Web Aid Offered at CCCC
Students getting the point and click of it all with online tutoring
March 15, 2002
by Linda Stewart Ball, Staff Writer
A brainy tutor is now just a mouse click away for busy Collin County Community College students stumped by statistics or in need of writing critiques.
CCCC recently began subscribing to an online tutoring service for its 600 students enrolled in distance education courses. These students already get their lessons from the Internet, TV or videos - often without having to set foot on campus. So having a virtual tutor available to help with those difficult assignments seemed like a logical step, officials said.
Called Smarthinking.com, the online tutoring service is free to students and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"We're real excited about it," said Michele Boverie, CCCC's tutor coordinator. "It seems to be cutting-edge. Not very many colleges or universities in this area are using it. And it's a great way to help our students, help them be successful."
Smarthinking.com tutors or "e-instructors" provide assistance in accounting, chemistry, math, economics, English, statistics, and Spanish.
"They're all subject matter experts," said Christopher Gergen, Smarthinking.com's president and chairman. He noted that tutors have an average of 12 years teaching experience and that 90 percent hold master's degrees and doctorates in their subjects.
Many tutors are moonlighting college faculty members, Mr. Gergen said. They work from their offices or homes, wherever they have an internet connection.
Peak usage hours are Sunday nights; Saturday mornings are pretty slow. A typical interaction is 15 to 20 minutes.
Smarthinking.com uses an interactive "whiteboard," a chat tool that allows students and tutors to communicate complex concepts in real time.
The company charges by the number of hours used. The rate is usually about $30 an hour. A state grant from the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund (TIF) is funding CCCC's first 200 hours.
Students in distance education courses leaned about the tutoring program via e-mail at the end of February.
"The online tutoring, as great as it is, will not be the answer for every student's needs," Ms Boverie said. "Just like the one-on-one tutoring doesn't work for all atudents."
Consequently, the online service won't replace the face-to-face group and individual tutoring done on campus - it's just one more option.
And for students who work during the day and have families to tend to at night, Ms. Boverie said online tutoring might be ideal.
"You can be very low tech and still be able to use the system," Mr. Gergen said.
Last month 4,000 students nationwide registered for the service, which has assisted more than 30,000 since it began in July 1999.Smarthinking.com serves more than 250 colleges and universities across the country, including Houston Community College, Austin Community College, San Jacinto College, Baylor University and the University of Texas System's distance learning program.
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