What is online tutoring?

Key takeaways:

• Online tutoring refers to the live delivery of education via the internet.  
• A typical online tutoring session uses video and audio for communication and a shared whiteboard for working through lesson material together.  
• Online tutoring can be as effective as in-person tutoring when students participate consistently and sessions are well-structured.  

Online tutoring is live, personalized academic instruction delivered over the internet. It connects a tutor and one or more students through video and audio in a shared digital workspace. 

Just like in-person tutoring, an online tutor guides students through academic problems by explaining, questioning, and responding to what they can and can’t understand. The key difference between in-person and online tutoring is that online tutoring doesn’t require the tutor and student to be in the same physical location.

How does online tutoring work?

Online tutoring can take on many forms and structures. However, in most cases, it operates as follows:  

1. Scheduling: A student or parent books a session through a tutoring platform or an app. In some cases, parents even make a direct arrangement with a tutor.  
2. Joining: The student and tutor connect through a virtual classroom of their choosing at a pre-arranged time.
3. Instruction: During the live session, the tutor works through lesson material with the student. Most of the teaching happens on a shared whiteboard.
4. Monitoring: During the session, the tutor pays attention to how a student tackles a problem and where their understanding wavers. By identifying where the student struggles most, they can adjust their explanations accordingly.  
5. Wrapping up: When the session ends, the tutor usually concludes with a summary of what was covered and expectations for homework. Sometimes, they provide the student a recording of the session to review later. 

Beyond structure, the quality of an online tutoring session also depends on the tutor’s software. Education-specific platforms like Pencil Spaces combine everything tutors need in one place. With whiteboards that save work between lessons, as well as fun and collaborative learning tools, tutoring organizations that use Pencil Spaces rely on it as their primary, all-in-one virtual classroom. 

Is online tutoring effective?

Some parents and students wonder if online tutoring can match the experience of sitting next to a tutor in person. These concerns often come from early experiences with remote learning during the pandemic, when educators focused on continuity over quality.  

However, today’s online tutoring is quite different. When sessions are interactive, structured, and led by experienced tutors, students can achieve results similar to traditional in-person tutoring, and sometimes even better outcomes.  

As 2023 research in Economics of Education Review highlights, online tutoring is an effective educational intervention when it’s well-structured and regularly attended. It found that small-group tutoring sessions increased study behavior and interaction with other students.  

Notably, students who received online tutoring had GPAs that were up to a whole grade-point higher and earned 30% more credits than those who didn’t.  

Types of online tutoring

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all model for online tutoring. The right approach depends on a student’s learning goals, budget, and the level of personalized support they need. One-on-one tutoring offers the most individual attention, while group and hybrid sessions are more accessible to students without sacrificing interaction.  

1:1 tutoring  

This is the most common and effective format. A single tutor works exclusively with one student per session. The tutor provides undivided attention, adjusts the pace and explanations as needed, and builds a consistent relationship with their student.  

Group tutoring  

Two to five students work with a single tutor, usually grouped by subject and/or similar skill level. Although this format is less personalized than one-on-one, it’s more cost-effective and interactive than a classroom of 25. Tutors running small groups online use breakout rooms to give students practice time while checking in with individuals.  

Hybrid tutoring  

Some students attend sessions in person, while others join the same session remotely. This model suits tutoring centers that serve both local and remote students or school programs with some in-person capacity and some students who cannot attend on-site.  

Online tutoring as a business

According to 2026 metrics from Tutorbase, the global private tutoring market is worth $120 billion, and it continues to grow every year.  

For anyone starting or expanding a tutoring business, online delivery opens access to students beyond your local area. It also reduces costs tied to physical locations, while also allowing a single organization to serve students across different time zones.  

The operational requirements for an online tutoring business differ from those of an in-person tutoring business in a few important ways:  

Platform selection matters more

In-person tutoring needs a room and a whiteboard. Online tutoring needs virtual classroom software that handles the full session experience: video, shared whiteboard, document annotation, breakout rooms for group sessions, and session recording.  

Scheduling and administration can be challenging  

At scale, manually scheduling sessions among dozens of tutors and hundreds of students is a serious operational burden. Tutoring businesses that grow past a few tutors almost always need automated scheduling, attendance tracking, and reporting tools to remain manageable.  

Retention is key  

Recurring sessions with consistent tutors drive results, and results drive retention. Businesses that track engagement and outcomes per student, not just the number of sessions delivered, are much better positioned to keep families and grow through referrals.  

よくある質問

What is the definition of online tutoring?  

Online tutoring is live, personalized instruction delivered over the internet. It synchronously connects a tutor and student through video and a shared digital workspace. It is interactive and not a pre-recorded video lesson.  

How does online tutoring work?  

A tutor and student join a virtual classroom at a scheduled time. They communicate via video and audio and work through material together on a shared whiteboard. The tutor explains, demonstrates, and asks questions, and the student responds, attempts problems, and receives immediate feedback.  

What does an online tutor do differently from a classroom teacher?  

An online tutor works with one student or a small group. They personalize their explanations and adjust the lesson’s pace based on what that specific student needs or understands. A classroom teacher instructs 20 to 30 students all at once, so they cannot provide the same level of individual attention or make real-time adjustments.  

What subjects can be taught through online tutoring?  

Any subject taught in person can often be taught online. Math, reading, writing, science, and test preparation make up the largest demand. However, online tutoring also covers languages, music, coding, professional skills, and non-academic subjects.  

Pencil Spaces is a virtual classroom platform built for online, hybrid, and in-person tutoring. It offers a persistent interactive whiteboard, integrated video, automated attendance, engagement analytics, and admin tools in one COPPA, FERPA, SOC2, and GDPR certified platform that never sells user data. Try Pencil Spaces for free or get a demo.