society where every student, regardless of location or socio-economic status, can access supplementary education to support their learning in school.

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Are Tutero’s online tutors qualified and compliant?

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Before a tutor can begin working with Tutero, we perform several checks to ensure they are qualified to teach (based on their academic credentials and pedagogical training) and compliant with Australian working with children standards.

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To verify their study score and wider academic credentials, we may ask for the tutor's university and high school transcripts. Additionally, we require tutors to complete an exam on Tutero's guidelines and teaching methodology before they can begin supporting any students. On our learning platform, the project manager assigned to a tutor will also ensure that they have uploaded several government documents, including a valid Working With Children Check, to confirm that they are approved by government bodies to work with students under the age of 18.

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Where are online tutors recruited from?

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In addition to our compliance checks and extensive professional development, we ensure that all our online tutors are of the highest quality. This is crucial in maintaining the consistent excellent quality of education we provide. We achieve this by recruiting tutors from select university degrees and experienced teachers looking for a career change.

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Degrees from which we often recruit incredible tutors include:

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• Computer Science
• Science & Engineering
• Medical Education (Medicine)
• Creative Arts
• Commerce
• Law
• Mathematics
• Psychology

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We match tutors who hold certain degrees with students studying specific school subjects. For example, if a student needs tutoring in math methods, we will choose a tutor who has a background in math at the university level. If a student requires support in legal studies, we will select a tutor with a background in law. This ensures that every student has an outstanding tutoring experience, and that the tutor can also serve as a role model during the online lessons.

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Are online tutors based in Australia?

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If you are receiving tutoring in Australia, it is important to be matched with a tutor near you, who is comfortable adapting your learning plan to what you are currently studying in school. As such, every one of Tutero’s tutors is based in Australia and comfortable with the Australian curriculum. Because of these strict requirements, we often will reject tutors who are studying online degrees or international students at Australian universities.

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Because we only focus on recruiting tutors in Australia, we are lucky enough to have a diverse pool of tutors across the country, including English tutors in Melbourne, English tutors in Brisbane, maths tutors in Sydney and tutors in Adelaide.

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For which students is online tutoring best suited?

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Online tutoring is best suited for four categories of students. The first category is students who have fallen behind and want to catch up at school. These students may lack confidence and feel shy or embarrassed about their academic understanding. Online tutoring benefits them by providing a private and non-judgemental environment free from peers. The second category is students with busy schedules who cannot travel to a tutoring centre. Online tutoring is convenient for them because they can schedule sessions when they are available.

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The third category is students in remote areas without access to in-person tutoring. Online tutoring provides accessibility over the internet and helps these students reap the benefits of education. Finally, students completing homeschooling often prefer online tutoring because lessons can be scheduled during the day, and a cross-subject curriculum can be easily organised to meet their needs.

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What subjects are available for online tutoring?

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Almost every subject that is taught at school is available for online tutoring. At Tutero, our most popular courses are maths and English, but we also offer additional subjects such as chemistry, physics, biology, business and management, economics and even information technology. Recently we have added language learning classes such as French, Japanese and Indonesian, but these often have limited availability.

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In addition to the core subjects of maths and English, we have recently also been supporting a number of high school students with their study skills. Ensuring that they have the techniques and habits in place to get the most out of both classroom teaching and independent learning. There have also been some students who are completing homeschooling (often for reasons such as travel or mental health breaks), in these instances we can design cross-subject curriculum to align with the homeschooling requirements in Australia.

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Is online tutoring worth the financial investment?

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Online tutoring typically ranges from $60 to $80 per hour, with each session lasting one hour. Students usually begin to see benefits after 6-7 lessons, and experience the full benefit after a year of tutoring. Given the cost and time commitment, families should carefully consider online tutoring as a significant financial investment.

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Although online tutoring requires a significant investment, its benefits are clear. Students receive personalised teaching and learning that caters to their exact needs in an environment where they feel comfortable, free of judgment, and able to ask questions. The rate of learning from tutoring is two standard deviations higher than that of classroom teaching, meaning that students can learn more in one lesson than they might in an entire day at school.

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Online tutoring offers students an excellent education. This type of learning enables students to quickly boost their confidence and grades at school, improve their chances of getting into their desired university degree, and set them up for long-term personal and professional success. So, if you're wondering whether online tutoring is worth the investment, consider this: you're not just helping your child catch up at school, but also allowing them to realise their full academic and professional potential, at a cost that is much more reasonable (and potentially more impactful) than private school fees.

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If you want to try online tutoring, feel free to book your first lesson with Tutero's qualified online tutors.

I have been working in various education systems for over six years, first as a tutor, then as a coach at schools, and most recently as the founder of Tutero, an education startup that now employs over 250 people as tutors or team members. Over this time period, I have had several conversations with parents, teachers, and tutors regarding the merits and drawbacks of online tutoring.

‍

This guide serves as a comprehensive summary of my lessons learned, with the goal of presenting parents with all the information they need to make an informed decision when determining if online tutoring is worth the investment for their child. In this article, I will explore:

‍

• What is online tutoring?
• The benefits of online tutoring
• The downsides of online tutoring
• Does online tutoring support academic growth?
• How online tutoring works at Tutero
• Testimonials and reviews from satisfied parents
• How to create a safe and secure online tutoring environment
• How online tutoring programs can fit various budgets
• Are Tutero’s online tutors qualified and compliant?
• For which students is online tutoring best suited?
• What subjects are available for online tutoring?
• Is online tutoring worth the financial investment?

