Facebook generation fuels boom in online tutors Companies charge between £15 and £27 an hour - significantly cheaper than many traditional private tutors. In the US, online tutors have become an integral part of mainstream education. Big companies have bought in to the market, with the education publisher Pearson employing tutors in India to teach children in Britain and America through its subsidiary TutorVista. In the UK, new providers are springing up every month. Their popularity is fuelled by their apparent appeal to a generation of young people that spends hours online, expects instant feedback and is comfortable with digital technology. Schools are also investigating online learning. Ashmount Primary School, in north London, runs a homework club where pupils are taught by e-tutors, some based in India, provided by TES Bright Spark. Sue Fieldman, senior adviser at The Good Schools Guide, said: "Online tutoring is a huge growth area. While parents often prefer the personal touch of a tutor coming to the house, youngsters are so wrapped up with technology that the only way a parent can persuade them to do any extra academic work is if it is done online. A teenager would rather work on a computer than be confronted face to face with a tutor in the living room. The e-tutoring industry, like private tutoring generally, is unregulated. Mrs Fieldman warned that some parents had been caught out by low quality sites. "It is a total minefield," she said. We have received complaints from parents that they have paid for on-line tutors who couldn't speak good English, didn't know the details of the syllabus or the techniques for passing exams. Anyone can call themselves a tutor, sit in a room anywhere in the world and say they can offer invaluable on-line help in anything from Latin to logarithms. One in four families have hired a traditional tutor at some point, according to research by London University's Institute of Education, at an average cost of £20 to £30 an hour. Sophie Clark, 51, reviewed the online sites with her daughter Matilda, 16, for The Good Schools Guide. "The advantages are that you can book online in your own time and go on as little or as much as you like," said the further education support teacher. The tutors were all subject specialists and seemed to have superb knowledge. Cost-wise, it is much more affordable than a private tutor coming to your home. For secondary age children, I can see the industry growing and growing. Examples from the Good Schools Guide TES BrightSpark Prices: £18 per single session, £45 for three sessions; £78 for six sessions. Two free trial lessons. Age range: 7 - 16 It is incredibly simple to work; you are provided with step by step guides on how to book sessions and set up your computer ready for use. There are usually sessions available whenever you want. You are also able to cancel them without being charged. The tutoring is via voice contact with a white board which both tutor and student can view - the tutor uses a power point or explains the topic on the whiteboard before giving the student questions to try. Students are able to specify which topics they want to go over. Periplus Price: £27 per hour Age range: 11 - 18 The tutoring sessions are by video conferencing and use sophisticated software that enables the tutors to use a whiteboard, share links and videos with you and transfer important documents. The tutors were all extremely friendly and helpful and clearly knew a lot about the courses and examinations that their students may be working towards. If you have a problem it is easy to get in contact with the people who run the website, and they will sort out anything and answer any queries. All of my sessions with tutors on Periplus were really useful to me and scored at least 8 out of 10, and I would definitely go back. My Own Tutor Price: £36 registration per family; up to £62 per rolling monthly contract per family Lessons are in the form of a running Powerpoint with a voice-over explaining all the steps involved. The maths lessons are very detailed. The English ones are also good and give examples of how to write particular essays. If a child is stuck on how to do something or needs help they can call the phone line, and a teacher will go over it with them often using a whiteboard online to help explain. All the exercises and lessons I did were very good for learning new things and backing up my knowledge. I would definitely go back if I needed maths help.