Tutor Linker: Connecting Students, Teachers & Knowledge

Don Hazelwood, one of my Flickr peeps and teacher friends, recently shared a link with me via the social bookmarking site del.icio.us for a company called TutorLinker.

TutorLinker is an interesting concept that connects tutee's and tutors via a zip code Google Maps mash-up. The results are displayed on the map and tutee's can easily locate a tutor to teach them just about anything. The tutors have a profile page that displays their hourly rate and areas of expertise.

Right now the service is currently available in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Don't fret, TutorLinker has plans to launch soon in Western Europe. I'm hopeful that the U.K. and Ireland are on the "to be launched" road map soon.

What a fantastic idea.

As far as I can tell, this is a win-win situation. Students in need of some extra help can easily find subject matter experts, and the tutors (many who are professional educators) are able to connect with students who need a little extra help. And the teachers are able to be paid for their expertise. Brilliant!

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