What is online tutoring?

‍

Online tutoring involves matching students and teachers in a virtual learning environment for the purpose of direct instruction in a particular subject. Just like in traditional tutoring, online tutors will help students understand difficult concepts, work on problem-solving skills, and prepare for tests and examinations.

‍

‍

As one of the founders of Tutero, I have seen first-hand how our tutoring services have transformed the academic trajectory of thousands of Australian students. In a matter of months, I have seen students repair gaps in their foundational understanding, grow in confidence, and achieve grades they previously thought were unattainable. I believe that the ability of our tutors to deliver instruction in a learning environment where students feel comfortable is one of the core drivers of this success.

‍

The benefits of online tutoring

‍

When deciding whether online tutoring is a worthy investment, it is absolutely essential to understand the benefits for both students and parents. There are several benefits, but I will choose the four that I see resonate with parents most frequently.

‍

1. Convenience for families

‍

In the past, tutoring has meant either a stranger coming into your home at peculiar times or driving your child through after-school traffic to a busy tutoring centre. None of that inconvenience is faced when thinking about online tutoring as it removes the need for travel or face-to-face interaction with a tutor. We also have a flexible scheduling model at Tutero which allows parents to choose the times that they would like lessons to occur, enabling them to organise tutoring around their calendar.

‍

Families with multiple siblings will often organise lessons to all occur at the same time so that parents only need to block out one time in their calendar for tutoring for all their kids. As long as the students can access the virtual lessons in different rooms of the house, this is a very convenient solution for families.

‍

‍

2. Personalised teaching and attention

‍

In a traditional classroom setting, teachers often struggle to cater to the individual needs of every student. Online tutoring can address this issue, offering personalised instruction tailored to each student's unique learning style and pace.

‍

Because tutoring lessons occur online, tutors can easily share their screen on a common learning platform that is accessible by the student. At Tutero, our Australian curriculum aligned learning platform allows tutors to set diagnostic quizzes for their students to pinpoint where the students have gaps. Based on this data, we will then generate a personalised learning program that the tutor follows during their online instruction.

‍

Students also have the uninterrupted attention of their tutor for the entire 60 minute lesson. This direct attention ensures that students remain focused and engaged. It also creates a sense of accountability that results in students completing their homework and independent exercises between tutoring lessons.

‍

3. Engaging teaching methods

‍

The third unique benefit of online tutoring that I have seen parents appreciate is the creative and interactive and digital educational methods we can employ. Online education provides the ability to utilise a range of digital tools that can bring concepts to life in a way that is beyond the reach of traditional classrooms constrained by physical resources.

‍

Consider the teaching of complex scientific concepts, such as the structure of a cell. A conventional classroom often relies on 2D diagrams in textbooks and verbal explanations. However, online tutoring with Tutero transforms this learning experience into an interactive, almost real-life, 3D adventure where students can virtually 'travel' within different parts of a cell. By harnessing the power of interactive software, our tutors guide students to 'zoom into' the cell, allowing them to view its components from different angles and interact with them in real-time.

‍

Such teaching methods promote exploration, curiosity, and active learning — all of which are key elements in successful education. There is nothing more exciting than watching students learn with our tech-enabled interactive teaching methods, that truly offer exceptional opportunities to foster a passion for knowledge in students.

‍

4. Higher quality tutors and student matching

‍

The beauty of online tutoring is that it opens doors to a more comprehensive range of tutors, unhindered by geography. The form of distance learning allows us to explore a wide variety of tutors across the entire state for Year 11 & 12 students, and nationwide for younger year levels. For example, if a student is seeking tutoring in Sydney, we may discover that the best teacher is actually a maths tutor in Brisbane.

‍

This enhanced scope revolutionises the tutor-student matching process. Rather than being constrained by local tutors, we can identify the perfect fit for each student, extending beyond academic capabilities to shared interests, hobbies, and complementary teaching-learning styles. This nuanced approach to pairing is a crucial component of the future of online learning.

‍

‍

The cons of online tutoring

‍

While online tutoring brings a slew of advantages to the table, it's also important to consider the potential downsides to ensure it's the right fit for your child's learning needs. Two areas where online tutoring can fall short are in offering collaborative learning experiences and teaching certain hands-on skills, such as handwriting.

‍

1. Misses collaborative aspects

‍

A key component of effective learning, as traditionally practised in educational institutions, is collaborative learning. This style of learning emphasises the value of interaction and cooperation among students. It enables children to learn from their peers, boost their social and communication skills, and stay engaged in the learning process.

‍

While online tutoring can offer opportunities for interaction and collaboration, it may not completely mirror the depth of in-person group activities. Online platforms may limit the dynamic exchanges that occur face-to-face. These collaborative experiences can play a crucial role in shaping a student's learning style and ability to work in a team.

‍

2. Teaching certain skills can be more difficult (eg. handwriting)

‍

Some learning strategies rely heavily on face-to-face interaction and physical demonstration. Handwriting is a notable example. While many skills can be effectively taught in an online environment, teaching handwriting can be more challenging.

