The Tutor.com Blog

For this month’s Tutor.com Reads post, book club newcomer Cardine Caffery, Graphic Designer and Australian native, reviews her first book club pick and tries to confuse us with talk of Utes and shouts.

After being part of the book club for one short month I was taken by surprise when asked to pick our next book.  I chose The Slap: A Novel by Australian author Christos Tsiolkas.  I had heard it was a controversial book, which presents the reader with uncomfortable situations and confrontations.  Being Australian myself, I thought I would heat up book club this month and at the same time confuse everyone with a lot of Australian slang.

The book starts with a barbeque amongst friends and family. The day looks like it could be pleasant until one of the children begins to act out. The boy is eventually slapped across the face, not by his parents but by another adult.  Although you believe the boy should have been punished for his behavior you also believe the man should be able to control himself, especially around a 3-year-old boy.

What follows is a chain reaction where we are shown the aftermath through eight different characters’ stories that were either directly or indirectly affected by the slap.

The book touches on various themes such as the difference between generations, differences in the way children are raised and adultery. Just a side note, on behalf of Australians I would like to make a disclaimer that although The Slap makes it seem as though we commit acts of adultery like it’s a rite of passage, there are  (I would like to believe) a majority of us that do not.  One of the more prominent themes throughout the book is multiculturalism seen through the various ethnic backgrounds of the characters, which is a huge part of Australian culture.

Don’t be deterred by how infuriated some (actually, most) of the characters make you. The book really does force you to think honestly about how you would act in certain situations. For me, the book pointed out that not every situation is black and white and I believe Tsiolkas accomplished this by taking us on an emotional tour within each character’s mind.

Did you enjoy The Slap? Then check out the trailer for the Australian T.V. show version:

Join us next month as we shift to a classic! We are reading Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. Read along with us & join in on the discussion as we live tweet our next book club meeting on June 5^th at 12PM EDT! #TDCReads

Are you active on GoodReads? Then join in on Tutor.com’s GoodReads group here!

Tomorrow marks the end of National Library Week 2012 and we’ve had a great time these last few days recognizing all our libraries have to offer. We thought a fun way to close out the week would be to share some quotes from prominent figures that celebrate what libraries mean to them. From members of the Supreme Court and astrophysicists to actors and actresses, we all value the resources that the libraries in our communities provide. Where else could we fight dragons, study for the SAT, and file our taxes, all at the same time?

“Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and achieve, and contribute to improving our quality of life. Libraries change lives for the better.” Sidney Sheldon, Author

“In my work a good library is essential. It enables me to learn the background and previous discussions of the various issues I am called upon to decide. It provides the stability and continuity for the rule of law.” Sandra Day O’Connor, First female member of the Supreme Court of the U.S.

“My guess is (it will be) about 300 years until computers are as good as, say, your local reference library in search.” Craig Silverstein, Director of Technology, Google.com.

“Libraries have always seemed like the richest places in the world to me, and I’ve done some of my best learning and thinking thanks to them. Libraries and librarians have definitely changed my life and the lives of countless other Americans.” Barbara Bush, Former First Lady of the United States

“When I was young, we couldn’t afford much. But, my library card was my key to the world.” John Goodman, Actor

“I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture, and our concern for the future, can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.” Carl Sagan, American astronomer, Astrophysicist, Cosmologist, Author and Science Communicator

“What in the world would we do without our libraries?” Katharine Hepburn, Actor

Source for all quotes comes from: http://www.libraryquotes.org/index.html

Each April thousands of libraries across the country are celebrated throughout National Library Week. This year, NLW takes place from April 8-14^th and we are as excited as ever to join in on the fun! You may have recently heard about our <3 Tutor.com campaign that we kicked off at the 2012 PLA Conference a few weeks ago. The campaign centers around the fact that over 60,000 student comments have included the word “love” or “<3” in our post-session surveys. We celebrated at PLA with bookmarks, banners, t-shirts and more. But for NLW we wanted to share the <3. Check out some of those comments below where students have taken the time to tell us that they <3 their libraries.

“I love and am so grateful for this service!  I think it’s great that the library offers it.”

