t-learning - Future Scenarios - Remote Mathematics Tutor

Sixteen-year-old Alessandra is working hard revising for her national school exams. Generally she is not having too many difficulties with most of her subjects but she does have a few problems with some aspects of mathematics. Despite the wide range of revision guides that are available in a paper-format or even online she still has a few problems. Alessandra complains to her mother that all her friends have lessons with an individual tutor paid for by their parents.

Unfortunately, most tutors tend to insist on a block of ten or more lessons costing 35-60 Euro per hour. This is rather expensive for Alessandra’s parents. However, Alessandra’s father has seen an advertisement about a private company who will provide remote tutorial support almost on-demand through their digital cable TV service.

With her parent’s permission Alessandra rings a telephone number that takes her through to the call centre of the company called “Easylearning”. She explains the nature of her problem to the call centre receptionist. Before the receptionist puts Alessandra through to a Maths Tutor she asks to speak to a parent. Alessandra’s father agrees to give Alessandra a credit limit of up to 150 Euro for remote lessons and gives his credit card details. Alessandra is then supplied with a special PIN number to use every time she needs the remote tutor or wants to use other learning resources supplied by the company through the TV and also online using a computer.

Just before Alessandra is put through to the Maths Tutor she is asked to select Channel 69 on her TV. This then means she can then see her tutor - Dave - on the TV whilst talking to her by telephone. Alessandra explains that she has a problem with quadratic equations. Dave is able to talk her through the problem and explain with diagrams or an on-screen whiteboard how to solve the problem. At the end of the session details are given of the length of the consultation and how many credits are left. In addition, there is an option to access the archived video-clips of the frequently asked questions in this subject area. These can be accessed at any time on-demand and are cheaper than using the live tutor. The presentations have also been “polished-up” so they are clear and concise.

As Dave, the tutor, waits for his next client in the call centre, he wonders whether he should apply for a position of Maths Tutor in the new national free Maths Direct service that is due to start next year with funding from the national education department as part of a national target to improve the nation’s maths skills.

Future Scenario - Remote Mathematics Tutor