‍

A tutor who is physically present can guide a child's hand, correct their grip, and observe their writing from various angles to provide specific feedback. This facet of teaching and learning handwriting might be difficult to replicate in an online setup. Thus, parents might need to provide additional support in this area or consider combining online tutoring with some in-person assistance.

‍

‍

How does online tutoring support academic growth?

‍

The principal benefit of online tutoring is the fast rate of academic growth it can create for students. Bloom’s famous research on the two sigma problem highlights that one-to-one tutoring is the most effective educational instrument, leading to students performing two standard deviations above those in a traditional classroom. Further research, conducted through surveys of our tutors, indicates that Tutero’s tutoring software boosts learning outcomes from tutoring sessions by 2.7 times. This serves as compelling evidence of the efficacy of online tutoring classes.

‍

1. Higher quality tutors lead to increased grades

‍

Quality tutors, alongside thoughtful course design and comprehensive course materials, form the foundation for improved grades. When students connect with tutors in our virtual classrooms, we observe a rapid increase in engagement. Tutors adeptly weave curriculum elaborations with real-life examples, such as climate change, effectively bringing the course materials to life for the students. These broader context-driven explanations can also support student’s personal development.

‍

2. The learning environment is private

‍

As students engage with their tutors in a private virtual classroom, they step into a setting where they can acquire knowledge and confidently progress along their learning curve. This lesson design can result in significantly improved learning outcomes, especially for shy students who might feel uneasy in a busy tutoring center or during face-to-face tutoring lessons.

‍

There is strong proof highlighting how this form of private education delivery fosters enhanced confidence growth in students. For instance, in a 2022 survey of our customer base, 98.1% of Tutero students reported "noticeable increases" in confidence as a direct result of their tutoring program.

‍

‍

How online tutoring works at Tutero

‍

At Tutero, our mission is to build the future of online learning. That means designing an online tutoring service that consistently delivers the highest quality educational outcomes and an exceptional customer service to parents. We understand that selecting a tutor for your child is a significant decision, which is why we would like to provide you with some insight into our five-step online tutoring process.

‍

1. We pair students with the right tutor

‍

When students need tutoring, the type of tutor they require depends on the subjects they are currently studying, whether they are in primary school or high school, and their previous experience with home tutors.

‍

At Tutero, you can schedule an educational consultation with one of our experienced learning advisors to discuss your child's needs. The goal of this education consultation is to learn about why your child needs tutoring, set concrete goals for the program and find the perfect tutor. When we match one of our online tutors with a student we consider availability, compatibility and alignment of teaching and active learning styles.

‍

2. Students access lessons with video calling

‍

Once we have found the right tutor for each student, it is then important that the student meet the tutor in the first scheduled lesson. We utilise the latest communication technologies (eg. Zoom and Google Meet) to ensure that lessons can be easily accessed by all students. This creates a dynamic and engaging learning environment.

‍

3. We design a personalised curriculum for students

‍

We know that every student is unique with different strengths, weaknesses and learning goals. Our personalised instructional design process ensures that the course content is tailored to the specific needs and goals of each individual learner, creating a learning program that is both effective and enjoyable.

‍

4. Each family has a dedicated account manager

‍

As we scale our tutoring services, it is very important that we have a good management system to ensure we continue to deliver seamless experiences to each family. That is why we have recently introduced our latest offer, a dedicated account manager for every family.

‍

This person is responsible for handling all administrative and logistical issues, leaving parents free to focus on supporting their child's learning journey. What this means is that families are not staying with Tutero for a short course of teaching, but instead we become a long-term education provider, often supporting multiple siblings within the same family.

‍

5. Students access thousands of resources

‍

We have a vast array of digital learning resources, all designed to enhance and support the learning experience. This allows Tutero’s online tutoring students to also access self-paced learning modules that allow students to reinforce their knowledge and understanding at their own pace. Our learning community loves these resources and we have even heard stories of them being shared with classmates at school.

‍

At the end of each lesson, parents will be able to access detailed progress reports to evaluate their child’s strengths and weaknesses, and stay attuned to their progress along the national curriculum.

‍

‍

Testimonials and reviews from satisfied parents

‍

Since we began delivering tutoring services in February 2021, we have been fortunate enough to support over 2,000 families with high-quality educational support. Over this time, we have learned how to improve our offering to ensure that every student that begins with Tutero receives Australia’s best educational support.

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How parents hear about Tutero

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Our founding team is based in Melbourne, so initially we saw most demand for our tutoring in Melbourne but over time parents started to hear about Tutero through our sales and marketing on Facebook, Instagram and Google. Now we are seeing  parents share Tutero (and testimonials about our virtual learning) with their friends and colleagues through word-of-mouth.

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Positive feedback & testimonials

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We have received positive feedback for multiple aspects of our online tutoring:

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1. The quality of our tutors
2. Our content and learning resources
3. The care that our Learning Advisors have when choosing tutors
4. The quality of our parent and student portals (online learning platform)
5. The affordability of our services

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We work tirelessly to recruit the best online instructors, produce leading resources, and develop excellent software for our families. We are grateful that our customers appreciate our efforts to create the best distance education service in Australia.

