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 great change in the market additionally it poses many threats to existing businesses. Many articles look at the advantages and disadvantages of online tutoring from the perspective of the student – this article will explore this topic from the perspective of the tutoring business.
Advantages
The accessibility to technology for online tutoring is most advantageous to new tutors or tutoring companies that aren’t yet established in the market. Online tutoring requires low start-up costs, it opens the tutor up to a much bigger market and offers more flexibility for scheduling. Let’s have a look at all these advantages one at a time:
Lower barriers to entry
Although a lot of independent tutors also have low start-up costs, if you’re a tutoring company and opt to go the online route, you can avoid most of the expenses connected with establishing a conventional tutoring company. Traditional companies often require a company for administration or where tutoring happens, marketing through local media, driving to meetings to prospective clients, etc. 導師 Online tutoring companies don’t require a company other when compared to a home business office and definitely don’t need a building for teaching students. Online marketing is lower cost and can be targeted more directly than traditional marketing, and speaking with clients can be achieved 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 their geographic area due to time-constraints related to transportation and the price of transportation. Because of this, tutoring companies have much smaller markets and can only enter new markets by the addition of new locations. Online tutoring businesses don’t face this limitation. They could reach a person with an internet connection and the sole limitation is language. Because of this many individuals prefer to begin an on the web tutoring company so that they may reach a bigger market. This can be quite a excellent strategy if your company teaches a very specialized subject that could not have enough people locally to guide the business.
Tutoring companies may also hire tutors from a bigger area and may become more successful to find top-quality teachers in the subjects they offer.
Flexibility
Online tutoring companies have more flexibility since they are able to choose to show students in different time zones. Tutors that are only available to show in the late evening can quickly teach students from a later timezone where it is afternoon. This helps it be easier for independent tutors to match their tutoring within their personal or work schedule.
Lower operating costs
The ongoing operating costs of running an on the web tutoring business may also be lower than traditional tutoring. Some of the eliminated costs come in the form of building leases, phone, transportation and marketing. Online tutors can perform everything from their property, they are able to use free or low-cost online phones like Skype for communication and they don’t have to invest money driving to the tutoring office or to clients’ homes.
Disadvantages
Lots of the benefits of online tutoring may also pose challenges for tutoring companies. We’ll look at the disadvantages below one at a time.
Lower barriers to entry
Low barriers to entry make online tutoring appealing to new tutoring companies, but also for incumbents this is a negative as it helps it be 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 as opposed to facing competition only from tutoring companies inside 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 an interest rate that is still much lower than 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 pc at home and access to the internet, many students who need tutoring do not have the required technology for online tutoring. In addition to a pc, a high-speed internet connection is ideal, a headset and microphone are required for speaking with the tutor, and hardware such as a writing board may be required with respect to the subject. This means if your organization wants to offer only online tutoring you will have many students that you can’t 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 far better than communicating online. It may also be more difficult to keep students engaged when tutoring online, that may have a negative effect on the student’s progress.