Dear parents, I believe we are all on the same boat during the Circuit Breaker period. Juggling between work and home-based learning for my primary schoolboy was a terrible and painful experience. Don’t forget that I have a 4-year old kid who treated the house like a playground. Home tuition and learning centres are put on pause to minimise the transmission of COVID-19.
Related Article: My Review of Snapask After 1 Week
I still remember three days before Singapore’s lockdown, the learning centre gave Kayden stacks of home assignments to ensure his learning continues at home. Initially, my wife and I thought that Kayden having more assignments would occupy his time. Soon after, my wife and I realised that we are going “back to school”.
How I Become A “Tutor Dad” During The Circuit Break?
Firstly, I need a timetable planned out for Kayden’s Primary 3 subjects, English, Higher Chinese and Maths. Every Monday to Friday morning, my wife and I will tutor Kayden while we are working at home. For myself, I spend more time trying to understand and solve primary school Maths questions than getting my office work done. Flipping primary school textbooks has become a norm for me too.
It is frustrating because I am uncertain if I am teaching Kayden the correct way. Without any help from professional tutors or school teachers, home-based learning was a painful experience. Moreover, I spend more days ending work late at night because tutoring Kayden took up 40% of my time. My conclusion? Working from home during the Circuit Breaker period, as a Dad, is mentally stressful and physically tiring.
Despite Singapore is now on its Phase 2 where home tuition and learning centres are permitted to be operating, my wife and I have decided to stop Kayden’s home tuition to minimise the COVID-19 transmission. Kayden is still on-going with his current learning centre. Yet, my wife and I have decided that we need a new tutoring arrangement.
As Kayden will be going to Primary 4 next year, we need a platform where Kayden can learn independently (of course, the right way), reduce the stress on us and finally, from professional educators.
How We Found Snapask?
When my wife and I were in Popular Bookstore shopping for Primary 4 assessment books last month, we spotted a sudden increase of popup booths selling online tutoring and learning platforms. Their high monthly subscription deters us as we are unfamiliar with the Company. Additionally, the sales staff are rather pushy. Hence, my wife and I decided to search online and we found Snapask in the iOS app store.
Snapask is a tutoring app, available on iOS and Android, that will link the student to a tutor who will offer personal attention and guide the student on any questions encountered in academic studies. If I knew Snapask earlier, this online tutoring app would solve the problems I am facing during the Circuit Breaker period.
Snapask has three main features:
- “Ask a Question” – quickly get a single question clarified and answered. There is no time limit.
- “Mini Class” –This is a 30 minutes session for more complex questions that require more in-depth discussion. For example, you may want to brainstorm about an essay question or ask about a concept you have trouble understanding. To start booking the session, you only need to post your question, book your preferred date and time, and select the subject. Snapask will then arrange for a tutor to conduct the class at your chosen time.
- Learning resources – Besides the two methods of interaction with tutors above, Snapask also provides learning resources such as Courses and Practices. Courses are lessons delivered in video format on key topics and concepts. At the same time, Practices are quizzes on key concepts for students to check their understanding.
- Courses available include PSLE Maths, English, Science revision, O Level Maths, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics revision.
- Practices available include many different Math and chemistry quizzes.
My Daddy Experience And Thoughts with Snapask
Using Snapask was a breeze. It is as simple as snapping a picture of your question and asking the tutor, who are professional educators themselves. After uploading a picture of the question, you can either choose “Instant Match”, where the app will match you with any suitable tutor online, or you can choose to direct your question to a particular tutor.
As we felt assured about the quality of tutors on the app, we didn’t feel a need to select any particular tutor. Hence, we used the “Instant Match” function. Each time, a tutor picked up our question almost instantaneously. This makes the learning process independent for Kayden.
You might have asked, what is the key advantage of personal tuition via an app compared to face-to-face tuition?
Outcome Of Using Snapask As A Learning Tool
One major advantage of Snapask is that it offers bite-sized sessions. Many kids have short attention spans, and Kayden is not an exception. With Snapask, Kayden can just ask a single question and have the tutor guide him through it for however long he requires to understand it. In return, Kayden became more responsible for his learning progress.
I allow Kayden a 10 minutes break after solving two to three questions, as I find that having more breaks helps him to focus better. Kids need playtime too, right? But if it is during a face-to-face private tuition session or group class, it will be a waste of lesson time to have multiple breaks. So, if your child is the kind who needs many short breaks to concentrate better, I think Snapask will be a suitable solution.
With Snapask, Kayden can ask his questions anytime, as the Snapask learning app is 24/7. Another advantage of online learning via Snapask is that I do not have to worry about the wearing of masks, or about safety precautions to take by allowing a tutor to visit the house for home tuition or having Kayden mix around in tuition centres.
Can Snapask replace traditional in-person tuition? This will depend on individual circumstances, such as the level of adult supervision the child needs. But one thing is for sure, Snapask is definitely a perfect learning companion. With tutors on the app available 24/7, it can either replace or complement traditional in-person tuition, whether in a private or class setting.
Give Your Child A Head-Start for 2021 Using Snapask
Yes, parents can try out Snapask for FREE. Everyone can ask two questions on Snapask during the free trial period. You just need to sign up for an account and then complete your profile. You will then be rewarded with 2 free credits, enough to ask two questions.
For the month of December 2020, Snapask has included revision lessons for Primary level Maths and Science.
Learning is a life-long journey. As parents, we want to make our child’s journey as smooth as possible. Check out Snapask website for their latest promotion. It will be a meaningful gift for Christmas as well. A gift of learning will keep on giving.