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We have also interviewed several parents about their experiences with Tutero, you can watch these videos and learn about our success stories at this page here.

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Constructive feedback we receive

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Over the past few years, we have received constructive feedback from parents. While we aim to deliver perfect experiences, we acknowledge that this feedback helps us refine and improve our offerings for future customers. Here are some of the feedback points we have received:

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1. Slow loading virtual environment (lesson space)
2. Tutors missing important classes due to illness
3. Lessons are not structured in the most efficient manner

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Since receiving feedback from parents, we have made several improvements to our product. These include improving its speed, providing clear guidelines to our tutors regarding the importance of consistency, and offering more detailed training on how to structure lessons for students of different ages.

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How to create a safe and secure online tutoring environment

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At Tutero, I've made it a key focus to ensure a safe and comfortable online tutoring environment, and that begins with a careful tutor selection process. Every year, we are lucky enough to get over 10,000 excellent applications to join our tutoring team. We only pick the very best (top 2%) of these tutors to ensure that we maintain the highest quality of tutoring.

‍

Once the tutors join the team, they need to complete on a rigorous program of online study. This training program teaches them about managing students in an online learning environment. They delve into our custom 12-module training program that covers every facet of learning management, online student engagement, and effective tutoring pedagogy. Tutors are also required to complete specific modules that focus on the subjects they teach. For example, our primary school tutors are required to complete the compulsory English and maths modules.

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Every tutor also needs to sit an exam once they have completed the training to ensure that they are truly equipped with the tools they need to deliver top-quality tutoring sessions consistently.

‍

But our commitment doesn't stop there. Our dedicated team tutor operations team oversees and evaluates the performance of tutors, ensuring the quality of learning and the safety of our online environment. We also have a cyber security team that works to ensure that all information is kept private and is only accessible to the relevant stakeholders when learning online.

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We are a national tutoring provider, with hundreds of online tutors in Australia. All of this work is how we ensure that our online tutoring is still known for its safety and reliability.

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How online tutoring programs can fit various budgets

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Because online tutoring programs can be adapted, they can be designed in a way that fits any budget. Families with limited budgets can opt for shorter and less frequent tutoring sessions at a lower cost, which can help to reduce the overall program cost. The decreased teaching time can be offset by higher levels of independent learning by the student. In these circumstances, we will often ask our tutors to create a structured homework program to ensure that students get the full value of their educational program even if if they don’t attend classes as regularly.

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Our Learning Advisors frequently speak with cost-conscious parents who know that starting with a tutoring company is a material investment. Therefore they are trained to follow the above playbook to reduce the expenses associated with our online education. The advantage of having many learning technologies included in the online tutoring price is that students are not limited in terms of their learning outcomes. Their school tutor will still provide resources and structure outside of classes.

‍

Unlike online courses, these programs provide students with one-on-one instruction, resulting in higher levels of understanding and participation. This also increases the probability of students completing the course and improving their confidence and grades at school. We believe that having flexible pricing for our tutoring programs is an essential step towards creating a society where every student, regardless of location or socio-economic status, can access supplementary education to support their learning in school.

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Are Tutero’s online tutors qualified and compliant?

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Before a tutor can begin working with Tutero, we perform several checks to ensure they are qualified to teach (based on their academic credentials and pedagogical training) and compliant with Australian working with children standards.

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To verify their study score and wider academic credentials, we may ask for the tutor's university and high school transcripts. Additionally, we require tutors to complete an exam on Tutero's guidelines and teaching methodology before they can begin supporting any students. On our learning platform, the project manager assigned to a tutor will also ensure that they have uploaded several government documents, including a valid Working With Children Check, to confirm that they are approved by government bodies to work with students under the age of 18.

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Where are online tutors recruited from?

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In addition to our compliance checks and extensive professional development, we ensure that all our online tutors are of the highest quality. This is crucial in maintaining the consistent excellent quality of education we provide. We achieve this by recruiting tutors from select university degrees and experienced teachers looking for a career change.

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Degrees from which we often recruit incredible tutors include:

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• Computer Science
• Science & Engineering
• Medical Education (Medicine)
• Creative Arts
• Commerce
• Law
• Mathematics
• Psychology

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We match tutors who hold certain degrees with students studying specific school subjects. For example, if a student needs tutoring in math methods, we will choose a tutor who has a background in math at the university level. If a student requires support in legal studies, we will select a tutor with a background in law. This ensures that every student has an outstanding tutoring experience, and that the tutor can also serve as a role model during the online lessons.

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Are online tutors based in Australia?

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If you are receiving tutoring in Australia, it is important to be matched with a tutor near you, who is comfortable adapting your learning plan to what you are currently studying in school. As such, every one of Tutero’s tutors is based in Australia and comfortable with the Australian curriculum. Because of these strict requirements, we often will reject tutors who are studying online degrees or international students at Australian universities.

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Because we only focus on recruiting tutors in Australia, we are lucky enough to have a diverse pool of tutors across the country, including English tutors in Melbourne, English tutors in Brisbane, maths tutors in Sydney and tutors in Adelaide.

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For which students is online tutoring best suited?

