The Tutor.com Blog

Marine Corps Reservist, Lieutenant Colonel Brad Lanto has been part of the military for 20 years. While he works in the Pentagon as the Marine Corps Liaison for the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP) in Reserve Affairs, his wife and two children are back in North Carolina. We caught up with the Lt. Col. and his wife, MaryBeth, who is a middle school counselor, to see how Tutor.com has been making a difference for their seventh grade son, Zac. We also learned how the challenges Reservists face may be different than other military members. While Reservists don’t move nearly as much, they too face long deployments, which put many miles between them and their families back at home.

Tutor.com:  Lt. Col. Lanto, how long have you been away from your family?

Lt. Col. Lanto: I left for the Pentagon last October and I expect to be here for one year. While I’m gone, my wife is the primary caregiver and has to help with school work for our two children on her own.

MaryBeth:  Our son is a great student, but this year he’s in an advanced, honors math class and the pace is very fast. I’m never sure how to help him or if I’m offering the right techniques.  We’re glad to have access to Tutor.com.  Our son connects to tutors and also uses the resources Tutor.com offers, including the videos, worksheets and recommended websites.

Tutor.com:  That’s great. Sometimes we forget to talk about all the resources in the SkillsCenter Resource Library. When does he use those?

MaryBeth:  He likes to use the mobile app and check out the resources from his iPhone when we’re driving and then at home he uses his laptop to connect to one of the tutors for help.

Tutor.com:  We love to hear that kids are doing school work even in the car! With the app he could connect to a tutor from his phone too. Are there other features your son likes about getting help online?

MaryBeth:  Yes, he likes to review the videos of his own sessions that he has had with a tutor when he’s studying.  And it helps him with the math skills he needs. He’s a very busy student with a full course load of challenging courses and he plays in two soccer leagues.  So having help available 24/7 is really beneficial.

Tutor.com:  Lt. Col Lanto, how do you think Reservists will use Tutor.com?

Lt. Col. Lanto:  Many Reservists are going to school on the GI Bill and need help with their own work, such as having a paper proofread. Reservists who aren’t deployed may be working, going to school, and doing their drills for the military. Having tutors available around their schedule helps them get everything done.   Many Reservists also have families and multiple children who benefit from online tutoring.

MaryBeth:   Tutor.com offers so much and really is a relief for parents.  There are so many different  ways for children to learn – videos, worksheets and live tutoring.  It’s a great resource.

To learn more about Tutor.com for U.S. Military Families and how it supports families of Reservists and National Guard service members, please go to www.tutor.com/military.

If you teach or work in the K-12 environment, you are reading and hearing daily about personalized learning. In a recent T.H.E. Journal article Karen Cator, the United States Department of Education’s director of technology cited personalized learning as one of the five top ed tech trends for 2012. “I’m really excited about the opportunity to personalize learning environments–to make learning more efficient and effective because it’s more personal and it’s more closely related to who you are as a learner,” said Cator in the article.

Personalized learning is certainly not a new concept, but with the introduction of technology tools there’s new ways to implement this style of learning for students at every level of their education.

Tutor.com has been delivering personalized learning for the last decade. More than 7.5 million times a student has connected to a tutor for a one-to-one learning session. We take our cues directly from the students who come with a specific question or problem.

Learning with a Tutor; Not a Computer

While most personalized learning solutions focus on adaptive technologies, we rely on real, live human beings to give students something they rarely get in or out of school – individualized, personal attention focused on their specific question.

An experienced tutor works in real-time with a student in the online classroom to understand their problem, assess their knowledge and then provide a learning experience that helps them reach the “I get it” moment.   Our goal is to ensure that a student who has completed a Tutor.com 1:1:1 session has mastered the concept at hand and is ready to tackle a similar problem on their own.

Engaged, Confident Students

Students who get this personalized attention report that they are more confident in their academic abilities, better able to complete school assignments and see an improvement in their grades. Even better, students report a higher level of engagement in school. With engagement comes motivation and a propensity to stick out challenging courses such as algebra, chemistry, calculus and physics.

A survey we conducted with 1,000 students from across the country found that 86% were more likely to take an AP class if they knew an online tutor would be there to support them throughout the course.

Over the coming months, Tutor.com will be working with school districts to not only deliver personalized learning solutions to their students, but also provide analytics and insights that give teachers and instructors a better understanding of where students are falling behind and what additional support could best help these students stay on track.

