Technology has improved significantly during the last 20 years to the level where it is now quite simple and cost-efficient to offer tutoring services online. While many independent tutors and tutoring companies view this as a favorable change in the market it also poses many threats to existing businesses. Many articles consider the advantages and disadvantages of online tutoring from the perspective of the student – this informative article will explore this topic from the perspective of the tutoring business.
Advantages
The option of technology for online tutoring is most advantageous to new tutors or tutoring companies that are not yet established in the market. Online tutoring requires low start-up costs, it opens the tutor up to and including bigger market and offers more flexibility for scheduling. Let’s have a look at each one of these advantages one at the same time:
Lower barriers to entry
Although a lot of independent tutors likewise have low start-up costs, if you are a tutoring company and decide to go the web route, you are able to avoid many of the expenses associated with starting up a conventional tutoring company. Traditional companies often require an office for administration or where tutoring occurs, marketing through local media, driving to meetings to prospective clients, etc. 私補價錢 Online tutoring companies don’t require an office other when compared to a home office and definitely don’t demand a building for teaching students. Online marketing is less expensive and may be targeted more directly than traditional marketing, and speaking with clients can be done online or by phone. These low start-up costs make it much simpler for new businesses to begin online.
Larger market
Traditional tutoring companies are limited by geography – they can’t cost-effectively serve students outside of these geographic area due to time-constraints linked to transportation and the price of transportation. Because of this, tutoring companies have much smaller markets and can just only enter new markets by the addition of new locations. Online tutoring businesses don’t face this limitation. They are able to reach anyone with a net connection and really the only limitation is language. Because of this many individuals prefer to begin an online tutoring company so that they may reach a much larger market. This can be a great strategy if your company teaches a very specialized subject that will not have enough people locally to guide the business.
Tutoring companies can also hire tutors from a much larger area and may be much more successful to find top-quality teachers in the subjects they offer.
Flexibility
Online tutoring companies have more flexibility since they can choose to show students in various time zones. Tutors that are only available to show in the late evening can quickly teach students from the later timezone where it is afternoon. This makes it easier for independent tutors to suit their tutoring into their personal or work schedule.
Lower operating costs
The ongoing operating costs of running an online tutoring business are also below traditional tutoring. A number of the eliminated costs come in the shape of building leases, phone, transportation and marketing. Online tutors can perform everything from their home, they can use free or low-cost online phones like Skype for communication and they don’t have to spend money driving to the tutoring office or even to clients’ homes.
Disadvantages
Many of the features of online tutoring can also pose challenges for tutoring companies. We’ll consider the disadvantages below one at a time.
Lower barriers to entry
Low barriers to entry make online tutoring attractive to new tutoring companies, however for incumbents this is a negative because it makes it easier for new companies to enter industry and contend with them. This ultimately results in more price competition and lower profit margins.
Competition from other markets and other countries
Online tutoring overcomes the geography barrier which will be also a disadvantage for existing tutoring businesses. Which means that rather than facing competition only from tutoring companies in their immediate market they now face competition from tutors in the rest of the united states and in other countries all-together. Many online tutors are from countries like India where the price of living is much lower. Thy can teach American students online and charge a rate that’s still much below standard rates in the United States, though well above the rate they’d earn for tutoring in their very own country.
Technology limitations of students
Many people have a laptop or computer at home and internet access, many students who need tutoring do not have the required technology to receive online tutoring. In addition to some type of computer, a high-speed internet connection is ideal, a headset and microphone are needed for speaking with the tutor, and hardware such as a writing board might be required depending on the subject. This means if your organization wants to offer only online tutoring you will see many students that you cannot reach.
Effectiveness
While online tutoring can be effective, you can find certain subjects where face-to-face communication and explaining concepts on a sheet of paper are more efficient than communicating online. It can be tougher to help keep students engaged when tutoring online, that may have a negative influence on the student’s progress.