Paper Online Tutoring
WHAT IS PAPER?
Paper is a secure, online tutoring service that provides all District 88 students with unlimited access to FREE online tutoring 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.
Through our partnership with Paper, every student has access to trained tutors to ask questions, work through problems, get feedback on their writing, and grow their confidence. Whether students are stuck on homework, studying for a test, or need someone to read and make suggestions for your essays, there will always be experts available online to assist students in all subjects and more than four languages.
How Do students Access Paper?
Students access Paper by logging in to ClassLink on their Chromebooks. Once logged in to ClassLink, the Paper Icon will appear in the Resources section.
What subjects and services are covered?
Paper offers free, 24/7 chat-based tutoring for students in English, Spanish, French, and Mandarin. Tutors are available on-demand for unlimited, 1:1 support in any K-12 subject area. Based on a student's question, grade level, and language preference, Paper pairs students with the best tutor to meet their needs within 30 seconds. Transcripts of each tutoring session are saved for students whenever they need to revise concepts.
Along with live help, Paper also offers an asynchronous essay review tool that allows students to receive annotated feedback on content, grammar, and structure.
Who are Paper's tutors and what is their instructional approach?
Paper carefully selects every member of our diverse and multilingual team of tutors to ensure students get the very best help. Paper hires high-performing college students, Ph.D. candidates, and teachers with expertise across K-12 subject areas.
Paper's tutors never give students the answers - they are trained to use inquiry-based methods to reinforce classroom instruction and support students in ways that elicit prior knowledge, guide discovery, and support metacognition. This student-centered framework empowers students to build confidence, pursue lifelong learning, and prepare for college and career success.
Paper does not use any subcontractors or freelancers - all tutors are employees of the company. That means they have gone through an extensive set of screening, background checks, aptitude tests, and training to ensure consistency and quality of service for every student.
Why is tutoring on Paper chat-based?
Paper uses a chat-based interface to promote student safety, provide a comfortable learning environment, and elevate learning opportunities.
Instant messaging helps preserve student privacy, allowing learners to take their time formulating questions and putting together their thoughts without the pressure of being on camera. Students can also upload pictures of their homework, use a virtual whiteboard, and communicate with their tutors using a full emoji keyboard, allowing them to send and receive messages in a way that feels natural. Chat interactions use less bandwidth than videoconferencing, making them a flexible option for tutoring sessions taking place in a variety of locations and over extended periods of time.
Transcripts of all tutoring sessions remain accessible on the platform, meaning students can revisit sessions to brush up on topics they've studied before. Teachers also have the chance to view all student sessions to track-and celebrate-student progress.
Is Paper's service really on-demand and unlimited?
Yes! Paper is staffed to support hundreds of school divisions across the country. A smart-matching algorithm ensures that every student is connected to a tutor suited to their unique needs within 30 seconds - no scheduling is required. Students have no restrictions on how long tutoring sessions last, or how many times they can come back for help.
Watch to Learn More About Paper!