Online and in-person tutoring are two popular options in today’s educational landscape. But what sets them apart? Explore the strengths of each option to make an informed decision for your child’s learning journey.

Differences Between Online Tutoring & In-Person Tutoring

Curriculum Tailored to Your Child

One of the most significant distinctions between online tutoring and in-person tutoring is how tutors approach the curriculum. 

Every child is unique, and their learning styles and needs vary. Traditional classrooms often employ a one-size-fits-all approach, which may only sometimes be effective for some students.

At Oxford Learning, both remote tutoring and in-person tutoring take a personalized approach. A dedicated tutor tailors the curriculum to your child’s specific requirements, considering their individual learning style and academic goals. 

The focus here is on addressing specific problem areas directly and nurturing a deep understanding of the subject matter. However, with remote tutoring, one-on-one attention allows for a more customized educational experience, which can be especially beneficial for students who struggle with certain concepts.

On the other hand, in-person tutoring follows a more standardized curriculum due to its larger student base. While this provides a solid educational foundation based on a student’s grade level, it may offer different flexibility in terms of adapting to individual needs. 

Some students may thrive in this structured environment, while others might find it less accommodating to their unique learning journey.

Balancing Personalization with Social Interaction

While remote tutoring can offer a more personalized learning experience, the social aspect of education is worth noting. 

In-person tutoring provides opportunities for students to interact with peers, fostering a sense of community and collaboration. Some students thrive in this environment, finding that group dynamics enhance their learning journey.

In contrast, remote tutoring is a one-on-one experience, which may limit social interaction. However, this can also be seen as an advantage for students who require a quieter, distraction-free environment to focus on their studies. 

Consider your child’s social needs alongside their academic requirements when deciding between remote tutoring and in-person tutoring. Ultimately, the ideal choice balances personalized instruction and social engagement, aligning with your child’s individual preferences and learning style.

Convenience Is A Key Factor for Busy Families 

For families juggling multiple commitments and activities, convenience becomes a crucial factor. Online tutoring offers unparalleled flexibility in terms of scheduling. 

Since students work with their tutors individually, sessions can be arranged when in-person tutoring might be closed. This convenience is a major draw for families balancing their children’s education with their busy lifestyles.

However, in-person tutoring offers the added benefit of providing a safe location for parents to drop off their students while feeling comfortable knowing their children will be supervised. 

In-person tutoring gives students a quiet and learning-focused place for students to learn. Online learning at home can be difficult as there are other distractions where students can quickly lose focus. 

Tutoring centres allow students to switch into the learning mindset, be much less distracted and remain focused on what’s important—learning. 

Tutoring Tip: A popular option is scheduling one-to-one tutoring sessions in an Oxford Learning location.

Beyond Academics: Life Skills and Confidence

When debating between remote tutoring vs. in-person tutoring, it’s essential to consider the broader educational impact. 

Remote tutoring not only addresses academic challenges but can also provide valuable life skills and boost a child’s confidence. Personalized attention allows tutors to focus on not just what your child learns but also how they learn. 

This personalized approach can nurture essential skills such as time management, organization, and effective study habits, which are often overlooked in larger group settings.

Moreover, the one-on-one relationship between the tutor and the student can boost self-esteem and confidence. When a student sees their progress and gains a deeper understanding of the subject matter, it can have a profound positive effect on their self-belief and motivation. 

While effective academically, in-person tutoring might offer a different level of individualized attention to foster these non-academic skills and confidence-building. However, many learning centres, such as Oxford Learning, have the option for you to have one-on-one personalized tutoring. 

Ultimately, the choice between remote tutoring vs. in-person tutoring goes beyond the classroom; it’s about preparing your child for success in all aspects of life.

Online Tutoring Vs. In-Person Tutoring—What’s Best For Your Family? 

In the debate between remote tutoring vs. in-person tutoring, the right choice ultimately depends on your child’s unique needs and your family’s lifestyle. 

Remote tutoring offers personalized attention and flexible scheduling, making it an attractive option for many. On the other hand, in-person tutoring provides structured learning environments with the benefit of supervision.

To make an informed decision, it’s essential to consider your child’s learning style, specific academic needs, and your family’s daily routine. Oxford Learning is here to assist you in this process, helping you determine which tutoring option is the ideal choice for your child’s personality and learning strengths. 

Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution in education, and the best choice is the one that aligns most closely with your child’s growth and development.

Oxford Learning is Here to Help You 

Need more help deciding between remote tutoring vs. in-person and which is the right choice for your child? Let us know! Oxford Learning can help determine if your child would benefit from a tutor who has been matched to their personality style and learning strengths.

Contact a location near you to learn more.

