HYDERABAD: A research associate by the day, Anu tutors Joanne in basic concepts of molecular biology every evening. When e-learning and online learning tools are all the rage, a large number of students and professionals look at online tutoring for part-time employment.
The flexible timings and high remuneration for an hour of tutoring everyday is a plus for those who enjoy teaching.
Sharing her experience of tutoring for close to a year now, Shilpi Jacob, final-year student of M.Sc Physics finds it the ideal way for making some money on the side.
“Since I teach mainly 12 to 14 year olds, my grasp on fundamental concepts in science has improved. Apart from physics, I also teach chemistry which helps me prepare for my national eligibility test (NET) scheduled in June,” says Shilpi who enrolled in Tutorvista to fill in her summer break.
The online tutor services require the tutors to log in at a scheduled time for an online video lesson. Apart from Skype, the web tutorials also employ real-time online communication facilities such as Webex to get the student and the tutor online.
Some of the services also offer help with homework and assignments and require the tutors to send in teaching modules in easy packages for the student to understand. Some of the tutorials also offer to send in completed assignments by the deadline at a price.
“The money is good but the only problem initially was that the students are based abroad and have a problem following Indian accent. With time it got better and it will help me in taking TOEFL. The working hours are flexible which leave enough time to plan my day accordingly,” says Ajith Behera who has been working for an online tutoring service Eduwizards for five months now.
Few online education service providers have Indian students on-board but some of the websites such as Mathguru and Snrytutors seem to be catching up by offering courses for different school boards in India as well as GRE and TOEFL among others. Tutoring has moved ahead of cramped classes at the tutor’s home. Going digital is the new wave.