An Introduction to Online Tutoring with Nettutor

An Introduction to Online Tutoring with NetTutor™

2007-2008

An Introduction to Online Tutoring

with NetTutor™

Prepared by:

4515 George Road, Suite 340

Tampa, Florida 33634

813.674.0660

2007-2008
Table of Contents

About NetTutor™

Live Tutorial

Offline Question Submission

Archive Center

Live Class

About the WorldWideWhiteboard™

Overview

Layout and design

Why the WorldWideWhiteboard™?

Communication modes

User features

Group leader features

Conferencing features

Online Tutoring Services

Overview

Covered Subjects

Tutoring Service Description

Qualifications, Responsibilities, and Duties

Schedule

Tracking and Reporting

About Link-Systems International, Inc.

Our Company

Our Team

LSI Mission Statement

Our Customers

Confidential Material

An Introduction to Online Tutoring with NetTutor™

2007-2008

About NetTutor™

Confidential Material

An Introduction to Online Tutoring with NetTutor™

2007-2008

NetTutor™ provides a convenient way for tutors and students to communicate with each other, without their needing to be in the same physical location.

NetTutor™ is divided into four main centers:

Confidential Material

An Introduction to Online Tutoring with NetTutor™

2007-2008

Live Tutorial

A live tutorial is a one-on-one, interactive discussion between learner and mentor. Everyone connected to the tutorial session may watch, but only one student at a time may interact with the tutor. When a tutor is in and conducting a live tutorial session, a JoinLive Tutorial button is presented on the main group page.

The session begins in view-mode. This mode allows you to watch the tutor help other students. You can remain in view-mode for the entire tutorial, or you can submit a question by clicking on the Ask A Question button. When submitting a question, you are placed into question-mode. By entering question-mode, you arrive in a private workspace to prepare your question. You will not be able to see what is happening in view-mode while in question-mode, nor will anyone else be able to see you entering your question. After you prepare your question, you then Submit Your Question. This places your question into the tutor's queue and returns you to view-mode. Once the tutor gets to your question, you will be notified by a bell and placed into interactive-mode. Your one-on-one tutoring takes place in this mode, and everyone else connected is in view-mode and able to watch your session. Interactive-mode is the only mode in the Live Tutorial that counts toward your allotted tutoring minutes.

At any point while in the queue, students may decide to no longer wait for the tutor to answer their question. By simply clicking Mail, the tutor will receive and answer your question offline at some point later that day. Once done answering a question, the tutor has the option of creating an archive (Archive Center) if s/he feels it would be helpful to other students as well.

Offline Question Submission

Students who do not wish to wait for their question to be addressed during the tutorial may submit questions to the Mail Queue (Q & A Center) to be answered later. Only time spent by the tutors answering your question counts toward your allotted tutoring minutes.

In this Center students can submit questions and retrieve answers later, while tutors can answer questions that have accumulated over time. When a student asks a question s/he is given a question code. Using this code, the student can return to this center and retrieve his/her answer once a tutor has answered it. Once done answering a question, the tutor has the option of creating an archive (Archive Center) if s/he feels it would be helpful to other students as well.

Archive Center

Here students can browse previously answered questions for their answers. They can also search for questions pertinent to a particular topic. If they encounter an answer they do not understand, they can ask a follow-up question.

Live Class

A live class session is a multi-user environment. Everyone who is connected can participate in a leader-lead or a leader-less group chat session via the WorldWideWhiteboard™.

Confidential Material

An Introduction to Online Tutoring with NetTutor™

2007-2008

About the WorldWideWhiteboard™

Overview

Our latest version of the WorldWideWhiteboard™ continues to provide the easiest mechanism for including an interactive conversation within the on-line collaboration process.

The whiteboard has many customizable features, including chatting, text communication, drawing, URL sharing, special symbols, image and audio file loading, polling, private messaging, application viewing, and post-process editing capabilities. Threaded archives are automatically created from all live sessions.

WWWhiteboardTM Illustration

Layout and design

The WorldWideWhiteboard™ consists of a large whiteboard region.

Along the left-hand side is the customizable tool bar. It provides special symbols and shapes, color and line thickness selection, highlighting, and cursor movement. (The WorldWideWhiteboard™, depicted above, shows the default tool bar buttons.) The selection of available buttons is fully customizable by your developers, as well as a group setting controlled by the group administrator.

Along the top of the WorldWideWhiteboard™ is a menu bar with several pull-down menu items. On the right side of the WorldWideWhiteboard is a user list, which is used in the Live Class mode of the WorldWideWhiteboard™. This user list shows which users are in the session, allows the leader of the session to control read-write access to the whiteboard and chat area, allows users to send private messages, and allows leaders to send poll questions to the users in the session.