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Three Key Impacts of Online Learning:

• social
• emotional
• academic

Keep reading to learn more about the impact of online learning and how you can help your child this summer.

Social Impact

Interacting with peers regularly is part of normal and healthy development for students. Friends at school can boost school motivation and desire to learn. Connecting with others this summer will help. Experts say that social time can get kids interested in school again and help them heal from the isolation of COVID-19.

Emotional Impact

Researchers say the pandemic has had a profound effect on the mental health of children. Researchers found that roughly 70 per cent of children experienced a deterioration of their mental health since the pandemic. Many students experienced an increase in depression, anxiety, and irritability. Pandemic depression can make students less able to tolerate disappointment and less motivated to get involved in activities. They also report being restless and bored.

Academic Impact

Education experts worry that online learning has caused a gap that students may not recover from. Regular attendance was down this school year, as was class participation—both of which impact learning and school success. Students of all ages and grades will be behind before next year begins.

Make Learning Fun Again This Summer!

For students who hated online learning, summer learning represents an opportunity to make learning fun again. Restrictions are lifting across the country and in-person learning is becoming available once again. Interactive summer learning programs can help students not only catch back up and regain missing skills, it can help them start re-associating school with everything great that they love about learning and education.

Reconnect your child with learning opportunities that motivate and encourage this summer and help them rediscover their love of learning and get ahead for next year. Oxford Learning summer programs are a great way to help students who hated online learning love learning and school again. Find a location near you to enrol today!

The post Hated Online Learning? Summer Learning Can Help. appeared first on Oxford Learning.

Students report math as their least-favourite school subject. Math is the subject parents request most when looking for an online tutor.

If you are considering an online math tutor for your child, you are not alone. According to the EQAO—Education Quality and Accountability Office—only half of Grade 6 students met math standards.

Can students develop stronger math skills online?

While most students think of sitting beside or across from their tutor, working with math tutors online can be just as effective as in-person math tutoring! 

For math or for any other subject, online tutoring offers many of the same benefits as in-person tutoring along with additional benefits of being in the safety of your own home!

Check out these other surprising ways online tutoring can help students succeed.

Five Ways Online Tutors Help Students Succeed in Math:

1. Conquer Math Anxiety. One major hurdle that students can experience when it comes to learning math is math anxiety. Math anxiety can cause negative emotions like fear of failure and harm students’ ability to perform. Online math tutors can help students overcome math anxiety with stronger study skills.
   
2. Personalization and Pacing. One way online math tutors can help students succeed is by personalizing the program to each student’s needs. Every student learns at his or her own pace. Tutoring helps students succeed by never moving on to a new topic until a student is comfortable.
   
3. Engagement Levels. In class, students learn in large groups and can get be too intimidated to participate in class. When students receive tutoring in a small group or one-on-one, they are less intimidated to participate. Students develop strong connections to their online math tutors.
   
4. Better Techniques. Online math tutors teach students learning skills that lead to better math learning techniques. Skills such as checking work, showing all the steps, and prioritizing tasks can help students succeed.
   
5. More Focus. With increased interaction in small online classes, there are also fewer distractions for students, helping them have a better focus on their lesson. Better focus means students get even more out of every online math tutoring class.

Get Better Math Grades. . .Online!

Online math tutoring can be just as effective as in-person tutoring thanks to an increased focus on the lesson and more one-on-one interaction with the tutor. Discover how online math tutoring at Oxford Learning can help your child get better math grades this year. Check out our location page to connect with a location near you.

The post Can Online Math Tutors Help Students Get Better Grades? appeared first on Oxford Learning.

Before COVID-19, online learning tools we already experiencing an increase in popularity and usage. Some of these tools include virtual tutoring, language apps, and video conferencing. 

Even when students return to in-class learning full-time, online learning will likely still be around. The sooner that students learn how to make the most of online learning time, the more successful they will be! These online learning tips can help students of all ages make the most of their online learning time and keep their academic progression going strong!

Online Learning Tips For Success

1. Get Organized: Before each class, take 10 minutes to get set up online. Open up the laptop or turn on the computer. Gather all books and get any other supplies ready. Being organized allows students to focus on their online learning and helps to reduce distractions. Similar to in the classroom, students should have any note materials on hand during online classes and tutoring sessions.
   
2. Set Up A Study Studio: A Study Studio is a dedicated area of your house where learning can happen without distractions and where learning supplies and materials are always within easy reach. Study Studios help students get into a learning mindset quicker and stay there for longer, which makes time spent learning more effective! Learn more.
   
3. Keep a Routine: When in-person learning is suspended, it’s important that students follow a normal learning routine as possible. Schedule disruptions can affect both young and old students alike, causing loss of motivation. Having a daily routine can reduce stress levels and reduce uncertainty about each day.
   
