Innovative Educators
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What it is
Innovative Educators is a provider of online training libraries for colleges and universities. It sells to institutions, which then give access to their tutors, students, faculty, staff and even parents. Its menu groups the products by audience. For students: Go2Orientation (online orientation), StudentLingo (student success workshops), CollegeLingo (support for pre-college students) and TutorLingo (tutor training videos). For specific populations: versions of Go2Orientation for adult learners, dual enrollment, online learners and TRIO programs. For faculty and staff: Go2Knowledge, professional development. For parents and families: ParentLingo. For employees: Go2Onboarding, covering onboarding and retention. A Compliance Essentials range covers Title IX, hazing prevention, alcohol and drug choices, the Clery Act with the SaVE Act and VAWA, human trafficking, FERPA and child abuse prevention. The company also runs webinars, an events calendar and a speaker program, offers micro-credentialing and free trials, and publishes free resources such as free training, a Campus Conversations podcast and an EduShare blog for higher education staff. The product described in most detail on the site, and the clearest example of how its libraries work, is TutorLingo.
TutorLingo: tutor training for campus tutoring centers
TutorLingo is "Online Tutor Training Simplified": a package of tutor training videos that a tutoring center uses to train its tutors consistently. The FAQ describes it as "a package of tutor training videos, developed in partnership with the College Reading & Learning Association (CRLA)", which "can be used in a variety of ways to train tutors in a consistent & timely manner." It comes as three customizable packages, with more skill-building training at each level.
The content is listed in four groups.
9 Tutor Training Videos: A Toolbox For The Novice Tutor, Developing Critical Thinking Skills, How To Tutor Writing, Learning Theory, The Nature of Helping Relationships, The Role Of The Tutor, Tutee Study Skills (note-taking, reading and testing strategies), Tutoring Students From Diverse Backgrounds, and Understanding Self-Regulatory Behaviors.
10 TLNow Workshops: effective communication skills, tutoring students with disabilities, using AI tools in a tutoring session, tutoring center administration (best practices for hiring, tracking and reporting), using effective questions, embedded tutoring, Universal Design for Learning for higher ed tutors, active listening, top dos and don'ts for new tutors, and Navigating FERPA for frontline employees.
9 Level 1 Student Success Workshops: academic integrity, exam preparation and test-taking, learning strategies, overcoming procrastination, preparing for final exams, reading comprehension, study tips and note-taking, time management, and avoiding plagiarism.
11 Level 2 Student Success Workshops: thesis statements, drafting introductions, body paragraphs and conclusions, succeeding in math, leading as a student-athlete, pre-writing, goal setting, stress management, student veterans, first-generation students, students on probation, and proofreading and editing.
The student success workshops serve two purposes: tutors learn the strategies they will teach, and, as one testimonial puts it, learn "how to be a more effective student myself." Each workshop stands alone and can be watched in any order, though the FAQ notes that many schools begin with "A Toolbox For The Novice Tutor." Each tutor training video is approximately 20 to 60 minutes long.
What comes with each video
The FAQ lists it: "Each training comes with additional resources, English captioning, transcripts, a certificate of completion, and discussion questions activities." The features page adds role-playing opportunities with scenarios, guidance on handling difficult situations, and the suggestion to pair TutorLingo with StudentLingo for a fuller training platform. Content is produced, the FAQ says, through live events hosted on Zoom, professionally produced videos with subject matter experts, and avatars used for consistency and accessibility.
The CRLA link
The training was developed with the CRLA, and the site offers a TutorLingo/CRLA certification crosswalk that maps the videos to CRLA's tutor certification. What each TutorLingo video itself carries is a certificate of completion. A testimonial shows how this works in practice: "TutorLingo is part of the training for our second semester tutors. The training helps them achieve level 2 certification through CRLA." Other customers use it in initial hiring and orientation and to train tutors for a TRiO Student Support Services program.
Tutors' own comments on the page are about practical use. One calls a workshop a "Great video on how to assess and deal with students who might be plagiarizing"; another says a session "made me think more about how to organize my tutoring sessions"; a program lead writes that "The flexibility, clarity and topics serve our tutors well and the quality is excellent!" The site also links a case study on how CSN improved tutor training consistency with TutorLingo.
Administration, branding and reports
An institution can brand its tutor training site with its logo and college name, add custom onboarding questions to capture its own data points, and give each tutor a personalized dashboard. Learners receive certificates and a printable certificate summary. Monthly usage and evaluation reports are included, along with an administrative view of user progress and engagement; the site suggests using the data for funding and grant applications.
Implementation takes 7 days and needs no IT department. Single sign-on or data integration is possible but does involve IT, using the company's knowledge base. Live support is offered by email, phone and chat, with onboarding support for launch.
Accessibility
All workshops are closed captioned. The FAQ says TutorLingo is mobile responsive across smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops, "meets WCAG 2.1 AA standards for ADA compliance", and that a VPAT is available on request. ADA updates are included at no extra charge.
Price and trial
The site publishes no list prices. TutorLingo offers a free trial in which, the FAQ says, "You can watch all of the videos in full", or a custom tour by demo. Discounts are spelled out: multi-year discounts for contracts of more than one year paid upfront, an additional 5% discount for auto renew, bundling discounts across products, and reduced pricing for California colleges through the CollegeBuys program and for the Virginia Community Colleges System. The site menu also lists 3-, 6- and 12-Package Deals and a Go2K Membership.
Who it suits
Innovative Educators suits colleges and universities, community colleges in particular, that want ready-made training for tutors, students, staff and families without building it themselves. TutorLingo fits tutoring center directors who need consistent training, documentation for CRLA certification and reports for grant applications, with little IT effort. It is not aimed at individual learners or at corporate training teams.