Indian tutors teach mathematics online to UK kids

If UK grannies can use Skype to teach Indian children — as we covered earlier this year — then it stands to reason that Indian tutors could teach UK children as well. Lo and behold, when it comes to mathematics — an area of chronic teacher shortage in the UK — Bright Spark Education is using Indian teachers trained in the UK curriculum to help British students aged 7 to 16 learn what they need to know. Users of Bright Spark begin by creating an account with the online service, specifying their key stage in school and purchasing the number of sessions they want; pricing begins at GBP 12 per hour. From there, they can log in and learn from anywhere with internet access — no downloads are required. Sessions can be booked for any date and time; students need only specify the topic they want to cover. At the designated time, both student and tutor log in for a session in which they can talk live and work through material on an interactive whiteboard. All sessions are recorded for future playback; tutors also email feedback to students after each one. Included with Bright Spark fees is unlimited access to a wide range of presentations, online tests and past papers for between-session study. All Bright Spark tutors are mathematics graduates or teachers who are fluent in English and have undergone full security checks and extensive training. It should be noted that Bright Spark’s effort is not looked upon favorably by at least one UK teacher’s union, according to a report in the Guardian. Nevertheless, the fact remains that a world of potential educational assistance is at the fingertips of today’s kids. How could you help connect learners with the best possible people on the planet to teach them? Spotted by: Fernando Montesino