Its nothing new for a 16 year old high school student to be tutored in Chemistry by someone who has a Masters degree in the subject - such arrangements have been going on for a long time. The only difference here is that the student is based in the US, and the tutor in Cochin, India and that they are 'connected' through broadband and their learning is facilitated by and software that lets him sketch chemical formulas onto a computer screen. Although the Indian accents may be hard for students to understand initially, this barrier is significantly reduced with the help of real-time white boards and other software. Thus, there is little difference between this tutoring method and face-to-face tutoring sessions. Parents too like the flexibility afforded by these online tutoring arrangements.
India has score of math and science scholars who are willing to work for a fraction of the price charged by their US counter-parts. Students are usually charged between USD 47 and USD 52 an hour by companies that employ US based tutors. Those that employ Indian based tutors on the other hand only charge between USD 18 to USD 25 an hour. Entrepreneurs from the US have taken advantage of this, and with the help of high speed broadband connections have linked the two parties up, making a profit for themselves in the process. One example is Studyloft.com which currently links 5,400 students in the US to tutors in India.
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