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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 17, 2007

Questions On Homework

The school year is only a few weeks old, but the homework already is piling up in backpacks across the county.

For some parents, that means dealing with frustrated children trying to dissect Shakespeare or figuring out what X equals. Help is available.

The Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative offers Live Homework Help, a free real-time tutoring service through Tutor.com.

Students can use the service from home or public library computers as long as the computer has a high-speed Internet connection. They log on through the library system's Web site at www.hcplc.org.

The tutoring service is available from 2 p.m. to midnight seven days a week and offers help in math, science, social studies and English for grades 4 through 12 and college freshmen.

An Overlooked Resource

This is the third year the library cooperative is offering the service. Many families don't know they have access to free tutors at their fingertips, said Braulio Colón, a spokesman for the cooperative.

'I've made it a goal to heavily promote and push this service because it can be a real benefit for students,' he said.

The library cooperative pays a subscription fee of $65,000 a year to Tutor.com.

'In the past, if a student got stuck on a homework problem, they either had to wait a week to see a tutor or go to class unprepared because often parents can't help,' company Chief Executive Officer George Cigale said.

Students can log on and chat one-on-one with tutors. Tutors are screened by the company, and most are working or retired teachers, tutors or university professors from across North America.

'We don't outsource to India, and all of our sessions are recorded so we can use the information for future professional development,' Cigale said. 'Students can also provide instant feedback.'

Last year, about 200 students a month used the service in Hillsborough, with 2,614 sessions recorded last fiscal year. Colón said 10th-grade algebra is the most popular subject for tutoring.

Michele Sager

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