Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Paper Tutors Free?
  • Paper believes every student should have access to the support they need - anytime, anywhere. We also believe that the burden of providing this support shouldn't be on teachers or parents. Paper partners with school systems to deliver 24/7, unlimited, and multilingual tutoring - at no cost to families.


    How are students matched with tutors?
    Students are connected to a tutor in an average of 30 seconds. A smart-matching algorithm ensures that every student is connected to a tutor that matches their academic needs.


    How does Paper tutoring work? 
  • 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. 

    What hours are Paper tutors available?
    Paper tutors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!


    Can students use Paper on their phone?
    If students are able to log in on a desktop computer, that is the better experience. However, it is possible to log in through a mobile browser and receive help that way from Paper  tutors.


    How do I log in? 
    Students, teachers, and administrators from Paper's partner schools can log in to Paper with their email, SSO, or by locating their school. To find out if you have access to Paper through your school, visit our Access Lookup Tool here. 

    Are a student’s teachers kept in the loop?
    Absolutely! Teachers have visibility into every essay, session, and group chat their students have on Paper in real-time. By seeing where students need support outside of class, teachers can pinpoint learning gaps and offer more targeted instruction. Monthly reports provide teachers with a synopsis of their students’ activity on Paper, including usage rates and the concepts they’ve asked about.

    Does Paper protect a student’s privacy?
    Paper follows strict adherence to federal and state-specific data privacy laws such as COPPA, FERPA, CSDPA, and IAL-NDPA. Paper is a signatory of the Student Privacy Pledge and a member of A4L’s Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC). For privacy reasons, video conferencing is not an option for students and tutors.

    Why is tutoring on Paper chat-based?

    Paper uses a chat-based interface to promote student safety, provide a comfortable learning environment, and elevate relearning 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.

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