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| Path: Main Street : Resources & Library : Research Articles : Feature Article |
E-what? The e-tutoring experience
For over two years, Macdonald Youth Services (MYS) has successfully involved virtual volunteers from near and far in their agency programs. Since October 1998, virtual volunteers have embraced the challenges and rewards of Online Educational Tutoring. Based on their experiences with MYS, two such Online Tutors have provided their invaluable insights below.
Talya Rotem-Assaf:
While performing her Online Tutoring role for MYS from January to June 2000 Talya resided in Toronto (Canada), where she was pursuing an M.A at the University of Toronto. Talya's account provides an overview of her role and proceeds to highlight some of the benefits both students and Online Tutor can experience. Among other successes, she has shown that physical distance was not a barrier when using this electronic medium for tutoring.Gisele Balcaen:
Gisele, who holds two undergraduate degrees, is a professionally trained teacher living in rural Manitoba (Canada). Although her initial Online Tutoring began in March 2000 (and continued until school year end in June), she resumed her role with the same student in October 2000. Her experience also demonstrates the strength and potential of this medium (as she initially tutored French as a second language).E-what? The e-tutoring experience
By Talya Rotem-Assaf
E-business, E-trade, E-commerce, E-investing, E-money. Get the feeling that the human touch has disappeared from most E-euphemisms? That business and personal prosperity guide most web-based interactions? That we are a generation of E-gotistic-dare I say, E-me-technophiles, adopting Big Business's perception that the internet is a business-only tool? Perhaps.
Enter stage right: E-Tutoring.
Despite today's E-Me trend, there is one area-still in its infancy but growing rapidly-where technology is being used a vehicle for volunteering, E-tutoring (also known as virtual teaching, virtual volunteering and virtual buddies) uses technology to connect tutors with students. This opportunity offers priceless rewards to all of the participants. Despite the lousy pay for volunteers, the "feel good" incentive makes it all worthwhile!I am one of several Virtual Volunteers with the MacDonald Youth Services, a Winnipeg, Manitoba-based charitable organization that provides children and their families with a range of quality treatment and support services. Earlier this year I was matched up with a student who required assistance in his Canadian society class. Using chat technology and web-surfing skills, we have weekly sessions on topics based on class lessons such as Canadian law, citizen rights and the Canadian government.
The challenges for the E-tutor aren't limited to the topic alone, but include the obstacle of how to keep the student interested in a lesson that excludes face-to face communication. My own answer to this challenge has been to add humour to every lesson. Creativity is the key to bridging the gap between traditional tutoring and this new virtual experience.
The experience has offered my student and me numerous benefits. Here are but a handful:
- E-distance - Not surprisingly, E-tutoring eliminates distance barriers.
- E-ducation - E-tutoring provides students with a dual learning experience: they use technology to learn about a specific school topic. This is an excellent way to get students to increase their familiarity with technology
- E-njoyment - E-tutoring provides volunteers with a tremendous amount of gratification from helping others
- E-flexibility - E-tutoring is flexible on two levels: tutoring can be done for any school subject depending only on the volunteers' knowledge; and the volunteering opportunity itself can be extended from tutoring to other types of assistance (i.e. web design, writing newsletter articles, etc.)
E-tutoring programs can be implemented with relative ease and adopted by any organization with only a handful of volunteers.
Talya Rotem-Assaf:
While performing her Online Tutoring role for Macdonald Youth Services from January to June 2000 Talya resided in Toronto (Canada), where she was pursuing an M.A at the University of Toronto.
Gisèle Balcaen
Introduction
From March to June of this year I was an online tutor (Gisele recontinued in October 2000). Every Tuesday from 6 :30 to
7 :30, I met with my learner online in a chat session. My learner was a 13 year old girl who needed extra support for her French class at school. At first I found the experience to be quite daunting and challenging. After the first few sessions I settled in and began to feel more comfortable.Impressions on the medium of online tutoring
The medium of online tutoring requires a continuous and flow of meaningful communication between the tutor and the learner. In so being, it becomes essential for both to be on task, concentrating on understanding the other persons dialogue while preparing for the response that will be forthcoming.
Having only the written word as your means of teaching you have to learn to "read between the lines." For example, if the learner is slow to respond after a query does that mean the learner is off focus or doesn't understand; if all of a sudden he types his response very quickly with many spelling mistakes, then you can surmise that the learner is excited and is eager to respond; if the learner goes off subject then it's time to take a mental break and about talk anything that comes to mind for a few minutes.
Through my experience I would think that online tutoring helps adolescents and/or adults overcome their fear of being discovered or teased by peers for receiving supplementary or remedial teaching. It provides anonymity and privacy. As well, online tutoring is convenient for the tutor and learner in that they can both stay at home and in so doing experience little disruption of family or home time. There are also no travel expenses.
Tutors
In order to be a successful the tutor has to be the best teacher he/she can be because of the limitation to the written word alone with no or little access to visual, auditory aids to assist the learning process. The tutor must continuously evaluate and interpret the learner's responses to discern and identify "holes" in the learning process. Once the errors in learning are identified these have to be immediately rectified in order progress in the subject matter in question. It is essentially mastery learning.
Learners
As well, the learner has to be the best learner he can be. He cannot slip away in daydreams or be a passive learner as in a regular classroom setting. He must be honest with himself and admit that he does not understand even if doing so feels uncomfortable in that he has to expose certain shortcomings in his learning style that caused the learner to feel embarrassed.
Motivating the learner is easier than in the classroom setting because of the exclusivity of the tutor-learner relationship. A frienship develops as well as feelings of mutual trust.
Software
The ICQ software that we were using offered many background colors and fonts as well as short expressive actions and even some sounds and expressive faces that added the feeling of emotion to the experience.
For more information about Macdonald Youth Services, visit www.mys.mb.ca.
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