4. Participate in Class: Online learning doesn’t have to be isolating! Teachers use several strategies during class to encourage discussion. While it can be intimating to speak up in front of the class, online platforms often have chat features that allow students to submit answers without having the entire class watching them.
   
5. Maintain Healthy Habits. How effective students make their learning time depends on many factors. Sleep habits, nutrition, physical activity and even screentime can all affect how well students learn. Set screen time limits and be sure that students are moving their bodies and eating well before class time to make the most out of their online learning time.

Set Students Up For Online Success

Online learning can be challenging, but with the right online learning tips, students can succeed. Oxford Learning makes the switch from in-class to online learning smooth and fun to take learning. skills to the next level.

The post Five Tips To Make The Most of Online Learning Time appeared first on Oxford Learning.

A Study Studio is a dedicated area of your house where learning can happen without distractions and where learning supplies and materials are always within easy reach. Study Studios help students get into a learning mindset quicker and stay there for longer, which makes time spent learning more effective!

Do you have a dedicated area for learning in your home?

When you designate one room or area as the go-to home study space, students’ brains eventually associate this area with learning.  When they sit down at their Study Studio, their brains enter ‘learn-mode’ sooner which makes learning time more effective. Students pay better attention to the lesson, are more engaged in learning, and remember more about what they just learned.

The goal of a Study Studio is to maximize the attention students devote to their learning time. Whether it’s online with teachers and tutors or when completing work offline, Study Studios minimize the amount of effort necessary to get ready for an online class.

Whether it’s the kitchen table, a desk in a bedroom or office, or a card table in the basement, the Study Studio doesn’t have to be fancy to be effective!

Gather what you need:

You likely already have all the materials you need to create a Study Studio in your home. It’s as simple as choosing a spot where learning can happen then gathering up all the necessary supplies, such as:

• A chair that’s at the right height
• A solid surface such as a table or desk
• Proper lighting
• An outlet to keep the computer, laptop, or tablet charged during online lessons
• A box to keep all learning materials and supplies together

Try to avoid:

Try to avoid having the Study Studio in a bedroom or in the living room—these are places meant for relaxing and sleeping. If the Study Studio is in a bedroom, avoid moving on to the bed. Research shows that studying or learning on the bed can affect sleep patterns, limit focus, and decrease productivity.

Reduce Distractions:

The point of the Study Studio is to help students make the most of their learning time. This means reducing distractions, shutting off TVs, turning down radios, and closing the blinds.

Read more tips about doing schoolwork at home here

Choose a dedicated space to learn, reduce distractions, and place all the materials children will need within reach. This ensures that when students log onto their next zoom class they are ready to learn and able to stay focused for the entire class.

The post Create A Study Studio & Make Learning At Home Easier! appeared first on Oxford Learning.

Making the switch to learning at home and online is likely not an easy change for your family to adapt to. There are a lot of new responsibilities that we are not used to handling at home; however, there are many advantages of online learning and online tutoring that can help your child succeed academically.

How Can Online Learning and Online Tutoring Benefit your Child?

Before we look at the benefits, let’s first distinguish between the two terms:

• Online Learning—your child spends time learning online whether it’s through arranged online classes or through self-directed learning using games, workbooks, or activities on learning-based websites.

• Online Tutoring—your child receives one-on-one interactive instruction from an online tutor.

Learn more about the benefits of writing by hand: read more

8 Advantages of Online Learning and Online Tutoring:

1. Convenient: online learning and online tutoring are easy and convenient. Your child can go from lunch or playtime straight to online tutoring. There’s no need to change clothes, pack a lunch, or drive to school. The classroom is in your house!
2. Flexible: the advantages of online learning or online tutoring can happen anywhere your child wants! Your child can connect with online tutors, teachers, and classmates from any room in the house! You can even learn online with people across the country from the comfort of your couch.
3. Less Stressful. Your child is probably more comfortable at home than anywhere else, so naturally this is an empowering and relaxed environment for them to engage in online tutoring. Plus, they’ll feel safer at home too!
4. Reviewable. If your child’s online class or online tutoring offers recordings, he or she can review lessons as needed, make notes, and spend more time on areas that are challenging.
5. Less Distracting. Without classmates cracking jokes or otherwise causing distractions from learning, students are able to control their online learning or online tutoring environment that suits their needs best, whether it’s the bedroom, an office, or the dining room table.
6. Customizable. Online learning and online tutoring students don’t have to move to a different classroom because the bell rang, which means they are able to learn at their own pace, pausing learning to make notes or to ask questions of their online tutor. There is also less pressure to keep up with other students.
7. Comprehensive. Whether your child is in kindergarten and is learning to read online, in elementary school building math skills online, or building better writing skills online for college entrance exams, online learning and online tutoring cover every age, grade, and subject possible.
8. Safe. There is no safer place than home right now during the Covid-19 pandemic. Being able to adhere to social distancing while learning is a major online tutoring benefit. 