As a fierce debate continues around the pros and cons of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), we’re also hearing more about supplemental educational services or SES. This is the tutoring component of NCLB. Tutor.com is often mistaken as an SES provider by K-12 administrators and teachers. Tutor.com is NOT an SES provider. Many years ago, the company took a hard look at SES and seeing a flawed approach to supporting student learning, we focused our efforts elsewhere. Instead we created customized online tutoring programs for libraries, communities, the U.S Military and K-12 schools. Along the way, our tutors delivered 7.5 million one-to-one, online tutoring sessions.

Here’s what Tutor.com provides K-12 students and how it’s different from SES.

• High Quality Online Tutoring –  While SES actually bans states from requiring tutors to be highly qualified, Tutor.com has spent the last decade creating the highest quality tutoring experience for students. All of our tutors pass subject-specific exams, writing exams, mock sessions and a third-party security check. Tutors are assigned a mentor who regularly reviews their teaching. The results? More than 90% of students report they complete more homework assignments, have more confidence in school and improve their grades thanks to Tutor.com.
• Driven by the School’s Curriculum – While it is hard for districts to know what curriculum is being followed in SES programs, Tutor.com Online Tutoring is driven by students’ homework questions. Students bring their assignments and questions from the classroom to the tutoring session–tightly aligning tutoring with the classroom curriculum.
• Easy Implementations – We’ve read the horror stories too. Tutoring programs that “launch” in September, yet students don’t see a tutor until December. Tutor.com’s implementation team can get an after-school online tutoring program up in running in seven business days. Students get online from school or home and get help when they need it, on their own schedule.
• Robust Monthly Reporting – Teachers and school administrators get an in-depth look of the online tutoring program every month. Tutor.com tracks student usage patterns and the subjects they’re struggling with each month. We also provide student feedback about their experience including detailed student comments. Ever need to review a tutoring session? No problem, we can share that too since every interaction is saved and available for review.

We agree. You probably don’t want an SES provider. Try Tutor.com Online Tutoring instead. Thousands of schools, libraries and the U.S. Military are successfully increasing student achievement with this personalized, one-to-one help. Learn more by emailing educate@tutor.com.

The majority of the million online tutoring sessions Tutor.com provides each year are in math and more specifically in algebra. Over the last decade, students take algebra earlier and earlier. Today, we find most middle school students are enrolled in pre-algebra or algebra classes. So we were interested in reviewing a new study from Harvard University that found students moving from grade 5 into middle school show a “sharp drop” in math and language arts achievement. This persists through 10^th grade and may even hurt their ability to graduate high school and attend college.

While the study focuses on grade configuration and school transition, we see trends too with middle school students. For the first time in their academic lives, students hit the wall – the pre-algebra and algebra wall. That wall is hard and it leaves marks on the best of students.

Research shows that while approximately 16 percent of all U.S. 13-year-olds (the age at which many students are in eighth grade) were enrolled in algebra in 1986, this figure rose to 22 percent in 1999 and to 29 percent in 2004 (Perie, Moran, and Lutkus 2005). Over the past decade, we find more students are taking algebra even earlier, some beginning in sixth grade.

When kids hit that wall, many come to us and here’s what they say:

“No one can help me”: Many good students have informal academic support systems consisting of parents, older siblings or cousins and sometimes friends. That support system tends to fall apart with algebra. Parents don’t remember it and many say they were never that good at math to begin with. Students have less people to turn to and they start to see their grades drop.

“I don’t even know where to start”: We talk to students and read comments all the time that say they sit at home staring at the algebra homework and truly have no idea what they are doing or if they are headed in the right or wrong direction. They get frustrated and some simply give up.

“The teacher moves too fast”: As teachers tackle the problem of completing many concepts with a room of diverse learners, some students can’t keep up. Some students say they don’t understand the examples and techniques used in class. If they miss mastering a few concepts, soon they fall further and further behind.

“I don’t want to look dumb”: While third graders may bolster their raised hands and beg to be called upon, 7th graders tend to sit in the back and hope to go unnoticed. No one wants to ask a dumb or embarrassing question in front of their peers and friends.

What helps students get over these challenges? Immediate, differentiated and private support. When students use online tutoring for help they can tackle one question and one concept at a time and never feel embarrassed. By nature of the one-to-one relationship with a tutor, they can try different explanations and techniques until the content clicks for the student. And that’s all many students really need—the opportunity to have an “I get it” moment. And suddenly a door opens in the wall and they walk through.

“At first I had no idea where to start, I didn’t know what I was doing. I was just confused with my algebra, but after I had help from Tutor.com, I knew exactly what I was doing. Thanks tutor.com, you saved my life.” – 8th Grade Algebra student

Want to learn more about how Tutor.com helps students struggling with algebra?  Read Melissa and Kennedy’s math stories.

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.

