Distance Learning With Tutor Universe Free

The purpose of this article is to discuss the background and current state of Tutor Universe, an organization that provides an online learning platform to its users. The paper also discusses how this platform works as a learning tool and how distance educators are utilizing it. Projected growth and future development are also covered. First, this article will define private tutoring and distance education and discuss online tutoring as a whole. It will then cover the specifics of Tutor Universe.

Tutoring is best defined as “a method of instruction in which one or a small group of students receive personalized and individualized education from a tutor. Tutoring is widely used with students of all ages and all levels of ability” (Tutoring, 2007, p. 1). Global Industry Analysts, a marketing firm, projected that by 2018 the international private tutoring market will be over a $102.8 billion industry and 90% of the tutoring market will be located in the United States, Asia-Pacific, and Europe (Crotty, 2012).

Simonson (2013) defines distance education as an “institutionally based formal education where the learning group is separated and where interactive communications technologies are used to connect students, teachers, and resources for learning” (p. vii). Vasquez and Slocum (2012) state that there has been a large growth in distance education programs in the K-12 setting. The 2010 International Association for K-12 Online Learning Fast Facts about Online Learning report indicates a tremendous growth in the PK-12 setting. In 2000, 50,000 K-12 students were enrolled in online learning programs and by 2009 this number increased to 320,000 (as cited in Smaldino, Lowther, & Russell, 2012).

Further research shows that this growth is also happening in the higher education setting (Bollinger & Inan, 2012; Driscoll, Jicha, Hunt, Tichavsky, & Thompson, 2012). This growth may be due to the benefits of learning at a distance. Benefits such as convenience, flexibility, and the ability to participate in the learning transfer process from teachers across the globe (ChihYuan Sun & Rueda, 2012; Shriram & Warner, 2010). “The Web offers powerful opportunities for resource utilization, collaboration, and communication” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012, p. 136).

It was just a matter of time before the two emerging worlds of private tutoring and distance education united. Vasquez and Slocum (2012) state that in the online tutoring environment, “tutors can be as flexible in their instruction as with face to face instruction” (p. 222). This study goes on to state that this can be accomplished through text, whiteboards, video, audio, and print materials. According to Smaldino, Lowther, and Russell (2012), students have the ability to learn from various resources including live videoconferences with individuals who are separated geographically.

Tutors, learners and parents all want their student to succeed and reach the ultimate goal; which is obtaining a degree. This is the goal for K-12 and higher education students. Online tutoring is another way for all parties to ensure this can happen for all students. Comas-Quinn, Arcos, and Mardomingo (2012) state that the online tutoring environment must be focused on the learner, be flexible, be dynamic, promote interaction, and allow students to be able to share knowledge with the peer or tutor. Evans and Moore (2013) discussed online peer tutoring and state that student-student interaction in the face-to-face environment has proven to be valuable; however, there is a shortage of student-student interaction in the online setting. At the conclusion of this study, the students reported an increase in learning due to the online peer tutoring provided.

Tutor Universe, an Iowa-based company, is a social marketplace for online tutoring that allows tutors and students to collaborate worldwide. The focus of Tutor Universe is to provide a platform that brings “students and tutors together in a more convenient and cost-effective manner than the existing traditional intermediaries and available alternatives. We are creating a global community for tutoring that is driven by social interactions” (M. Morrison, personal communication, August 16, 2013).

The founders consist of individuals from different backgrounds who determined that there was a gap in the tutoring industry. Hung Tran and Thomas Hornbeck, cofounders, identified the need for a better-quality online tutoring platform while studying as PhD students at the University of Iowa and working as tutors. These two joined forces with Michael Morrison, a veteran entrepreneur, John Garber, a seasoned business executive, and Jim Cremer, professor of computer science at the University of Iowa (Bannister, 2012; M. Morrison, personal communication, August 16, 2013).