If the global pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the importance of keeping your mind busy. That’s why we think online tutoring is a great way to keep motivated and stay on track. Check out our Weekly Resource Roundup for great ideas on how to keep busy and keep learning online.

The post The Advantages of Online Learning At Home appeared first on Oxford Learning.

Weather Wiz Kids

Sun, snow, wind, or rain, future meteorologists, or any kid interested in the daily phenomenon of weather, will enjoy learning about the weather with Weather Wiz Kids.

Learn about the various weather events plus play games, and learn weather-related jokes.

Bedtime Math

Bedtime Math’s mission is to help kids love numbers so they can handle the math in real life. This site has online math games and offline activities for kids to balance online learning with screen-free math tasks. Be sure to check out the game of the week!

National Geographic Kids

Young Explorers will love exploring the natural world online with National Geographic Kids! Check out the Brain Boosters Area for Quizzes and Science Experiments, play games online, or even watch interesting animal videos!

PBS Kids

Math. Reading. Problem Solving. Nature. Learning Spanish… PBS Kids has dozens of online learning games featuring characters kids already know and love!

Country Living

Crafts are a great family activity. They reinforce many important school skills such as attention to detail, following instructions, and maintaining focus. These activities also encourage creativity and imagination. Plus, kids end up with a great craft that they can feel proud about!

Kids Activities

Does a rain day have you and the kids stuck in the house? 

If you’ve already built all the forts you can handle, and hide and seek has lost its luster, Kids Activities Blog via Quirky Momma has created a Roundup of 30+ Indoor Games to Keep the Kids Occupied!

Whether it’s obstacle courses using painter’s tape, or bowling using plastic from the recycling bin, these fun ideas will encourage everyone in the house to get both creative and active!

Artsology

Van Gogh. Dali. Warhol.  ‍

Perfect for the budding artist in your home, Artsology helps students learn about Art History through 107 different art-based games!

Including lesson materials and printables, Artsology makes art appreciation fun!

The post Resource Roundup 2 appeared first on Oxford Learning.

Regardless of where you live, the question that is on every parent’s mind is how is learning at home going to work in my household?

The answer will vary from province to province, school board to school board, and even child to child. Learn-at-home requirements differ across regions and according to your child’s grade.

Knowing where to start can be daunting!

Beyond communicating with your child’s teachers, knowing the learning guidelines and resources for your province can help you feel better about taking control of learning at home. Every province has a ministry-approved set of recommendations for learning at home.

Here are the learning-at-home guidelines and resources from every province:

Alberta

LEARN MORE

British Columbia

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Manitoba

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New Brunswick

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Newfoundland

LEARN MORE

Nova Scotia

LEARN MORE

Ontario

LEARN MORE

Prince Edward Island

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Saskatchewan

LEARN MORE

Quebec

LEARN MORE

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With schools in Canada closed since March, learning at home is the new normal. For most parents, school responsibilities usually don’t require more than making sure that students get on the bus in time or occasionally helping with homework.

Taking charge of learning at home, meeting recommended guidelines, and guiding school lessons is challenging!

How much time should children spend learning each day?

 A question on many parents’ minds’ right now is how much time should children spend learning? 

The simplest answer is that your family will know best what learning expectations will be reasonable for your children based on your own circumstances. There is no single correct answer.

The Ministry of Education suggests the following guidelines for how much time should be spent on schoolwork each day, based on grades:
source

What should learning at home look like?

Whether at-home learning is focused on school work provided from the school or on other learning resources such as websites or workbooks, here are some of the overall learning-at-home guidelines to keep in mind:

1. Balance school work with learning activities 
2. Review guidelines and curriculum from the province 
3. Create a special place for learning
4. Follow a daily schedule read more
5. Use recommended learning support materials such as websites and workbooks
6. Get some activity every day
7. Spend time offline every day
8. Break the day up into learning and non-learning times

The most important message? Don’t stress. These are unusual times. Until things return to normal, do what you can. Emphasize the importance of maintaining learning momentum, and consider this time an opportunity to observe your child as a learner—a side of their children that many parents don’t get the opportunity to see.

If your child is having struggles adapting to the online learning environment, Oxford Learning can help. Our Virtual Table online tutoring program can help students with customized learning support that helps children learn at their own pace in the subjects that need the most support.

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