Melissa S. (right)

Every day, thousands of students connect to one of our tutors to overcome a challenge. It may be that night’s homework, ongoing math struggles or simply to review completed work. We’ve been hearing from the students through their post-session comments for years. “Your tutors rock!” “Awesome help!!!!” “Thank you for saving my life, again” are the types of comments that put a smile on our face and make us want to work even harder to deliver high quality online tutoring and homework help.

This school year, we’ll be featuring and celebrating a few Tutor.com Success Stories each month right here on our blog. Our first story comes from Melissa S., a junior at Oakland University in MI and regular Tutor.com user since 2003 who dropped us a note this summer to tell us how instrumental  Tutor.com has been for her studies. Melissa has used Tutor.com since sixth grade through her local library, Clinton Macomb Public Library.

We’d love to hear your Tutor.com success story! Email jkohn@tutor.com and tell us how Tutor.com is making a difference for you. Please include your contact information.

Tutor.com:  How did you first find out about Tutor.com?

Melissa:   I saw a flyer in the Clinton Macomb Public Library when I was in sixth grade.  I was really struggling with math and had no one to help me.  I tried out the program and soon was using it just about every day to help me with homework and to improve my skills.

Tutor.com:  Why did you start using Tutor.com?

Melissa:  I never had a tutor before. Sometimes my Aunt would help me, but math was really a struggle for me. I had failed a math class before I knew about Tutor.com. I took the class again and with help from Tutor.com I received the highest grade that year.

Tutor.com:  Why do you think the program helped you so much?

Melissa:  Since math was so difficult for me, I never knew if I was on the right track. I’d sit down to do homework and be completely confused. I’d have no idea if I was even headed in the right direction. I’d give up on myself and feel really discouraged. Tutors were expensive. Knowing I could connect to a tutor using Tutor.com for free (Note: Clinton Macomb Public Library funded the program) whenever I needed to gave me the motivation to keep going and get the work done. The tutors always gave me encouragement and they gave me motivation to stick it out. It really helped my confidence.

Tutor.com:  What did you like about the experience with the tutors?

Melissa:  I liked that they didn’t just give the answers. I used to want the answers, but I appreciate now that they worked with me to figure out how to do the problem. Honestly, I still hate math, but I can tolerate it with Tutor.com.

Tutor.com:  Can you tell us some of the results you experienced from using the program?

Melissa: I’m certain I would have failed some of my math classes without Tutor.com. Using Tutor.com helped me get through middle school and high school math.  I dramatically improved my grades. I can’t picture my academic career without it. I was always put in lower level math classes but in college I took calculus and earned a B-. I don’t think I would have even tried to take college level calculus without Tutor.com.

Tutor.com:  Are you still using Tutor.com in college?

Melissa:  I was using it for my math and science classes. Now I’m done with those requirements, but I still use it to have papers proofed.

Tutor.com:  What advice do you have for other students who are struggling with math?

Melissa:  I’d tell them that you need to take the time to do the problems. And use Tutor.com. Just bring  all your questions to the tutor!

Thanks to Melissa for sharing her story with us. Want to share your story?  Email Jennifer Kohn at jkohn@tutor.com !

Our RSS feeds are chock-full of articles about how to change the public education system. It’s a vigorous and often passionate debate. Yet students, the people who are most affected by these discussions, are not part of the conversation. That’s why “Five things students say they want from education,” published by eSchool News last week caught our attention. Here’s the five points educators shared that they hear from students: 

• Interactive Technology
• Teacher Mentors
• Innovation
• Choice
• Real-world application and relevancy

In our world, which includes an interactive and innovative online classroom technology, we hear from thousands of students daily. Every time a student connects to a tutor in our online classroom, they have the opportunity to rate their session and leave a comment. Thousands do just that. We hear what they liked about the tutor and the technology. This feedback helps set the direction for product innovation. Over the past year we’ve developed several new features specifically because students tell us what they want; we listen and then deliver it. Here’s a few of those recent features and the student feedback that drove it. 

• Tutor.com To Go™:  Everything is getting smaller. Students want to take their education on the go on their favorite devices, and more schools are embracing the BYOT model. Our mobile app lets them connect to a tutor from an iPod Touch (the device almost every teen owns),  iPhone or iPad and soon on Android devices too. One student even told us they were working with a tutor from the dentist office waiting room–now that’s a committed student. 
• Favorite Tutors: We have about 2,500 tutors now and while they are all “awesome” ( most-used adjective by students in their comments),  students have their favorites and want to connect to them as much as possible. Favorite tutors keep the sessions private and anonymous, but empowers a student to select and save a list of their favorites and even seen when they’ll be online next. 
• Personal Accounts:  Around the clock access to resources and past sessions is important to students who may be studying late into the evening. Students who have a personal account can easily access their past sessions for review, and our system automatically suggests specific resources based on the types of questions students have asked. Now when a student logs in, they’ll see our top rated resources on quadratic equations if that’s what they’ve been working on.

