Every parent wants what is best for their child. This includes good quality education. Deciding which form of education you want to enroll your child in, or which school is best, are all part of the parenting tasks entrusted to every parent. Of course, children are different and so are their needs. One method may work for one and not the other. In this article, we look at the distinctions between online tutoring and in-person tutoring. We will briefly define what online tutoring is, the benefits of online tutoring, and the disadvantages thereof. In addition, we will look at the differences between online tutoring and face-to-face tutoring, as well as the similarities between the two. In conclusion, we will sum up why one has an upper hand over the other. However, you will decide for yourself which one is best.

What is Online Tutoring?

Online tutoring is a form of online education where a student receives tutoring virtually through the internet rather than traditional face-to-face tutoring. It involves the use of digital gadgets to host and attend virtual lessons, such as a computer, internet, videos, whiteboards, etc. The student and the tutor communicate through digital means as well. They can use emails, social media, or any other offline digital messaging system. There are a variety of ways in which tutors can offer their online tutoring services. They can sign up with different online tutoring platforms like Hanatutor. Moreover, a tutor can make use of different digital video-sharing meeting platforms to host online lessons. Zoom and Microsoft Teams are the most popular video-sharing meeting platforms.  

What is Traditional Tutoring?

Traditional face-to-face tutoring is a teaching method where the tutor and the student meet in person. This was developed over time to offer extra support to students outside of the formal classroom. Most students with learning challenges benefit a lot from face-to-face tutoring as lessons usually take place in the comfort of their homes. One may argue that the idea of online tutoring may have stemmed from the notion of comfort, convenience, and flexibility that tutoring generally offers.

The Benefits of Online Tutoring

• Flexibility

Online tutoring offers flexibility to both the tutor and the student. The lessons can take place anywhere, as long as both have access to the internet. Even if you are on vacation, you do not have to miss any lessons. It also offers time flexibility. The tutor and the student usually agree on the lesson time that is suitable for both of them based on their availability and productivity. Moreover, online tutoring has more curriculum flexibility than formal school. The tutor usually identifies the needs of the student, and in conjunction with the student’s learning goals, will design a personalized curriculum for the student.

• Convenience

The obvious convenience is the absence of geographical restrictions. This means there is no traveling or commuting to any meeting place. Lessons can take place from home, which is quite convenient. This is a great benefit as you get to choose where you are most comfortable.

• Cost Effective

There are many ways to save money or cut down on costs with online tutoring. Because the tutors do not have to consider traveling costs, their fees are usually low. With the choice of where you would like to have the lesson, comes the convenience to choose places with free Wi-Fi. You can use your school’s Wi-Fi or attend your lesson from a local café cutting down on your internet costs. Course materials are digital, which means the student does not have to buy any physical materials like books. Tutors use e-books or digital audio to render their services. There is the availability of countless free teaching materials online, so even the tutors have little to spend on materials.

• Diversity

Online tutoring allows tutors to offer their services from anywhere and to anyone around the world. With no geographical restrictions, online tutoring is a global program. Students gain access to be tutored by people of different cultures and experiences which may be beneficial to both the student and tutor. Sharing different ideas and perspectives creates a high-quality curriculum.

• Online Skills

Online tutoring exposes students to techno-digital skills that they surely need for this digital world. Computer skills, online communication skills, the use of digital gadgets, and the use of online tools are some of the skills you may acquire. This may prepare you for future employment as those skills are highly sought after in the job market.

• Available Technological Resources

Technology keeps on advancing at such a rapid speed. This means more and more technological innovations are being made available for internet users, making online tutoring accessible and easy to use. Online tutoring Apps are being developed which may replace the current method of online tutoring as we know it.

The Downside of Online Tutoring

• Not Suitable for All Skills

As amazing as online tutoring is, some skills cannot be taught virtually. For example, hands-on skills can only be effectively offered in person. This means that there are limitations to what virtual learning can offer.  

• Limited Interactions

Face-to-face tutoring creates a more effective tutor-student relationship that is necessary to create an ideal learning environment. With online tutoring, this is not always achievable. Things such as body language and physical actions can be easily conveyed as with in-person tutoring. This may limit the teaching and learning experience and subsequently affect the effectiveness. Although this limitation exists, it is subjective. Some students may well adapt to this kind of learning and find it effective for them.