“I love how my library offers this! It definitely helps me improve and get better grades ”

“I LOVE THIS! NEVER STOP THIS! I USE THIS AND IT HELPPSSSS! <3 YOU LIBRARY AND TUTOR.COM!!!!”

“i luv it  thx library! and website for tutoring    yay!    ”

“I  LOVE IT SOOOOOO MUCH.. I AM GRATEFUL MY LIBRARY OFFERS IT! MUCHO GUSTO”

“Hilary E. was a good tutor. She helped me a lot with my essay. I really love this service! Thank you SJ library”

“I love this site.. my library provides it which is awesome! I use it all the time.”

“Bilal M. was the best tutor I have had so far.  I love that the library offers this service, it really helps me with school.”

“Every time I use this service I am so thankful for it! When I don’t remember how to do things or am confused over topics discussed in class, I can come here and have somebody explain it to me- which is simply amazing! I am ECSTATIC that my library offers this service and I hope they never stop.”

 All comments are unedited

What better place to kick off <3 Tutor.com than in the city of brotherly love! That’s just what we did last week while in Philadelphia, PA for the Public Library Association (PLA) Conference. It was a marathon of great conversations with librarians, handing out cell phone socks and catching up with clients. And while the busy conference created countless great memories including a scrumptious tapas feast at Continental Midtown, there were some  highlights we couldn’t stop talking about back in the New York office.

Kicking off <3 Tutor.com

We mentioned it above, and if you didn’t get a chance to stop by our booth at PLA, let’s take a minute to share the “love”.  At conferences we are thrilled when clients stop by and tell us how the students in their community “just love Tutor.com!”  Students tell us too. Over 60,000 times! That’s right. Students have left over 60,000 comments after a tutoring session that included the word “love” or the text symbol “<3”. So at PLA 2012 we kicked off our <3 Tutor.com campaign, complete with bookmarks, cell-phone socks, badge ribbons, t-shirts, banners, balloons and a cocktail reception celebrating our own <3 for libraries! Not to mention a delicious new drink that the Field House created just for our library clients called the <3 warmer.

Budget Friendly Panels

Tutor.com had the opportunity to host two excellent panels this year. The first, Creative Funding: How to Afford the Services Your Community Wants, was moderated by Tutor.com CEO George Cigale and focused on different ways three libraries provided successful programs while dealing with either moderate budget constraints or massive cutbacks. There were thought-provoking ideas all around, from partnering with local businesses to help fund programs as Cathy Deane explained Mount Prospect Public Library did, to working closely with your political representatives as Jinny Baeckler from Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library suggested.

The second panel, Engaging with Teens on a Shoestring Budget, drew a large crowd and provided excellent insight for how to utilize different platforms to generate excitement in teens while at the library. One of the coolest ideas was from Stephen Grubb of Broward County Library where they are going to paint QR codes on the sidewalk! Michele Gorman from Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and LeeAnn Anna from Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh shared how to get on teens’ level.  Their advice – don’t try to talk like a teen. Rounding out the presenters, Judy Boyce from West Baton Rouge Parish Library shared how her library kicked off their successful Live Homework Help program for teens through Tutor.com.

Find all of the handouts for the PLA 2012 panels here.

Enjoying all PLA & Philly had to Offer

We were never short of things to do in Philly.  Famous Philly Cheese Steaks hit the spot at the fantastic Reading Terminal Market right next door to the convention center where we also ran into two friends from Beauregard Parish Library. Yet, the PLA exhibit hall seemed even busier than the city itself. Talking with librarians from across the country, we were excited to share our new availability on the Boopise app , discuss our mobile solutions through our HTML5 classroom compatibility and direct clients to all the updated, ready-to-print materials on the Client Resource Center.

While we’re sad to say good bye to Philly we’re already thinking about good times ahead at PLA 2014 in Indianapolis!

Did you miss us at PLA 2012? Be sure to stop by and say hi at ALA Annual in June; visit us at booth #1280.

Check out our photo album of all the fun we had in Philadelphia on Flickr!