Asking students what they want from their own education makes a lot of sense. Let’s do more of it.

What is or was your favorite class in school?  Nine times out of ten algebra, physics or calculus isn’t the answer.  For twenty five years the U.S. has been working to change that.  In fact, April is Math Month. Back in 1986 President Ronald Reagan created Mathematics Awareness Week.  The President wanted to acknowledge that while mathematics was increasingly important to the U.S. economy and society, enrollment in math courses was declining.  There was a lot of hoopla that first year with a national exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution and receptions on Capitol Hill. By 1999, the week was extended to a month.

These days the talk is around STEM or Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.  President Obama created the “Educate to Innovate” initiative in 2009 to encourage U.S. students to excel at math and science.  The President  even hosted the very first White House Science Fair in October, 2010 which featured robots, solar cars and rockets designed by students from across the country.

This year Tutor.com will complete around 1.1 million online tutoring and homework help sessions.  About 75% of those sessions will be in math and science.  Many students tell us that Tutor.com is the #1 reason they are sticking out challenging math and science courses, getting better grades and building their confidence.  Here’s what students and parents  (completely unedited)  in the past few months had to say about getting on-demand help from one of our expert math and science tutors.   And at least one student reports that algebra IS now their most favorite class!

“I found this program to very useful!! I don’t normally get stuck like I did in math and when I do I find it very hard to find someone or something that is able to put it in a way that I understand. I will most deffently be using this site more often and for other subjects”

“I use Tutor.com a lot for my math assignments, and my grades have boosted a lot. The tutors are extremely friendly and helpful(:”

“As an adult student coming back to school, this service is unbelievably helpful for me, especially with math. Thank you for providing this great service to your public. Very grateful!”

“I am so glad that I logged on to this to help my daughter with math homework.  We were banging our heads and not getting anywhere.  This thing is so great.”

“thank you so much.  i came on here with a problem from a study guide in algebra an i am now confident in passing my VERY BIG math test.   thanks again.    patric was a great tutor”

“algebra has now become my favorite subject and i have an a in my algebra class because of this great service!!!”

Are you using Tutor.com for help with math and science?  We’d love to hear your story.  Contact Jennifer Kohn at jkohn@tutor.com.

The Best Teen Library Programs

We asked some of our libraries to share their favorite teen programs. We’re excited to feature some of the most beloved programs from libraries across the country.

The first featured library is a submission from Ben Bell at Ascension Parish Library. We are excited to feature his “Teen Open Mic Night.”

Ben says then Open Mic Night is not only is this program the highest-attended teen program, but it’s actually broken attendance records across the whole library system!

Open Mic Night is an event where students can bring their instruments and sing in front of a supportive community. Each patron gets an opportunity to sing three songs. Families, friends and other adults from the community come out to join the fun and hear some new talent.

While most students played guitar, there were a few exceptions. Notably, a “Death Cab for Cutie” cover accompanied by a ukulele! Ben says “There are a lot of talented teens out there; it’s difficult to single any [one performer] out. One young woman is only in 7^th grade and already has a good repertoire.”

Ben came up with the idea because there was no other performance outlet for teens to “show their stuff.” He knew an idea like this would work and be well received. He relied on his monthly teen newsletters, posters at the library, some newspaper coverage and good ole fashioned “word of mouth” to get the word out.  Attendees enjoyed cookies and soft drinks, but no prizes were offered. Ben says it wasn’t needed – the draw of the open mic concept is “simply that strong.”

Parents really love the event and especially the choice of venue – the library meeting room. And the teens? They return month after month.

Because of the great success, Ben and Ascension Parish Library have made this a monthly event. We bet that next month’s attendance smashes any previously set record!

We’d love to shine the spotlight on your library’s fabulous teen program.

For more information, or to submit your event, email blog@tutor.com or your client services representative.

It’s a shiny new year! And because of your hard work and great grades – it looks like it will be a great one. As you continue to think about how you’ll end the year and what your college future will look like, don’t forget – you still have to pay!

Many scholarships have deadlines at the end of January/early February. You still have time to apply for some extra funds, but you have to start now.

We’ve compiled the best places to start or continue your search:

• Fastweb – One of the most popular scholarship searches on the ‘net. And it’s totally free!
• Scholarships.com – A great tool to find grants and scholarships that fit your needs.
• College Board – Take their questionnaire to help you locate scholarships, internships, grants and loans.
• Military.com – This scholarship finder is exclusively for the military community.

