Online Tutors:

A Click, and a Continent, Away

Hours before dawn, in New Delhi, India, a call center is abuzz with computer operators assisting American customers, an ocean away. But they’re not the tech geeks or customer service reps you might expect, dealing with frozen computer screens or questions about credit card bills—instead, they’re helping school kids with homework.

In the latest twist on outsourcing, a growing number of Indian companies are providing educational services, such as online tutoring, to American students, and at a fraction of the cost. While some domestic companies, like Sylvan or Tutor.com, charge from $40 an hour, the Indian companies—leveraging a huge population of highly educated, tech-savvy, and often low-wage workers—charge between $10 and $25 an hour for the same services.

Students connect with their tutors using technology such as VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) so they can actually speak to each other, and electronic whiteboards so students can draw diagrams, work out problems, and erase mistakes, just as they would on notebook paper. Typed questions and answers between student and tutor can be seen instantly on both computer screens. For more information, visit the Growing Star website or the Edumatics website.

Illustration: Don Bishop, Photos (clockwise): TR Image, Noel Hendrickson, Steve Smith