Voice of Reason

Should you use online tutoring with a typed “chat” setup or voice-based program? I’ve been sold on voice-based online tutoring for years. This means the student and tutor talk to each other using their computers though they can be thousands of miles apart. How? A cool technology called “Voice over IP” (VoIP) makes this possible. A computer phone call usually sounds cleaner and clearer than a regular phone call. The student plugs in a headset with a built in microphone to his or her computer’s speaker and microphone jacks and uses that to talk to and listen to a tutor with the same setup far away.

It amazes me when online tutoring companies try to fob off text-chat-only services as state-of-the-art high-tech learning platforms. Some say “The jury is out on VoIP” or “You don’t need voice to explain problems because things like math are the ‘language of symbols’ and you don’t need a second ‘language’ to understand, explain and solve those kinds of problems.” This is rubbish! They say this because they can’t support voice! That, and they juggle 3-5 students at a time with text chat while a voice conversation is geared around one-on-one tutoring.

Many students type slowly. They have a question but they are hunting and pecking their way to ask it. And they wait for their tutor to type an answer – then they have to read that answer. Or was that the answer to the previous thing the student typed? Of course if you are getting tutored in a library or other setting where talking is not allowed, a text-chat service makes sense.

But if voice is possible, it makes no sense to limit the interaction to typing. Speaking is five times faster than typing for most. Students quickly say what they don’t understand and explain what they’re thinking. Voice is best!

Voice chat is easy, reliable, and uses inexpensive tools such as a head-set with built in microphone ($16-35). And if for some reason VoIP isn’t working, switch to an alternate VoIP tool. If all else fails and there’s no VoIP platform that’s working? Then you suffer like in the “old days” and use text chat!

Have you had a chance to compare voice-based tutoring to text-chat tutoring?

I welcome your thoughts and comments.
John Stuppy, john@tutorvista.com