The world of online education and tutoring has been remarkably enhanced and changed in a number of ways by video chat and WebRTC capabilities. The addition of these capabilities has brought a positive level of interaction and engagement that was missing from online education and tutoring, as well as an increase in academic success of students now participating in these web-based learning environments.
Before video chat and WebRTC, online education was limited to text-based messages and non-realtime recordings of lectures given. Tutoring was limited to whomever was in your geographic area and able to physically meet with you to help you learn. Now, the following benefits have been seamlessly added to the world of online education and tutoring as a result of video chat and WebRTC.
Students can now connect with the best tutors for their needs or preferences, regardless of location.
The days of being limited to a tutor in your neighborhood are over. Teachers and tutors are now able to connect directly with students or mentorees through video chat, and can exchange educational materials or assignments quickly and live through WebRTC platforms. Tutors can now assist students who live in different countries as them and still have the required one-on-one realtime communication. This means that students with specific tutoring needs can find the best tutor to meet those needs, regardless of where both reside.
Students can now get the social interaction aspect of education from an online course that would be missing without video chat or WebRTC.
Online education’s biggest downfall may also have been its biggest convenience – Sitting in front of a computer and doing your coursework by yourself, on your own time, from a coffee shop or your living room, is very convenient and attractive. However, the social aspect of learning is lost here. There is minimal engagement with a professor or other students, and this can potentially decrease the learning experience by making a student less personally engaged with and able to relate to the class. Visual learners will especially suffer from this environment.
The addition of video chat brings that needed social aspect to online education. It is a far more impactful way to learn to talk with your professor and see his face and ask him a question the moment you think of it rather than relying solely on emailing someone you’ve never actually spoken with.
Professors can go beyond submitted homework assignments with WebRTC.
Any real time application will allow students to send in assignments and receive feedback in real time via text chat and notifications. Logging and tracking capabilities are always present so that progress can be monitored and any issues addressed conveniently and personally between the student and educator.
That sort of real time interaction is great – the professor can see the progress of the students as measured by their homework. WebRTC video chat can add an extra layer of richness to this interaction however. If a professor needs to discuss errors the student has made, or wants to do a verbal assessment of a student’s understanding, then a video chat adds the same sort of interaction as an in person visit to the professor’s “office hours.”
The integration of video chat and WebRTC into online education and tutoring programs has added many benefits to both environments for both students and educators, and will continue to ensure a global exchange of realtime, face-to-face knowledge between people who otherwise never would have been able to connect in such a personal way.
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