Be sure to check out your Federal Student Aid options, including loans and grants.

Do you need help editing your essays, or want feedback on an application? Don’t forget to connect to an Essay Writing or ProofPoint tutor at Tutor.com for more help!

Multiple Choice Tests

When your teacher hands out your next multiple choice test loaded with questions that are as bewildering as the answers–sit back, take a deep breath and try these test-taking tips.  Just in time for finals!

1. Listen Up
   You might feel anxious and distracted when the test starts, but read the directions carefully and listen to the instructions your teacher gives you. He or she might have important tips—like how you can score bonus points or what will happen if you leave a question blank. Don’t forget those #2 pencils!
2. Start With the Easy Stuff
   Answer the easy questions first. It’ll boost your confidence and leave you more time to focus on the difficult questions. Also, sometimes you’ll find clues to answering harder questions in the easier ones. So skim through the entire test first, answering the questions you know and marking the ones you don’t so you can find them later.
3. Eliminate and Move On
   Eliminate answers that you know are wrong. If you’ve eliminated all the answers you can, and you still don’t know the right answer, guess. Who knows, you might guess right. Besides, leaving a question blank usually counts as wrong anyway. So what do you have to lose? Just don’t get bogged down on any one question for too long.
4. Trust Yourself
   Usually, your first guess is the right one. So don’t change your answer unless you know for sure you made a mistake or if you found the correct answer in another question somewhere else in the test.
5. Check It Out
   When you’ve finished the test, don’t pack up your bags and celebrate yet. Pat yourself on the back and then read through the entire test again. Make sure you haven’t accidentally left any question blank. Take your time….you don’t get points for finishing early.

What’s your advice for taking a multiple-choice test?

The holidays are about giving and sharing. In light of recent belt tightening, forget about hitting the mall to buy a sweater or a gift card. The best gift you could give yourself and others is time. Time to enjoy the company of family and friends, time to spend cooking your favorite dishes with your parents, and time to create long lasting memories with younger siblings and relatives.

If you are completing your college applications, time is something you know you don’t have. Still, by using the skills you’ve recently acquired from the rigorous college application process, you’ll be able to manage the joys of the holiday season. These four tips should help.

1. Start early to find the perfect presents.
If you are like me, you spend a lot of time browsing in stores to find the perfect gift. Minutes become hours and before you know it you’ve become a last minute shopper. Learn from the time you spent researching colleges. You started early, you thought about what factors mattered most to you in a college; you created a list of schools you’d be thrilled to attend and then you cut it down until it was manageable. Do the same for your family and friends’ presents. Do you know what their preferences are? While asking is the easiest way to find out, be an attentive listener and observer. Once you have a general idea of their tastes and needs, consider what factors matter most to them (e.g. functionality, style, comfort). Begin jotting down ideas early, you’ll save yourself time when you have a few minutes to yourself to do your holiday shopping.

2. Shop around.
Imagine doing all your holiday shopping at only one store? Like researching colleges, you need to use multiple sources to find the right gifts. You have used college guidebooks, college fairs, and ApplyWise.com to find the right college. Then, when you had your preliminary research done, you visited the colleges first hand. With that, use the internet and catalogs to create your preliminary list of gifts. Then, once you’ve done your research, you’ll actually go to the stores. This will not only save you time, but money—you won’t be distracted by last-minute sales and other stores where you might buy something that is not on your shopping list.

3. Take a break and involve others.
Like your college applications, you need to take a break to get some perspective. In fact, it is helpful to get feedback from people that know you. Like your college essays, you know that you can’t write a perfect personal statement by yourself. So, don’t think you can find perfect presents without some outside help. As you took a break and involved others in helping you with your college applications, do the same with your holiday shopping. Not only will you ease your stress levels, but you’ll also spread the joy of the season.

4. Personalize.
Remember, it’s the “thought that matters.” The Common Application is similar to the generic holiday card. Know your audience. Although you can send many Common Applications, it’s the personal statements and supplements that really matter. In the same way that you personalized each college interview and supplement, you need to take that extra minute to show that you care. Adding a personal note to a card is comparable to going that extra mile to show a particular college that you are perfect for that college. Taking an extra minute can go a long way to make a lasting impression and hopefully win you admission.

Following these steps will not only reduce your holiday stress, but also give you time to really enjoy your family and friends. Like a successful college application process, it is one that takes time. Overall, you can handle the holiday shopping season by starting early, doing your research, involving others and making this process as personal as possible.

Article by Katherine L. Cohen, PhD, Founder and CEO of IvyWise, LLC and ApplyWise.com