“We are never more human than when we play.” – John Huizinga

Gamification is a buzz word that seems to be everywhere we turn lately. But a lot of people are still wondering what it is and, more importantly, how we can incorporate it efficiently and inexpensively into our libraries. We partnered with YALSA to hold a webinar for Teen Tech Week, lead by library innovation specialist Joe Murphy, to explain exactly what this is and how you can utilize it in your community.

When most of us think of gaming, we envision teenagers playing World of Warcraft in their bedrooms, but gamification is actually a much broader term. It can be defined as “Integrating game dynamics into your site, service, community, content, or campaign, in order to drive participation.” Aside from being fun and engaging, gamification can provide several real-world benefits to your community. According to gamification expert Jane McGonigal, it can increase resilience to future challenges, improve problem solving skills, and the boost one’s ability to approach challenges with a positive attitude.

Joe discussed several ways we can incorporate gamification into our libraries, including using QR codes to create scavenger hunts for learning the library and providing badges for library accomplishments like summer reading programs. He also discussed how embracing these new strategies can help market libraries’ relevancy in a changing environment.

We learned a lot from the webinar, and we know you will too. You can watch the full recording here.

As Joe would say, “Be Inspired, Have Fun, Game On!”

“You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read with a child.” – Dr. Seuss

It’s no secret that we love a good book. Our monthly book club posts prove that. So since today marks NEA’s annual reading program, Read Across America, as well as Dr. Seuss’s birthday we wanted to join in on the fun! This week we surveyed the Tutor.com team to find out what everyone’s favorite book was as a child. From a treasure island to enchanted forests, each and every one of these inspired our imagination to travel just about anywhere from the comfort of home.

My favorite book was I am a Bunny by Ole Risom and Richard Scarry (Golden Books, 1963). I made my parents read it to me so many times that I memorized the words and would then “read” it to them. – Matthew O’Connor, Technical Support Engineer

My all-time favorite reads as a kid was Richard Scarry’s Best Storybook Ever. It was nearly 300 pages, and filled with short stories, rhymes, poems, fables, and classic tales “acted out” by animals. I loved lying in bed, examining the illustrations and smiling at the mischief the characters would get in to as they navigated the airport or went fishing or made their way around town. The story “I Am A Bunny” is so Zen-like in its nature it will most likely turn your child into a Buddhist! I loved this book so much that I kept it into my adult years, and now my own kids appreciate it. – Duane Romanell, Creative Services Director

I liked the Hardy Boys Mystery Books as a kid. These books began for me a lifelong love of the mystery book genre.  – Sandi White, VP & General Manager: Institutional Solutions

Treasure Island. I remember how –at the time- I was mesmerized by the vivid description of the characters and was actually able to picture someone with a wooden leg being completely functional –and mean- and to top it all off, have a talking parrot on his shoulders. – Cesar Flores, Accounting

It was hard to narrow down the list to just one favorite! One book I remember in particular was a gift from my father when I was about 8 years old: The Indian in the Cupboard. I was lucky that my parents instilled a love of reading in me early on, but I remember this book because my dad brought it home one random Saturday after we’d just moved into a new house. I didn’t yet have any friends in the neighborhood and I was not enjoying the process of unpacking. After he gave me the book I remember spending the rest of the weekend reading in my new bedroom. It was such a great adventure story for a little girl who had moved to a new country—again—and needed an escape from reality, if only for a couple of days.  - Pamela Brehm, Senior Outreach Manager

My favorite book as a child was the Enchanted Woods series (the others were called The Magic Faraway Tree and The Folk of the Faraway Tree).  I loved these books because my mum used to red them to me and I used to imagine myself in the book…. I loved bed time because of it! – Cardine Caffery, Graphic Designer

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was my favorite book! – Kelly Adams, Mentor Manager

My favorite book was Tuttle’s Shell by Sal Murdocca. It’s about a turtle, named Tuttle, who loses his shell when he takes it off to have a swim. He later finds Louis the Rat wearing it around town and Tuttle has to prove that the shell is really his. I loved this book because Tuttle had to use his wits to get out of a tricky spot! I also remember the illustrations were fantastic and really enhanced the sense of character. I just saw that they have the edition I grew up with available on Amazon. I just might buy it for my nephew! – Evelyn Sullivan, Onboarding Manager

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.  I remember being captivated by the pictures and story and made my parents read it to me over and over. – Brad Williams, Director of Higher Education Sales

Where the Wild Things Are, because we are all wild things at heart. – Lily Scholz, Marketing Manager

What was your favorite book as a kid? Let us know in the comments below!