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Online tutoring is best suited for four categories of students. The first category is students who have fallen behind and want to catch up at school. These students may lack confidence and feel shy or embarrassed about their academic understanding. Online tutoring benefits them by providing a private and non-judgemental environment free from peers. The second category is students with busy schedules who cannot travel to a tutoring centre. Online tutoring is convenient for them because they can schedule sessions when they are available.

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The third category is students in remote areas without access to in-person tutoring. Online tutoring provides accessibility over the internet and helps these students reap the benefits of education. Finally, students completing homeschooling often prefer online tutoring because lessons can be scheduled during the day, and a cross-subject curriculum can be easily organised to meet their needs.

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What subjects are available for online tutoring?

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Almost every subject that is taught at school is available for online tutoring. At Tutero, our most popular courses are maths and English, but we also offer additional subjects such as chemistry, physics, biology, business and management, economics and even information technology. Recently we have added language learning classes such as French, Japanese and Indonesian, but these often have limited availability.

‍

In addition to the core subjects of maths and English, we have recently also been supporting a number of high school students with their study skills. Ensuring that they have the techniques and habits in place to get the most out of both classroom teaching and independent learning. There have also been some students who are completing homeschooling (often for reasons such as travel or mental health breaks), in these instances we can design cross-subject curriculum to align with the homeschooling requirements in Australia.

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Is online tutoring worth the financial investment?

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Online tutoring typically ranges from $60 to $80 per hour, with each session lasting one hour. Students usually begin to see benefits after 6-7 lessons, and experience the full benefit after a year of tutoring. Given the cost and time commitment, families should carefully consider online tutoring as a significant financial investment.

‍

Although online tutoring requires a significant investment, its benefits are clear. Students receive personalised teaching and learning that caters to their exact needs in an environment where they feel comfortable, free of judgment, and able to ask questions. The rate of learning from tutoring is two standard deviations higher than that of classroom teaching, meaning that students can learn more in one lesson than they might in an entire day at school.

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Online tutoring offers students an excellent education. This type of learning enables students to quickly boost their confidence and grades at school, improve their chances of getting into their desired university degree, and set them up for long-term personal and professional success. So, if you're wondering whether online tutoring is worth the investment, consider this: you're not just helping your child catch up at school, but also allowing them to realise their full academic and professional potential, at a cost that is much more reasonable (and potentially more impactful) than private school fees.

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If you want to try online tutoring, feel free to book your first lesson with Tutero's qualified online tutors.

I have been working in various education systems for over six years, first as a tutor, then as a coach at schools, and most recently as the founder of Tutero, an education startup that now employs over 250 people as tutors or team members. Over this time period, I have had several conversations with parents, teachers, and tutors regarding the merits and drawbacks of online tutoring.

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This guide serves as a comprehensive summary of my lessons learned, with the goal of presenting parents with all the information they need to make an informed decision when determining if online tutoring is worth the investment for their child. In this article, I will explore:

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• What is online tutoring?
• The benefits of online tutoring
• The downsides of online tutoring
• Does online tutoring support academic growth?
• How online tutoring works at Tutero
• Testimonials and reviews from satisfied parents
• How to create a safe and secure online tutoring environment
• How online tutoring programs can fit various budgets
• Are Tutero’s online tutors qualified and compliant?
• For which students is online tutoring best suited?
• What subjects are available for online tutoring?
• Is online tutoring worth the financial investment?

What is online tutoring?

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Online tutoring involves matching students and teachers in a virtual learning environment for the purpose of direct instruction in a particular subject. Just like in traditional tutoring, online tutors will help students understand difficult concepts, work on problem-solving skills, and prepare for tests and examinations.

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As one of the founders of Tutero, I have seen first-hand how our tutoring services have transformed the academic trajectory of thousands of Australian students. In a matter of months, I have seen students repair gaps in their foundational understanding, grow in confidence, and achieve grades they previously thought were unattainable. I believe that the ability of our tutors to deliver instruction in a learning environment where students feel comfortable is one of the core drivers of this success.

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The benefits of online tutoring

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When deciding whether online tutoring is a worthy investment, it is absolutely essential to understand the benefits for both students and parents. There are several benefits, but I will choose the four that I see resonate with parents most frequently.

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1. Convenience for families

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In the past, tutoring has meant either a stranger coming into your home at peculiar times or driving your child through after-school traffic to a busy tutoring centre. None of that inconvenience is faced when thinking about online tutoring as it removes the need for travel or face-to-face interaction with a tutor. We also have a flexible scheduling model at Tutero which allows parents to choose the times that they would like lessons to occur, enabling them to organise tutoring around their calendar.

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Families with multiple siblings will often organise lessons to all occur at the same time so that parents only need to block out one time in their calendar for tutoring for all their kids. As long as the students can access the virtual lessons in different rooms of the house, this is a very convenient solution for families.

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2. Personalised teaching and attention

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In a traditional classroom setting, teachers often struggle to cater to the individual needs of every student. Online tutoring can address this issue, offering personalised instruction tailored to each student's unique learning style and pace.

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Because tutoring lessons occur online, tutors can easily share their screen on a common learning platform that is accessible by the student. At Tutero, our Australian curriculum aligned learning platform allows tutors to set diagnostic quizzes for their students to pinpoint where the students have gaps. Based on this data, we will then generate a personalised learning program that the tutor follows during their online instruction.