These five individuals agreed that the gap in the tutoring market was due not only to the lack of tutors who were available for students but also the insufficient technologies being provided for tutoring purposes. The supply and demand of tutoring had an obvious inconsistency throughout departments at the University of Iowa and Hornbeck and Tran soon noticed it. Therefore, it was determined that in order to balance out the supply and demand of the tutoring industry, there was a need for a tool that would connect students and tutors across the world. Also, Tutor Universe focused on providing concepts and a level of interaction that was not being offered with other online tutoring platforms. Therefore, functions such as web chat, document sharing and editing, mathematical formula and graphing capabilities, and tutor reviews and ratings were added. This free online tool was developed to be an open market where tutors create their own profile and set their own rates (Bannister, 2012).

According to Morrison (personal communication, August 16, 2013) Tutor Universe founders are passionate about their business concept because Tutor Universe has been able to provide tutoring services to students and parents who otherwise would not have been able to conveniently and cost effectively get the needed help. The tutoring industry remains dominated by face-to-face delivery and despite other online tutoring solutions it is highly inefficient because there are millions of students who cannot receive needed help. The current models for delivering tutoring are not efficient or scalable. Within Google alone Tutor Universe has tracked 48,000,000 tutor-related searches per month. Tutor Universe set out to develop a distance-learning tool that would promote product fit and address the tremendous need for tutoring and coaching (M. Morrison, personal communication, August 16, 2013).

The virtual study room of Tutor Universe was officially launched November 1, 2012. At the time of the launch, the online platform had over 300 registered tutors and students (Bannister, 2012). Within the first 2 months the number of users increased to nearly 1,300 and by May of 2013 the company of five grew to 12 with more than 6,000 registered users (Bannister, 2013). According to the cofounder and chief executive officer, as of August 15, 2013, Tutor Universe had 18,767 users in over 50 countries, that is more than a 100% increase in 3 months (M. Morrison, personal communication, August 16, 2013).

In February of 2013 at the Hawkeye Innovation Summit, Tutor Universe was awarded the 2012 University of Iowa Startup of the year. The organization is putting more focus on social and collaborative enhancements and plans to see even more growth in the near future (Bannister, 2013).

Tutor Universe tutors are individuals who consider themselves experts in the subject area in which they are providing services. Anyone can create a profile as a tutor. Tutors select their own subject areas and rates. They also market their services. Tutor Universe simply provides the tutors with a distance education platform to be utilized as a delivery method. Currently, tutors are located around the world.

Tutors of Tutor Universe have shared the following testimonials regarding their experience with the distance-learning tool.

Any student can create a profile on Tutor Universe. Tutor Universe currently has students from the K-12 level as well as from higher education. These individuals are also located around the world. Students can search for and utilize the tutor of their choice. The online tool allows learners to filter search results by price and ratings.

Learners of Tutor Universe have shared the following testimonials regarding their experience with utilizing the distance learning tool and their experience with tutors within the platform.

The online platform provided by Tutor Universe allows users to create a profile similar to other social networking sites such as Facebook (Bannister, 2012). Tutors can share their qualifications, rates, ratings, and availability when creating their profile. Once the profile has been created, students throughout the world can locate the tutor. Communication to schedule a tutoring session can be conducted via messages or through the tutor's calendar. If the tutor is online and available, the learner can start the session instantly. This convenient option has proven to be the most popular choice. It would be more difficult to replicate this in a face-to-face environment.

Each booked tutoring session occurs in the Virtual Study Room located within the platform. This technology allows the tutor and the learner to utilize audio, video, and text for collaborative communication. The Virtual Study Room is also equipped with an interactive whiteboard that allows the users shared access. Both the tutor and learner can draw, select, share documents and images, markup and edit documents, insert formulas and graphing equations, insert shapes, insert color, and erase fields. Both parties can also save the information shared during the session for future reference.