For this month’s Tutor.com Reads post, book club newcomer Steve Schrage, Marketing Coordinator for Military & Federal programs, reviews what he thought of our February pick and what it was like to join in on the discussion for the very first time.

For the past year or so I have sat on the outside of the Tutor.com book club meetings like a newcomer on the playground watching the older kids play a game of baseball.

Despite being asked to join, I knew I didn’t want to be humiliated by my lack of experience so I stayed on the sideline practicing. I went to the batting cages armed with books as my bats. I read some of my own choices – ones I knew I could handle – and then began to challenge myself with some recommendations from friends. I even read one of the previous book club books from the sidelines to see if I had what it takes.

It wasn’t until this past month that I felt I had garnered enough literary prowess to step up to the plate and take on Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathon Safran Foer (pitched to us by Lily Scholz, Marketing Manager). I approached the book with the usual rookie swagger – thinking I could knock it out of the park and show the rest of the club that I belonged.

It took me about 30 pages to realize that I was extremely lost and incredibly confused.

The book consisted of two major plotlines that were (for most of the novel) inexplicably intertwined along with a myriad of quirky characters seemingly thrown in for eccentricity’s sake. The backdrop of two cities, New York and Dresden, following traumatic events excused some of oddities, but still left me with no real concept to hold on to. I was looking for something to discuss but was left standing at the plate watching the balls go by.

It was then that I realized I wasn’t meant to. I felt like a rookie batsman accepting that the veteran pitcher was just going to throw me garbage.  The author was tossing me characters that I wasn’t meant to understand.  At that point I decided to stop searching for a meaning and just read the book. After that it became much more enjoyable.

When book club finally sat down to discuss, I was happy to find that others had similar feelings towards the book. While it was well received by some, a few found it untethered from reality. We went back and forth over whether the book was full of quirks for quirks sake or instead if it was an honest depiction of how people deal with loss—by digging up graves, walking around with a tambourine, writing their life history or refusing to speak.

All in all, this was a book that made it easy for a rookie to become a part of the book club team. I think I’ll stick around and see how I match up against next month’s book: Pulitzer Prize Finalist The Privileges by Jonathan Dee. Hope you do too!

We were excited to kick off 2012 at ALA Midwinter this past January. It was great to catch up with clients and meet a lot of new people. One of the things that made this conference particularly fun was that it was the first ALA MW for Bob Bonocore, one of our Client Services Managers. Check out his recap of ALA MW below to find out his highlights and takeaways!

Susan, Erin Chesnutt, and Bob!

Starting with Tutor.com just under a year ago meant that this January I was able to attend my first ALA Midwinter conference. I packed up my Pennsylvanian home office and headed down to Dallas, TX to get in on all the fun. And fun it was. Between the amazing steak and service at Hoffbrau Steaks, to the Tutor.com team’s impromptu photo shoot near the City Hall bulls, Dallas was a great host city for the conference; not to mention all the fun going on inside the convention center. After kicking off the mornings with pre-show dancing to “Moves like Jagger”, it was great to spend each day connecting with clients face-to-face. Highlights included catching up with Dawn LaValle, from Fairfield Public Library in Connecticut, to chat about local news coverage of Tutor.com and its positive impact on the community. Then on Saturday, I was sure to celebrate National Hug Day with Erin Chesnutt, from Beauregard Parish Library in Louisiana.