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Students also have the uninterrupted attention of their tutor for the entire 60 minute lesson. This direct attention ensures that students remain focused and engaged. It also creates a sense of accountability that results in students completing their homework and independent exercises between tutoring lessons.

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3. Engaging teaching methods

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The third unique benefit of online tutoring that I have seen parents appreciate is the creative and interactive and digital educational methods we can employ. Online education provides the ability to utilise a range of digital tools that can bring concepts to life in a way that is beyond the reach of traditional classrooms constrained by physical resources.

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Consider the teaching of complex scientific concepts, such as the structure of a cell. A conventional classroom often relies on 2D diagrams in textbooks and verbal explanations. However, online tutoring with Tutero transforms this learning experience into an interactive, almost real-life, 3D adventure where students can virtually 'travel' within different parts of a cell. By harnessing the power of interactive software, our tutors guide students to 'zoom into' the cell, allowing them to view its components from different angles and interact with them in real-time.

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Such teaching methods promote exploration, curiosity, and active learning — all of which are key elements in successful education. There is nothing more exciting than watching students learn with our tech-enabled interactive teaching methods, that truly offer exceptional opportunities to foster a passion for knowledge in students.

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4. Higher quality tutors and student matching

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The beauty of online tutoring is that it opens doors to a more comprehensive range of tutors, unhindered by geography. The form of distance learning allows us to explore a wide variety of tutors across the entire state for Year 11 & 12 students, and nationwide for younger year levels. For example, if a student is seeking tutoring in Sydney, we may discover that the best teacher is actually a maths tutor in Brisbane.

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This enhanced scope revolutionises the tutor-student matching process. Rather than being constrained by local tutors, we can identify the perfect fit for each student, extending beyond academic capabilities to shared interests, hobbies, and complementary teaching-learning styles. This nuanced approach to pairing is a crucial component of the future of online learning.

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The cons of online tutoring

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While online tutoring brings a slew of advantages to the table, it's also important to consider the potential downsides to ensure it's the right fit for your child's learning needs. Two areas where online tutoring can fall short are in offering collaborative learning experiences and teaching certain hands-on skills, such as handwriting.

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1. Misses collaborative aspects

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A key component of effective learning, as traditionally practised in educational institutions, is collaborative learning. This style of learning emphasises the value of interaction and cooperation among students. It enables children to learn from their peers, boost their social and communication skills, and stay engaged in the learning process.

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While online tutoring can offer opportunities for interaction and collaboration, it may not completely mirror the depth of in-person group activities. Online platforms may limit the dynamic exchanges that occur face-to-face. These collaborative experiences can play a crucial role in shaping a student's learning style and ability to work in a team.

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2. Teaching certain skills can be more difficult (eg. handwriting)

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Some learning strategies rely heavily on face-to-face interaction and physical demonstration. Handwriting is a notable example. While many skills can be effectively taught in an online environment, teaching handwriting can be more challenging.

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A tutor who is physically present can guide a child's hand, correct their grip, and observe their writing from various angles to provide specific feedback. This facet of teaching and learning handwriting might be difficult to replicate in an online setup. Thus, parents might need to provide additional support in this area or consider combining online tutoring with some in-person assistance.

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How does online tutoring support academic growth?

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The principal benefit of online tutoring is the fast rate of academic growth it can create for students. Bloom’s famous research on the two sigma problem highlights that one-to-one tutoring is the most effective educational instrument, leading to students performing two standard deviations above those in a traditional classroom. Further research, conducted through surveys of our tutors, indicates that Tutero’s tutoring software boosts learning outcomes from tutoring sessions by 2.7 times. This serves as compelling evidence of the efficacy of online tutoring classes.

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1. Higher quality tutors lead to increased grades

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Quality tutors, alongside thoughtful course design and comprehensive course materials, form the foundation for improved grades. When students connect with tutors in our virtual classrooms, we observe a rapid increase in engagement. Tutors adeptly weave curriculum elaborations with real-life examples, such as climate change, effectively bringing the course materials to life for the students. These broader context-driven explanations can also support student’s personal development.

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2. The learning environment is private

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As students engage with their tutors in a private virtual classroom, they step into a setting where they can acquire knowledge and confidently progress along their learning curve. This lesson design can result in significantly improved learning outcomes, especially for shy students who might feel uneasy in a busy tutoring center or during face-to-face tutoring lessons.

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There is strong proof highlighting how this form of private education delivery fosters enhanced confidence growth in students. For instance, in a 2022 survey of our customer base, 98.1% of Tutero students reported "noticeable increases" in confidence as a direct result of their tutoring program.

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How online tutoring works at Tutero

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At Tutero, our mission is to build the future of online learning. That means designing an online tutoring service that consistently delivers the highest quality educational outcomes and an exceptional customer service to parents. We understand that selecting a tutor for your child is a significant decision, which is why we would like to provide you with some insight into our five-step online tutoring process.

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1. We pair students with the right tutor

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When students need tutoring, the type of tutor they require depends on the subjects they are currently studying, whether they are in primary school or high school, and their previous experience with home tutors.

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At Tutero, you can schedule an educational consultation with one of our experienced learning advisors to discuss your child's needs. The goal of this education consultation is to learn about why your child needs tutoring, set concrete goals for the program and find the perfect tutor. When we match one of our online tutors with a student we consider availability, compatibility and alignment of teaching and active learning styles.

