As time moves on, children and teenagers alike feel the pressure. Most adolescents worry not just about school anymore, but extra-curricular activities adds to the hectic lifestyle. Although most children perform well, it seems that even the smartest ones need a little help sometimes. That’s where online tutoring comes in. Does it merit the approval of parents and teachers abroad?

We’ve all heard about outsourcing jobs, but have we ever heard of outsourcing education? The idea is still relatively new. However, this is what online tutoring institutions such as TransWebTutors.com, Tutorvista and smartthinking based in India offer. For about a quarter of the price, they offer the full services you would get in a normal tutoring program. Add this to the convenience of staying in your own home and it sounds like a done deal. But how are tutors who live thousands of miles away able to provide quality education? Janet Hogue, from the Beaverton Education Foundation has been involved for years with raising money for tutoring programs. She notes “And as soon we start turning away from personal relationships, I think we’re in big trouble." This is true. Although the tutors may be certified to teach, how can they build a repertoire with students and give them the proper education they need to succeed?

Jaime, a high school student in Seattle, Washington, USA sometimes has trouble with his Math 12 homework. How does he cope? In a desperate situation, he turned to online tutoring. “At first, I didn’t really think it would work," he comments. “But I was really surprised to see that it made a big difference." Not only was Jaime excited about the results of online tutoring, his parents reciprocated.

“We tried local tutoring programs with Jaime before," says mother Monica Smith. “They worked really well and the teachers were great. Now, with the computer based programs Jaime is using, it is a lot cheaper and I don’t have to drive him downtown." Because of such online tutoring, Jaime is very efficient with his work in Mathematics.

However, Math is not the only subject offered on the cyber world scene. Trans Web Tutors mentioned earlier, also offers tutoring in Key Stage 1 through A/SA levels for all subjects, as well as helping with various assignments in Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Statistics and Economics. Currently, they are tutoring approximately 200 students on a daily basis.

The No Child Left behind Act, enacted in early 2002 has proved to be a major catalyst. As the goal of the Act is to make sure that a higher success rate for struggling students is reached, many are turning to online tutoring as the answer.

So is online tutoring an acceptable facet for education? Some may agree that although there are cons, there are pros as well. As it stands now, India based institutions such as TransWebTutors will continue to grow as the demand for learning also increases. For many students however, the distance and lack of face to face interaction poses no issues.