Start-up Idea - Would you use this

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Hi,

I am thinking about starting a website that replaces the job of a private tutor (and cheaper too) for exams such as 11+, GCSE and A-levels.

This website will initially test the student on their chosen exam and then draw up a 'Revsion/learning plan' based on their strengths and weaknesses, placing more focus on the areas they are struggling more with.

There will be access to videos and animations explaining each concept and topic with a mini topic quiz at the end, which can be linked with their revision plan.

Students can also choose how often they want to take a past paper to check their progress, learning plans may be revised based on these, and explanations will be given for incorrect answers.

Parents will receive weekly progress updates for their child (if they choose).

For the older ones GCSE/ALevel there will be a forum based on their exam board/subject where students can come to share ideas and revise 'together'.

If you have children taking or that have taken any of these exams, would you use this service? If not, why? and if so, how much would you expect to spend a month?

All feedback appreciated. Thanks

Probably not.

For a diagnostic, I think you really do need a tutor in person, to establish if the issue behind wrong answers is oops, minor confusion, major misunderstanding, ir topic not yet covered. Also whether correct answers are securely based of lucky guess.

For availability of additional material, there are loads of free resources online.

You often have to pay for past papers, but I would do that so that the student practices in the same format as the eventual exam.

Sorry not to be more encouraging.

Oh, and GCSE/A level study groups do sound like a good idea. But IME teens do this spontaneously (certainly heard mine chatting online, and been somewhat pleased and surprised to find they were discussing revision, not playing Hearthstone).

Though if you were planning to insert a tutor - to make sure the group didn't end up getting something totally and persistently wrong - there might be value, but that would change the dynamic somewhat. Revising with people you get to 'know' online is rather different to revising with your mates. I'm not sure my teens would have engaged much with the former.

My experience is that revision and learning plans are used by teenagers to procrastinate and avoid actually doing the work.

There is already good online tutoring available on a 121 basis via Skype that does much of this but also offers individual lessons.

Thanks for the feedback so far.

AnotherNewt - Thanks for the your input on the diagnostic issue, definitely something to think about there.

As for the online study groups, I thought it would be useful having students that get to study from different schools, so as to have more diversity in the ideas and resources that are shared?

I hadn’t thought about having a tutor within the group so thanks for that, I had thought of having a couple of tutors available for live chat to help with one off questions though.

Crumbs1 - I think the good thing that the revision/learning plans would be automatically drawn up and tailored, taking that extra step of procrastination out.

Even with the 121 Skype tutoring and such providing the same, would it make any difference to you knowing that students would be able to access the site’s learning resources and tests whenever they wanted for a fixed monthly cost rather than having to pay a tutor £X / hour every time?

I certainly wouldn't use it.
If I were to need a tutor it wouldn't be because I wanted to stick my dc in front of a screen to learn. I could do that without paying for it as there are plenty of online resources.

Where a tutor is handy is to provide an extra impetus to succeed because a child who is resistant and confrontational with their own parents telling them to concentrate will behave and try to impress a non-family-member. You can't provide that online.