At the bottom of the WorldWideWhiteboard™ are one or more operations buttons, and a status line. The status line displays real-time information, such as queue status, submission status, what the current discussion is about, and who has joined the group.

Why the WorldWideWhiteboard™?

The greatest feature of our communication utility is still the speed in which the WorldWideWhiteboard™ processes data. Dozens of users can be spread out all over the world (even Beijing, China), all logged in via modem to a server in New York City, and still have an efficient online conference – in real time! By being very bandwidth friendly, the WorldWideWhiteboard™ continues to provide virtually immediate collaboration globally.

Another important feature of this whiteboard is that it requires no software downloads on the part of the client. Although we have added a plug-in to enable certain new conferencing features, it does not need to be installed to obtain functionality. All a user needs is a Java/JavaScript-enabled, modern version of Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Our software supports a variety of client platforms including Windows 9X//NT/XP, many flavors of Unix, and Macintosh OS 8 or higher (including OS X). Servers that we support include Windows NT, Linux and Solaris.

The WorldWideWhiteboard™ provides a convenient way for individuals to communicate with each other, without their needing to be in the same physical location. Indeed, participants can be scattered all over the world.

Communication modes

Live Communication Mode

The WorldWideWhiteboard™ handles several real-time modes, including:

Tutorial-mode. A one-on-one, interactive session, where all participants may watch, but only one user at a time may interact with the leader.

Classroom-mode. A multi-user, leader-led session, where a leader has the capacity to control the flow of dialog, switching of the whiteboard, and enabling/disabling write access. The leader also has control over polling, answering the hand raising, and can remove a user from the current session.

Chat-mode. A multi-user, leader-less session, where everyone can participate in a peer-to-peer chat as equals.

Asynchronous Communication Mode

The WorldWideWhiteboard™ handles several off-line modes, including:

Submission mode. Allowing users to submit postings offline, then allowing the leader (or other users) to respond. The users can then go back later to retrieve the response. The SDK can be configured to automatically notify the users that their questions have been answered.

Threaded-posting mode. Users may “post” whiteboards for review and comment by other users. Multiple re-posts of a message are shown as “threaded” listings of entries.

Static Communication Mode

Virtually every WorldWideWhiteboard™ session may be saved, or archived, during a session. Additionally, these archives may be “post-processed,” that is, edited or refined for later viewing.

This includes spell checking, formatting, and better organizing the submission. Whether you edit the posting or not, users can be granted access to all postings in any customized directory structure you choose.

User features

Image and Audio Loading

The load feature allows users to load prepared images (GIF, JPEG) and prepared audio files (.AU) onto the WorldWideWhiteboard. Once a web-supported multimedia file is loaded onto the WorldWideWhiteboard, it can be copied, moved, deleted, and annotated like any other WorldWideWhiteboard object.

Private Messaging

This allows two or more people in a group to message one another privately, student-to-student or instructor-to-student.

Font Color Control

Change the color of fonts when writing on the whiteboard to signify a particular item.

Notes Section

Allows the ability to utilize the whiteboard, create notes and save them for future reference without having to submit through Q&A or Live Discussion.

File Incorporation

Upload Microsoft Office files onto the whiteboard for annotation. Any annotations would be made to the whiteboard itself and not the file. This is an automation of the existing cut & paste process for ease of uploading multi-page documents. There are no limits imposed on the number of participating users or maximum file size.

Group leader features

Virtual-hand Raising

Allows students to notify the instructor that there is a question on the floor.

Question Polling

Provides the ability to ask a question with answers automatically tallied and displayed to the instructor.

Leader Takeover

A new leader/tutor can take over a live session started by another.

Worksheet/Testing

Create and post a worksheet or test and the answers can be graded.

Conferencing features

Live discussions with Pre-made Sessions

This was created to serve as a slide show. A session can be created with multiple pages (using PowerPoint, for example) then imported to display a slide show. This function requires the group leader to work from a Microsoft Windows environment.

Broadcast Audio

The SDK can integrate with any third-party Voice Over IP utility. Live audio can be streamed via the Internet to session participants, or users may chat with each other in real-time, depending on which third-party software is selected. There are no limits imposed on the number of participating users by the Software.

Application Viewing

Any application on the leader’s desktop is displayed on the whiteboard and shared by participants in the session. The viewed application is integrated with the whiteboard feature so presenters or participants can use the whiteboard to make notes or other annotations on the slides, for more detailed instruction, emphasis or clarification, as the demonstration is in progress. This function requires the group leader to work from a Microsoft Windows environment.

Online Tutoring Services

Overview

LSI provides the most comprehensive support services for all levels of business, mathematics, engineering, information technology, and science, including problem-solving recitations. In addition to the covered subjects listed below, additional content areas can be offered, should demand exist.