Once a session is complete, the learner has the opportunity to fill out a questionnaire regarding the tutor and the session that just occurred. This information will be visible on the tutors profile and can be viewed by other learners who are searching for a tutor. It will directly impact the tutor rating located on the public profile. In an interview with Bannister (2012) cofounder Thomas Hornbeck states, “There are no more blind dates in tutoring. You're not just tearing a number off a sheet of paper and hoping you get a good tutor,” (p. 1). This feature empowers learners to be more involved in the tutoring process.

Tutors are paid within the Tutor Universe website. Learners must add money to their account prior to a tutoring session. This money is converted to “tutor bucks.” One U.S. dollar is equivalent to one tutor buck. Once a tutor has set their rate the system automatically ensures that any learner who books a session with that tutor has the available funds in his or her Tutor Universe account. Once the session is completed the funds are automatically transferred from one account to the other. Tutor Universe also collects a percentage based on the amount of sessions booked by the tutor.

Tutor Universe allows users to link social networking sites to their Tutor Universe profile. All users can link their profile to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. This not only allows tutors to market their offered services, it also helps Tutor Universe obtain more users. This feature promotes interaction among users.

The Tutor Universe technical support team is available to users via a chat icon within the platform. This icon ensures that Tutor Universe receives all issues immediately. Also, within the platform there is a question and answer section where users can post questions at any time. Any Tutor Universe user can answer these questions. This allows for added support and increased collaboration. Tutor Universe also provides blogs as an added resource for its users. Tutor Universe tutors as well as other experts in the tutoring field create these blogs. About three blogs are published weekly and each topic is suitable for both tutors and learners.

In addition to being a free open market for users, Tutor Universe also provides Tutor Universe Academy, an academic program for users. The founders of Tutor Universe determined that a major problem with today's higher education system is that many students acquire debt without obtaining a degree. Of the 3 million college freshmen that begin annually only 35% will earn their degree in 4 years and 40% will drop out. The purpose of Tutor Universe Academy is to provide online coaching and tutoring in order to build long-term skills, confidence, and parent involvement (Tutor Universe Academy, 2013).

Tutor Universe conducts a needs analysis to understand the learner's needs and set individualized goals. Next, the student completes an academic assessment to identify the student's strength and weaknesses. An individualized plan is then developed based on the student's specific need. The student then receives tutoring and coaching services at a distance on a regular basis. An evaluation is performed to review progress and assess outcomes (Tutor Universe Academy, 2013).

Throughout the development, launch, and growth of Tutor Universe there have been valuable lessons learned. The team within this organization has determined a need to focus on the supply side of the marketplace first; which are the tutors. Also, when marketing, parents are just as significant as the students. Some parents need to be educated on the need for tutoring and coaching because it is perceived as a deficiency rather than standard practice, especially in the United States (M. Morrison, personal communication, August 16, 2013).

Tutor Universe plans to acquire 50,000 users by December 31, 2013. The organization is currently ahead of schedule in attaining this goal. Based on current growth, by 2015 Tutor Universe projects to acquire 273,879 students and 30,334 tutors. By 2017 the organization projects 974,035 students and 113,048 tutors. Finally, by 2018 Tutor Universe projects to acquire 1,409,368 students and 168,328 tutors. According to these projections, Tutor Universe will be at 1,577,696 users in 5 years. This is obtainable based on the addressable market size being 150,000,000 college students and 388,000,000 high school students worldwide. This includes all subject areas including life, academic, and career coaching (M. Morrison, personal communication, August 16, 2013).

The world of distance education is ever-evolving. The growing use of the Internet has empowered learners even more. Online tutoring is allowing learners to expand their choice of tutors across borders. Tutor Universe is making a significant impact in the tutoring and distance learning markets. This organization has successfully blended online learning, social networking and collaboration to produce a cost-effective, convenient option for learners. Tutor Universe has grown considerably since launching in 2012. This organization expects to grow tremendously within the next 5 years and plans to assist many more students and parents throughout their educational journey.