How Technology is Enhancing the Online Tutoring Experience

Online tutoring is about much more than sitting in front of a screen and listening to someone explain a lesson. Students can work through questions with their tutors, share their screens when they get stuck, and go back to lesson notes whenever they need a reminder.

For tutors, it’s also easier to see how students are getting on. A shared whiteboard can show exactly where someone is struggling, while digital worksheets and quizzes can help them decide what to focus on next.

And with more ways to find tutors, take part in lessons and practice between sessions, technology can improve the online learning experience in ways that make a real difference to how students learn.

Making tutoring accessible to more students

Finding the right tutor isn't always easy, especially if you're limited to people in your area. You might need help with a specific exam, want someone who teaches a particular subject, or simply need lessons that fit around your schedule. Online tutoring gives you more options because you're no longer restricted to tutors who live nearby.

For example, a student preparing for their final exams could work with someone who knows their syllabus, even if that tutor lives on the other side of the country. Or someone learning a new language could book evening lessons after work without worrying about traveling across town.

This can make a big difference for students in smaller towns or rural areas, where there might not be many tutors to choose from. With a device and a reliable internet connection, they can get the help they need from home.

Tutors benefit from this wider reach, too. They can teach students from different areas and build their client base without traveling. Online tutoring platforms, such as FindTutors, provide opportunities for tutors to connect with students seeking additional academic support. This flexibility allows tutors to reach a broader audience while offering lessons remotely.

Making online lessons more interactive

One of the biggest advantages of digital learning tools is that students can actively participate in an online lesson. Rather than spending the entire session listening to explanations, they can work through problems, share their ideas and receive guidance as they go.

Working through problems on shared whiteboards

Trying to explain a maths problem over a video call can get frustrating when you can't see what the other person is doing. With a shared whiteboard, tutors and students can work on the same problem, writing out each step and making changes as they go.

Say a student keeps getting the wrong answer to an equation. By watching them work through it, the tutor might notice they're missing a minus sign or applying a rule incorrectly. They can stop at that point, explain what went wrong, and let the student try again while it's still fresh in their mind.

Whiteboards are useful for other subjects, too. Students can map out ideas for an essay, label parts of a science diagram, or practice building sentences in another language. They can add their own notes, move things around and ask questions as they work.

And sometimes, being able to point to the exact part that's confusing makes it much easier to ask for help.

Using screen sharing for practical demonstrations

If you've ever tried explaining how to do something on a computer without showing the other person your screen, you'll know how quickly it can get confusing. Screen sharing makes those lessons much easier because students can follow along and see exactly what their tutor is doing.

This is especially handy for subjects like coding, where a tutor can walk through an error and show how to fix it. The same goes for learning spreadsheets, using design software or getting familiar with a new program.

Once the student has seen how something works, they can share their own screen and give it a go. The tutor can watch as they work, answer questions and step in when they get stuck. It's also a good way to check whether the student can complete the task on their own or needs a bit more practice.

Creating learning materials that suit individual students

A worksheet that works perfectly for one student might leave another completely lost. Some students need extra examples to understand a topic, while others are ready for something more challenging. Being able to adjust learning materials makes it easier for tutors to meet students where they are.

And with digital tools, tutors don't have to create a new worksheet every time they want to make a few changes.

For example, a tutor might have a collection of printed worksheets they'd like to reuse. By scanning them and using optical character recognition (OCR), they can convert the text into searchable, selectable, and editable digital content. You can also edit an OCR PDF online with tools such as Smallpdf after processing a scan, using its editing tools to make changes where supported.

Once the material is editable, there are several ways to make it more useful for individual students:

• Adjust the difficulty: Simplify questions for someone who's still learning the basics, or add more challenging exercises for a student who's ready to move ahead.
• Add visual examples: Diagrams, charts, and illustrations can help explain concepts that are difficult to understand through text alone.
• Include extra guidance: Add hints, worked examples, or clearer instructions to help students complete activities on their own.
• Focus on problem areas: If a student keeps struggling with fractions, for example, the tutor can prepare extra questions targeting the steps they're finding difficult.

These resources can be shared during a lesson or sent to students for homework. Students can complete the activities in their own time and return them for feedback, giving tutors a better idea of what to cover next.

Tip: It's worth checking any scanned or edited documents before sharing them, especially when they contain numbers or mathematical symbols. OCR doesn't always recognize everything correctly, and a small mistake could make a question confusing.

Using digital feedback to identify learning gaps

Sometimes a student seems to understand everything during a lesson, only to struggle when they try the work on their own. Digital quizzes and online assessments can help tutors identify these gaps and see which topics need more attention.

Take an English lesson, for example. A student might be able to explain a grammar rule perfectly but keep making mistakes when using it in a sentence. A quick quiz after the lesson can bring that problem to light, giving the tutor something specific to work on next time.

Over a few lessons, these assessments can also show whether a student is improving or getting stuck on the same types of questions. Tutors can use that information to plan extra practice, revisit tricky topics, or move on when the student is ready.

Giving feedback directly on student work

Getting an assignment back with a few corrections isn't always helpful if you don't understand what went wrong. With shared documents, tutors can leave comments exactly where they're needed, making it easier for students to see what they should work on.

For example, if a student is writing an essay, their tutor can highlight a paragraph that needs more evidence and explain what could be added. The student can make those changes in the same document and ask questions if they're unsure about the feedback.

The comments also stay there for students to revisit later. When they're working on their next assignment, they can look back at previous suggestions and check whether they're making the same mistakes or starting to improve.

Tracking progress beyond test scores

If a student scores 6 out of 10 on a quiz, their tutor knows that four answers were wrong, but the score doesn't explain what went wrong.

Perhaps the student misunderstood the instructions, rushed through the questions, or made a small calculation mistake. Asking them to show their working in a shared document or talk through their answers during a video call helps the tutor get a clearer picture of where they're struggling.

It's also a chance to recognize progress that doesn't always show up in test results. Even when a student gets an answer wrong, they could be using the right method or getting better at explaining their thinking. Tutors can pick up on these improvements and use them to decide what to focus on next.

Helping students learn independently between lessons

It's easy to forget parts of a lesson once you're sitting at home trying to do the work yourself. Having access to notes, examples and practice activities gives students something to refer to when their tutor isn't around.

Tutors can keep these resources in a shared folder or online learning platform, so everything is easy to find. Recorded explanations are also useful for revisiting tricky topics, especially when a student needs to see a process demonstrated more than once.

Interactive quizzes give students a chance to test what they've learned, with some providing instant feedback on their answers. This helps them spot mistakes, practice difficult topics and come to their next lesson with a better idea of what they still need help with.

Making learning resources easier to access

Digital resources can make online lessons more accessible to students with different abilities. Someone who struggles to follow spoken instructions could benefit from written notes, while students with hearing or visual impairments may find captions, larger text or assistive technology helpful.

Tutors should ask students which formats work best for them and check that the materials they share are accessible. A worksheet that can't be read by a screen reader or a video without captions can make learning unnecessarily difficult.

Keeping everything organized helps students work more independently, too. Clearly labeled folders for notes, worksheets, and homework make it easier to find what they need between lessons.