Tutors hold office hours, attend supervisory meetings, hold individual tutoring appointments, and lead small group tutoring sessions for students enrolled in middle school, high school, college and graduate-level courses. Our tutoring professionals are usually either full-time employees of LSI, or alternate between tutor assignments and full-time teaching or graduate-level studies.

LSI has several Ph.D. level executives, each with several years of teaching and incorporating technology into coursework.

Covered Subjects

English Composition, Liberal Arts Math, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus, Statistics, Astronomy, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Information Technology, Economics, Finance, Accounting, Paralegal Studies, Criminal Justice, and more…

Tutoring Service Description

Type I - Homework Help

Students choose to either submit a live question or an offline question.
Tutor reviews the question, then works with the student to help the student “get it.”
Students should come to the session with a specific question about an assignment (i.e., where they are “stuck”), and not with general, open ended questions (“I don’t get it”).
Available 24/7; live tutor hours vary by subject, and can scale to meet large demand.

Type II - Paper Review

Students choose to join a live chat with the tutor, or submit their paper for offline review.
Tutor hosts a live chat room where relevant topics are discussed.
Tutor will review papers offline, giving students an additional set of review/feedback.
Available 24/7; live tutor hours vary by subject, and can scale to meet large demand.

Qualifications, Responsibilities, and Duties

Qualifications

Masters/Doctoral level graduate…
Or currently enrolled in graduate or undergraduate-level studies, with 2 years minimum study in concentrating area.
Minimum overall GPA 3.0, with no less than a B grade in tutoring subjects.
Strong verbal communication skills.
Patience in working with students for whom learning does not come easily.
Responsible, dependable, and organized work habits.

Tutor Responsibilities

Facilitate development of learning skills and concepts.
Assist students in solving problems, without doing their work for them.
Provide guidance and encouragement, and maintain a positive attitude.
Answer and ask questions.
Encourage good study habits.
Hold individual and small group tutoring sessions.
Tutor in more than one content area.
Available for tutoring no less than twenty hours per week.
Attend weekly supervisory meetings.
Facilitate learning; don't lecture the material.
Answer specific questions about material presented.
Assist students in learning problem-solving strategies and methods of studying.
Attend a tutor training session each quarter.
Keep proper records and turn them in to LSI.
Complete program evaluations as requested by the tutor program sponsor.

Student Responsibilities

Study the course material before each tutor session.
Come to each session prepared with specific questions.
Attend EACH class. A tutor session is not an acceptable substitute for a missed class.
Notify the tutor program coordinator of any problems.
Complete program evaluations as requested by the tutor program coordinator.

Schedule

LSI estimates that in order for a tutor to fully answer a student’s question, between 5-20 minutes should be spent with the student on-line (an average of 3-5 consecutive questions answered per hour).

Should peak hours require additional tutoring support, LSI will reshuffle the tutoring schedule to accommodate as best as can be done. Should this program prove to be as successful as anticipated, additional tutorial hours will eventually be added.

Tracking and Reporting

LSI will provide detailed tutoring usage reports, including the ability to routinely refer to an online system that provides up-to-the-minute details. These reports will indicate when tutors were online, how many questions were submitted, and the average length of time spent answering a question.

Summary information along with details in a specific session is also available. This database is updated in real time, and made available either via e-mail attachment or URL posting.

About Link-Systems International, Inc.

Our Company

Link-Systems International, Incorporated (LSI) is a twelve-year old privately-held and self-funding technology, services and content development company dedicated to student success and student retention in K-12 Education, Higher Education, and Workforce Development Education.

Our core technologies include a very flexible online tutoring/teaching platform, an online grade book, an online algorithm engine with metadata and workflow capabilities, and an online business intelligence/data mining technology designed to provide real-time alerts regarding student/school/teacher performance, attendance, and other metrics.

Our core services include content development, consulting, and online tutoring through our NetTutor™ brand.

Our customers include K-12 publishers, higher education publishers, virtual high schools, higher education institutions, technology companies, and Joint Programs dedicated to providing online educational content to members of Organized Labor and their families.

We are located in Tampa, Florida, a few miles from the University of South Florida. Along with the Moffitt Cancer Center -- one of the premier medical research institutions in the United States -- USF has excellent Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics programs which provide LSI much of our human capital.

Launched in 1995, LSI has created several unique and powerful technologies, which facilitate the sharing of content over the Internet. We specialize in mathematics, technical and scientific content, the most critical types of online content with respect to student success, and the most difficult to share online.

Today, LSI is recognized by a variety of publishers and educational institutions not only for its high-quality work and dedication to meeting commitments, but also for its unique ability to develop digital strategies that are custom tailored to the needs of its customers.

Our partners and customers have come to value and trust LSI because we are the only company that offers a complete suite of interoperable solutions that address the entire life cycle of the student, with an overt focus on the bottom line: Student Success and Student Retention. That student life cycle includes: