Have you visited Tutor.com?

During these two weeks of exploring virtual reference it seems only fair to spend a little time discussing Tutor.com, one of our online homework help resources. It offers live, one-on-one tutoring for grades 4-12 in Math, Science, Social Studies & English and college intro.

Tutor.com is a resource that we have strongly promoted in our elibraries as a resource for their after-school crowd stuggling with homework. The service begins at 2:00 pm (when schools start letting out) and is available until 12:00 am. There are no time limits on each session which allows the students to take their time as they learn. After logging in, the tutors and students communicate easily via a chat and whiteboard. This may seem confusing but this service is acutally a very easy tool to use.

A visit to their website may be a good place to start and view the short video which explains the homework help service. Perhaps later you may choose to log in to Tutor.com from our HCPLC website under Databases and Websites > Online Learning. Tell the tutor you work for the library and that you are just trying to learn the product. They won't mind. It would also be a good idea to go prepared with a question, perhaps a math problem, and see how it works. You also have the option of visiting the Help section offline and learning all about the features.

This is a great tool. Take some time to familiarize yourself with its features and offer it to your customers as an after hours resource tool.