While all my conversations in the booth varied, each one seemed to touch on one of three main points: adult users, client resources and mobile solutions. If you weren’t able to attend ALA Midwinter and stop by our booth, here’s what you might have missed:

1. Not Just for Students –Libraries are still one of the most important organizations for job seekers in their communities. I had many conversations in the booth about how libraries are addressing this challenging issue. When most people think of Tutor.com, tutoring assistance for students in K-12 comes to mind. However, we also provide adults with tutoring and other resources in our Adult Education and Career centers.  Job seekers in your community can upload their resume and work in real time with a career specialist when they use ProofPoint™ Writing Center. Our tutors also provide job search tips and best practices as well as interview preparation assistance.
2. Fresh, New and Ready to Use! –Promoting your library’s resources to the community is a necessary but time consuming task. Our clients are also our partners. We do as much as we can to provide the materials needed to help create awareness. Recently we added several new resources to the Client Resource Center and updated many others, including posters, fliers, monitor strips, bookmarks, recorded demo sessions and PowerPoints to present to educators, parents and students. Check out the new resources at www.tutor.com/clients. While you are there, take a look at our Demo Resources to view recorded sessions.
3. Tutor.com: Anywhere, Anytime – With Tutor.com’s mobile services, your patrons can use our most popular features in a mobile environment. They can connect to a live tutor, review previous sessions, upload photographs from their textbooks, store important documents in their student locker, and search thousands of resources including videos, worksheets, and practice tests.  Check out more information about Tutor.com’s mobile services in the Client Resource Center at www.tutor.com/clients.

I am so glad I had the opportunity to attend ALA Midwinter, meet so many great people, hand out our very popular cell phone socks and bright orange pens, and of course show Tutor.com in action. If you weren’t able to attend, be sure to visit us at booth #1134 at PLA in Philadelphia, PA. We can’t wait to see you there!

Check out our photo album of all the fun we had in Dallas on flickr!

Have you ever come across a story and thought to yourself, “How did I not know about this already?” Our latest book club read, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, was exactly that type of story. Written by Rebecca Skloot, this work of nonfiction blends human interest and science to share with readers the life of Henrietta Lacks and her immortal cancer cells (HeLa).

While Henrietta or HeLa might not sound familiar, you probably have heard of at least one of them before. Most likely you learned about the cells, and not the woman they came from, in an introductory biology class. Taken from Henrietta just months before she would pass away from cervical cancer, her cells were some of the first to survive in culture. Due to that, they were used in research for cancer, AIDS, polio, and countless other scientific studies.

Reading about the contributions that HeLa made to science is fascinating. But one of the most surprising facts is that the family Henrietta left behind had no idea these cells existed. Skloot’s book uncovers the life story of Henrietta, the scientific importance of her cells, and the path her family’s lives took after her passing.

With so many elements to the story there was plenty for our book club to discuss. Ranging from distrust of doctors and racial issues in medicine during the 50’s, to questions on how a town can just disappear, we tried to cover it all. Our lunch kicked off with the fact that overall the story of Henrietta Lacks and her family is very sad. After her death, her children were forced into an abusive situation that affected the path of their lives. The sharp contrast between their situation and the benefits science was experiencing due to HeLa, was striking and spurred strong discussion on whether individuals should be paid for donating cells or not.

We all agreed that one of the more disheartening aspects of the story was when Skloot recapped the timeline of how the Lacks’ family became aware of HeLa cells. With so many reporters and scientists showing up at their house asking questions and requesting samples, it was troubling to find that very few attempted to thoroughly explain what it meant that Henrietta’s cells were still alive. After reading an article about scientists in London cloning HeLa, Henrietta’s youngest daughter Deborah, imagined identical copies of her mother walking around on the street.

The overall structure of the book also caught our attention. Taking breaks from the life story of Henrietta and her family, Skloot would dive into details on court cases and scientific conferences that related to HeLa. The group agreed she did a great job of intertwining the two, yet some of us would have preferred if she had kept herself out of it. The third part of the book, “Immortal”, where Skloot focuses on the Lacks’ ended up being more of a summary of her relationship with Deborah than it did on the state of the Lacks family as a whole.

In the end, while there may have been parts that were sad and sections that felt a little long (did there really need to be a chapter about Skloot reading from the Bible?), we all enjoyed the book. As said above, it’s one of those stories that once you hear it, you feel you should of known it all along. The life of Henrietta Lacks was immensely important for both science and society; it’s only fair that her story gets told along with the story of her cells’.

Join us this month as we read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. Yes, it did just make its big screen debut with Tom Hanks, but don’t let that stop you! Check out the book with us before you catch it in theaters.

