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Dearborn schools launch 24-hour online tutoring

Detriot Free Press - 1/26/05

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- The Dearborn Public Schools' 7,300 middle and high school students have a new, 24-hour online tutoring program, thanks to a $45,000 state grant.

The program from the Washington, D.C.-based company Smarthinking became available for homework-occupied Dearborn students on Tuesday as part of a five-month test.

Detroit and Troy public schools also have expressed interest in Smarthinking and could run similar pilot programs within the next year, said company Vice President Neal Allison.

Kyle Tomalak, a 13-year-old eighth-grader at Dearborn's O.L. Smith Middle School, said he wants to use the service for social studies and math help. Access to online tutors should help students remember what they learned in class each day, Kyle said.

"Some people forget things once they get home, so this will be a good refresher," Kyle told The Detroit News. "Kids will be more comfortable about this, especially when they need help.

"Kids will express themselves better when they need help because they will have to type information to a person instead of explaining it in front of a lot of people in a classroom."

The addition of Smarthinking could be a step toward meeting standards under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, said O.L. Smith Principal Hassane Jaafar.

"It's an interactive type of approach where critical thinking skills are employed," Jaafar said. "We will not get more individualized and specific help for our students."

Smarthinking is subscription-based and requires a student to enter a user name and password on its Web site. Tutors are available to answer questions within seconds in a chat room.

All of Smarthinking's 350 tutors across the United States have at least six years of tutoring or teaching experience. About 80 percent hold a master's or doctoral degree, the company says.

Students can pose questions to the tutor, who in turn suggests ways for them to find their own answers. Tutors help in subjects like reading, writing, chemistry, biology and calculus. Several tutors are bilingual.

The confidentiality between the student and tutor, who often is thousands of miles away, should sit well with students, said Amanda Roush, an eighth-grader at O.L. Smith.

"I know I'll feel comfortable with it because the person on the other end is not going to know who you are," Amanda said. "You can ask your questions and not have to worry about embarrassing yourself or making more mistakes."

Each subscription allows a student 10 hours of access to online tutors for the semester.

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On the Net:

Dearborn Public Schools: http://www.dearbornschools.org

Smarthinking: http://www.smarthinking.com

(Copyright © 2005 Detroit Free Press Inc. All rights reserved.)