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2. Students access lessons with video calling

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Once we have found the right tutor for each student, it is then important that the student meet the tutor in the first scheduled lesson. We utilise the latest communication technologies (eg. Zoom and Google Meet) to ensure that lessons can be easily accessed by all students. This creates a dynamic and engaging learning environment.

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3. We design a personalised curriculum for students

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We know that every student is unique with different strengths, weaknesses and learning goals. Our personalised instructional design process ensures that the course content is tailored to the specific needs and goals of each individual learner, creating a learning program that is both effective and enjoyable.

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4. Each family has a dedicated account manager

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As we scale our tutoring services, it is very important that we have a good management system to ensure we continue to deliver seamless experiences to each family. That is why we have recently introduced our latest offer, a dedicated account manager for every family.

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This person is responsible for handling all administrative and logistical issues, leaving parents free to focus on supporting their child's learning journey. What this means is that families are not staying with Tutero for a short course of teaching, but instead we become a long-term education provider, often supporting multiple siblings within the same family.

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5. Students access thousands of resources

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We have a vast array of digital learning resources, all designed to enhance and support the learning experience. This allows Tutero’s online tutoring students to also access self-paced learning modules that allow students to reinforce their knowledge and understanding at their own pace. Our learning community loves these resources and we have even heard stories of them being shared with classmates at school.

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At the end of each lesson, parents will be able to access detailed progress reports to evaluate their child’s strengths and weaknesses, and stay attuned to their progress along the national curriculum.

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Testimonials and reviews from satisfied parents

‍

Since we began delivering tutoring services in February 2021, we have been fortunate enough to support over 2,000 families with high-quality educational support. Over this time, we have learned how to improve our offering to ensure that every student that begins with Tutero receives Australia’s best educational support.

‍

How parents hear about Tutero

‍

Our founding team is based in Melbourne, so initially we saw most demand for our tutoring in Melbourne but over time parents started to hear about Tutero through our sales and marketing on Facebook, Instagram and Google. Now we are seeing  parents share Tutero (and testimonials about our virtual learning) with their friends and colleagues through word-of-mouth.

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Positive feedback & testimonials

‍

We have received positive feedback for multiple aspects of our online tutoring:

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1. The quality of our tutors
2. Our content and learning resources
3. The care that our Learning Advisors have when choosing tutors
4. The quality of our parent and student portals (online learning platform)
5. The affordability of our services

‍

We work tirelessly to recruit the best online instructors, produce leading resources, and develop excellent software for our families. We are grateful that our customers appreciate our efforts to create the best distance education service in Australia.

‍

‍

‍

We have also interviewed several parents about their experiences with Tutero, you can watch these videos and learn about our success stories at this page here.

‍

Constructive feedback we receive

‍

Over the past few years, we have received constructive feedback from parents. While we aim to deliver perfect experiences, we acknowledge that this feedback helps us refine and improve our offerings for future customers. Here are some of the feedback points we have received:

‍

1. Slow loading virtual environment (lesson space)
2. Tutors missing important classes due to illness
3. Lessons are not structured in the most efficient manner

‍

Since receiving feedback from parents, we have made several improvements to our product. These include improving its speed, providing clear guidelines to our tutors regarding the importance of consistency, and offering more detailed training on how to structure lessons for students of different ages.

‍

How to create a safe and secure online tutoring environment

‍

At Tutero, I've made it a key focus to ensure a safe and comfortable online tutoring environment, and that begins with a careful tutor selection process. Every year, we are lucky enough to get over 10,000 excellent applications to join our tutoring team. We only pick the very best (top 2%) of these tutors to ensure that we maintain the highest quality of tutoring.

‍

Once the tutors join the team, they need to complete on a rigorous program of online study. This training program teaches them about managing students in an online learning environment. They delve into our custom 12-module training program that covers every facet of learning management, online student engagement, and effective tutoring pedagogy. Tutors are also required to complete specific modules that focus on the subjects they teach. For example, our primary school tutors are required to complete the compulsory English and maths modules.

‍

‍

Every tutor also needs to sit an exam once they have completed the training to ensure that they are truly equipped with the tools they need to deliver top-quality tutoring sessions consistently.

‍

But our commitment doesn't stop there. Our dedicated team tutor operations team oversees and evaluates the performance of tutors, ensuring the quality of learning and the safety of our online environment. We also have a cyber security team that works to ensure that all information is kept private and is only accessible to the relevant stakeholders when learning online.

‍

We are a national tutoring provider, with hundreds of online tutors in Australia. All of this work is how we ensure that our online tutoring is still known for its safety and reliability.

‍

‍

How online tutoring programs can fit various budgets

‍

Because online tutoring programs can be adapted, they can be designed in a way that fits any budget. Families with limited budgets can opt for shorter and less frequent tutoring sessions at a lower cost, which can help to reduce the overall program cost. The decreased teaching time can be offset by higher levels of independent learning by the student. In these circumstances, we will often ask our tutors to create a structured homework program to ensure that students get the full value of their educational program even if if they don’t attend classes as regularly.

