A child receiving online tutoring at home with a laptop and tutor on screen.

Can Virtual Tutoring Help My Child?

Originally published on the Macaroni KID website
Macaroni KID website

Many students struggle with the rising academic demands of school. They may have difficulty reading increasingly difficult words, writing well-structured sentences and paragraphs, or solving math word problems. For these students, one-on-one tutoring can help them tremendously. With the rise of technology, virtual tutoring can be just as effective as in person tutoring. Let’s take a look at some advantages of virtual tutoring.

Individualized instruction

Your child may have trouble learning and processing new information in a large classroom setting. They may become easily distracted or miss key information as their teacher moves quickly from one concept to the next. In these situations, one-on-one tutoring that is catered to your child’s individual needs can be truly beneficial, including when the tutoring is provided virtually. Your child’s virtual tutor can log onto their school’s online portal with them (if their school has one) and review all of their current and upcoming assignments. The tutor can help your child with relevant school work and fill in any academic gaps they may find along the way. By helping your child complete their school work and fill in these gaps, your child’s virtual tutor can set them up for academic success.

Specialized instruction

Many students benefit from specialized academic tutoring. For example, if your child struggles with reading or has dyslexia, they may benefit from Orton Gillingham tutoring. This method is research-based, multi-sensory, and systematic, and can help your child build much stronger reading skills. However, in some geographic areas, Orton Gillingham tutors aren’t available. That is where virtual tutoring comes in! Virtual tutoring can provide your child with access to Orton Gillingham tutors (or other specialists) who may not be available for in person tutoring in your local geographic area. Other children may benefit from specialized writing, math, test preparation, or executive functioning tutors who may not live in your nearby area. Virtual specialized tutoring can help your child who needs these services make significant academic progress.

Flexible scheduling

Virtual tutoring often allows for much more flexibility than in person tutoring. Often, tutors who work virtually can meet with students for back-to-back sessions without having to build in travel time, typically allowing for more scheduling options. Similarly, with virtual tutoring, because you don’t have to drive your child to a tutor, you save time traveling to sessions and your child may have more slots available for working with a tutor. If there is a snow day and school is canceled, your child can still have their tutoring session! If they are feeling under the weather but have school work to complete, they can still work with their virtual tutor, even for a shorter period of time, to complete the material.

Digital tools

Many students enjoy using digital tools and stay more focused during tutoring sessions when using technology. When working with a virtual tutor, they can engage with one another using digital whiteboards and multi-colored highlighters. They can use screen sharing for reading passages together and can also use multi-sensory tools for phonics, along with digital magnetic tiles for creating words. Digital tools can be integrated throughout virtual tutoring sessions to help engage students and improve their academic skills.

Virtual tutoring is a great option for many students and can be just as effective as in person tutoring! If your child is struggling academically with a skill or set of skills, virtual tutoring can help them improve their academic skills and build their overall confidence.

Dear Dr. Levy, My son received an excellent report card. I can’t say enough good things about his EBL tutor. She has done a tremendous job helping him improve his reading and writing skills. Most importantly, she is wise and kind. She is always patient with him. Because of his tutor, my son writes with much more ease.
– Parent