• High Possibilities for Distractions

The internet is recorded as one of the major life distractors. According to this research article, social media sends cues to an individual which has the potential to take away their attention distracting them from their task at hand. There is always a lure online trying to capture the attention of the user. From social links, YouTube notifications, advertisements, and the like, you may constantly have to fight for undivided attention to your online lesson. See an article by TutorCruncher that speaks more on the pros and cons of online tutoring.

• Poor Dispute Resolution

Should a dispute arise between a tutor and a student, online tutoring offers a poor and slow response. With face-to-face tutoring, dispute resolution is immediate and quick. Whereas, online communication can escalate disputes as words can be misunderstood and tones can be misread.  

• Equipment and Tools

High investment in technological tools and equipment is required with online tutoring. Some online tools are not free and you may have to pay for subscriptions. Some gadgets may require regular repairs or replacements. Parents must also have to consider that online tutoring may also mean more screen time for their children. This may be harmful to your child’s physical and social health. However, anything can be harmful, but with proper management, harm can be mitigated.

• Risk

As with everything, the risk is always a part of life. The online world can be quite risky to maneuver. People scam people off money every single day online. You can press the wrong button and find yourself in deadly agreement. It is not always easy to verify online transactions. As an internet user, it cannot be overstated, that you need to be very careful. To avoid financial losses, Hanatutor advises our students against paying the tutors directly. All payments are made to our business account and we facilitate the payment transaction between the tutor and the student.

Online Tutoring vs. Face-to-Face Tutoring 

There is a misconception that the two are night and day. Not always, there are a few similarities between the two. Let’s look at both sides of the coin.  

The Similarities

• The goal is the same. Both methods involve a tutor offering teaching services to a student.

• The tutor’s job in both cases is to assist a student to achieve their academic goals by guiding them and supporting them through their learning process.

• Curriculum planning is required for both methods. As a tutor, you will have to design a curriculum that meets the needs of your student.

• Professionalism is required from an online tutor or an in-person tutor, including the student. For example, you cannot behave inappropriately during an online class just because it’s not in person. You are still required to be respectful and not make the other uncomfortable.

Face-to-Face Tutoring: Benefits & the Downside

• Interaction

Interactive teaching is probably the best benefit of face-to-face tutoring. Humans generally enjoy interacting with each other on a physical level. This enhances interaction as you can easily read body language and physical actions. The physical presence of the tutor may create a serious and authoritative setting for the student so they can focus and be motivated to learn, rather than play during lesson time. In-person tutoring is the best method for on-hands skills. Such as artistic or creative skills requiring handwork. In-person tutoring allows for immediate instructions, responses, and feedback. It is easy to build tutor-student trust and connection with in-person training than with online training. Trust and close interaction can highly improve the comfort of the child which will in turn improve the effectiveness of the lessons. Distractions can also be avoided with face-to-face tutoring. The tutor can easily notice when a student is losing focus and immediately work towards re-igniting their interest back to the lesson. This is something not easily doable with online tutoring.

The Downside of Face-to-Face Tutoring

• Lack of Flexibility and Convenience

This is essentially the opposite of the convenience of online tutoring. Scheduling, traveling including costs of commuting, costs of physical materials, hosting a tutor in your home or driving to the meeting place, etc.

• Risk

As already said above, we cannot completely run away from risk. There are risks to inviting a stranger into your home as you may know. Risks of leaving your child in the care of a stranger. Even for the tutor, there are risks associated with traveling to a foreign place to meet people you do not know. Putting systems in place to assist you to mitigate risks is highly advisable.

Which One is Better?

It is absolutely up to you to decide what works for you. Remember that two people are not the same. All the benefits of one method might be a disadvantage to one. Your needs, affordability, personality, and access to resources, may inform your decision for choosing one over the other.  

Conclusion

This discussion has covered brief descriptions of what is online tutoring and traditional face-to-face tutoring. Furthermore, we have highlighted how the two work. In addition, we have compared the benefits of one method against the other, and the disadvantages thereof. The question of which one is best requires a subjective analysis of one’s needs. If you thought that this blog article was useful, please let us know in the comment section below.