‍

‍

Our Learning Advisors frequently speak with cost-conscious parents who know that starting with a tutoring company is a material investment. Therefore they are trained to follow the above playbook to reduce the expenses associated with our online education. The advantage of having many learning technologies included in the online tutoring price is that students are not limited in terms of their learning outcomes. Their school tutor will still provide resources and structure outside of classes.

‍

Unlike online courses, these programs provide students with one-on-one instruction, resulting in higher levels of understanding and participation. This also increases the probability of students completing the course and improving their confidence and grades at school. We believe that having flexible pricing for our tutoring programs is an essential step towards creating a society where every student, regardless of location or socio-economic status, can access supplementary education to support their learning in school.

‍

Are Tutero’s online tutors qualified and compliant?

‍

Before a tutor can begin working with Tutero, we perform several checks to ensure they are qualified to teach (based on their academic credentials and pedagogical training) and compliant with Australian working with children standards.

‍

To verify their study score and wider academic credentials, we may ask for the tutor's university and high school transcripts. Additionally, we require tutors to complete an exam on Tutero's guidelines and teaching methodology before they can begin supporting any students. On our learning platform, the project manager assigned to a tutor will also ensure that they have uploaded several government documents, including a valid Working With Children Check, to confirm that they are approved by government bodies to work with students under the age of 18.

‍

Where are online tutors recruited from?

‍

In addition to our compliance checks and extensive professional development, we ensure that all our online tutors are of the highest quality. This is crucial in maintaining the consistent excellent quality of education we provide. We achieve this by recruiting tutors from select university degrees and experienced teachers looking for a career change.

‍

Degrees from which we often recruit incredible tutors include:

‍

• Computer Science
• Science & Engineering
• Medical Education (Medicine)
• Creative Arts
• Commerce
• Law
• Mathematics
• Psychology

‍

We match tutors who hold certain degrees with students studying specific school subjects. For example, if a student needs tutoring in math methods, we will choose a tutor who has a background in math at the university level. If a student requires support in legal studies, we will select a tutor with a background in law. This ensures that every student has an outstanding tutoring experience, and that the tutor can also serve as a role model during the online lessons.

‍

Are online tutors based in Australia?

‍

If you are receiving tutoring in Australia, it is important to be matched with a tutor near you, who is comfortable adapting your learning plan to what you are currently studying in school. As such, every one of Tutero’s tutors is based in Australia and comfortable with the Australian curriculum. Because of these strict requirements, we often will reject tutors who are studying online degrees or international students at Australian universities.

‍

Because we only focus on recruiting tutors in Australia, we are lucky enough to have a diverse pool of tutors across the country, including English tutors in Melbourne, English tutors in Brisbane, maths tutors in Sydney and tutors in Adelaide.

‍

‍

For which students is online tutoring best suited?

‍

Online tutoring is best suited for four categories of students. The first category is students who have fallen behind and want to catch up at school. These students may lack confidence and feel shy or embarrassed about their academic understanding. Online tutoring benefits them by providing a private and non-judgemental environment free from peers. The second category is students with busy schedules who cannot travel to a tutoring centre. Online tutoring is convenient for them because they can schedule sessions when they are available.

‍

The third category is students in remote areas without access to in-person tutoring. Online tutoring provides accessibility over the internet and helps these students reap the benefits of education. Finally, students completing homeschooling often prefer online tutoring because lessons can be scheduled during the day, and a cross-subject curriculum can be easily organised to meet their needs.

‍

‍

‍

What subjects are available for online tutoring?

‍

Almost every subject that is taught at school is available for online tutoring. At Tutero, our most popular courses are maths and English, but we also offer additional subjects such as chemistry, physics, biology, business and management, economics and even information technology. Recently we have added language learning classes such as French, Japanese and Indonesian, but these often have limited availability.

‍

In addition to the core subjects of maths and English, we have recently also been supporting a number of high school students with their study skills. Ensuring that they have the techniques and habits in place to get the most out of both classroom teaching and independent learning. There have also been some students who are completing homeschooling (often for reasons such as travel or mental health breaks), in these instances we can design cross-subject curriculum to align with the homeschooling requirements in Australia.

‍

‍

‍

Is online tutoring worth the financial investment?

‍

Online tutoring typically ranges from $60 to $80 per hour, with each session lasting one hour. Students usually begin to see benefits after 6-7 lessons, and experience the full benefit after a year of tutoring. Given the cost and time commitment, families should carefully consider online tutoring as a significant financial investment.

‍

Although online tutoring requires a significant investment, its benefits are clear. Students receive personalised teaching and learning that caters to their exact needs in an environment where they feel comfortable, free of judgment, and able to ask questions. The rate of learning from tutoring is two standard deviations higher than that of classroom teaching, meaning that students can learn more in one lesson than they might in an entire day at school.

‍

Online tutoring offers students an excellent education. This type of learning enables students to quickly boost their confidence and grades at school, improve their chances of getting into their desired university degree, and set them up for long-term personal and professional success. So, if you're wondering whether online tutoring is worth the investment, consider this: you're not just helping your child catch up at school, but also allowing them to realise their full academic and professional potential, at a cost that is much more reasonable (and potentially more impactful) than private school fees.

‍

If you want to try online tutoring, feel free to book your first lesson with Tutero's qualified online tutors.