Post contributed by Lauren Lobdell our Client Services Manager for libraries, corporations and colleges.

There was no red carpet or statuettes of little gold men, but the excitement, passion and moving speeches felt just like the Academy Awards—for librarians.   The “I Love My Librarian Award Ceremony” took place last Thursday at the Times Center in New York City.  Hosted by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and The New York Times, the event celebrates 10 exceptional librarians from around the country.

And each and every librarian was exceptional.  From creating adaptive technology for people with disabilities to using grants during a difficult funding period to doubling the size of their media collection and even integrating technology into school curriculums, it’s clear that libraries are making an impact in this digital age.

Adding to the glamour and fun of the evening were moving remarks by Caroline Kennedy who presented libraries as learning centers and librarians as champions of education, “serving on the frontlines of a battle that will shape our country.” Vartan Gregorian, the President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York added that libraries are creating equality for all people and evolving to “help us find our way along the electronic highway.”

As someone who works closely with libraries as a client services manager for Tutor.com, it was wonderful to see librarians get the credit they deserve for the important work they are doing.  Even better, I was able to cheer on award recipients from our long time clients, the D.C. Public Library and Birmingham Public Library which participates in the HomeworkAlabama  statewide program.

You can read more about all of the I Love My Librarian Award winners here and remember to nominate a librarian that you love for the 2012 awards!

Kelly Adam Joins the Tutor.com Team

We’re excited to introduce you to Kelly Adam, the newest member of our Instructional Team. Kelly is a veteran high school math teacher with more than 20 years of teaching experience. She has also coached teachers, taught online and created standards of excellence for online teaching.

Kelly joins us after spending over three years working on k-12 online educational services and curriculum. Before that, Kelly spent more than 20 years teaching high school and college math courses in both traditional public schools as well as online or virtual schools.

Tutor.com has made a commitment to finding the best tutors and coaches to offer the highest quality learning experience. As a Mentor Manager, Kelly’s coaching and teaching expertise will help Tutor.com continue to provide the highest quality tutoring for students and coaching for teachers. Kelly will be very involved in the services we provide for the School of One. And, she’ll work closely with our MyLivePD team as we expand our personal, private professional development service.

“I am excited to be a part of a new and evolving way to engage students and help them learn better,” said Adam. “I am honored to be a part of a team that is concerned about quality support for both students and teachers.”

Please help us welcome Kelly!

If you’d like to learn more about the amazing tutors that help thousands of students each night, check out our latest tutor of the month Daniel B.

Susan takes a break on a glacier during the Alaska Library Association Conference

When we founded Tutor.com over a decade ago, a guiding principle was to recruit and keep great people. From our community of 2,500 tutors to our staff, we have a dynamic, diverse group whose goal is to help students of all ages learn better.

One shining example of finding and keeping fabulous folks is Susan Del Rosario who was recently promoted to Director of Client Care. Susan joined Tutor.com eight years ago as science tutor. She loved tutoring and kept sending our staff ideas about how to make online tutoring even better for both students and tutors. Her enthusiasm and fresh perspective made her the perfect choice to join our Instructional Team that recruits, onboards and manages tutors.

As Susan learned more about Tutor.com she transitioned to our Client Care Team where she once again brought a unique perspective and new ideas to working with hundreds of public libraries across the country.

Over the past year, Susan travelled 36,644 miles visiting 31 cities from Orlando, FL to Juneau, AK. In every city she meets with library staff and directors. She shares what we’re up to such as launching mobile services and creating new classroom features.  But more importantly she listens. And she brings back everything she hears and learns from our clients to the rest of us to ensure we’re delivering the services our clients and our students want.

You have to love what you do to fly over 36,000 miles a year (and eat all that airplane food) and Susan could not be more passionate about her work. Check out her Facebook post after the recent California Library Association Conference:

“Conferences remind me why I fell in love with my job. Great conversations with old friends and the opportunity to meet so many new friends! My clients are the greatest!”

For our amazing library clients, be on the lookout for some new, fun and exciting programs in 2012 thanks to Susan and her new role as Director of Client Care. Want to congratulate Susan personally? Email her at sdelrosario@tutor.com.