Sometimes you need the people part...

Whew! There are *people* finding us already! This is a good thing, of course, 'cause that's why we moved in with the big peer tutoring folks.
My student who's been studiously following the computer tutorial took one of the online tests.
There were, still, places where she needed some of the magic tricks of human explanation... and (and this jus talways surprises me... the same way spring does every time it comes around...) it stuck. Okay, not permanently... but it "clicked," they way it has to do before it sticks.
Likewise with the two other ladies who are smart enough to do most of it in their head... but then trip over a detail. And, because they've learned the shortcuts without the comprehension, don't recognize when things don't make sense and don't recognize the dropped details.
So, the task is not to make them write every blooming thing down (though I may change my mind about that), but to go through that comprehension aspect and show the "missing step."
E.G.: Exponents. Why is (x^5)^2 only X^10? five squared is 25, after all!
If you go back to what "squared" means... which is multiplied by itself... then you'll get X^5 times X^5 ... which still looks like there ought to be a 25 in the answer... but when you write it *all* out... as in x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x ... then it's more clear that it's X to the tenth power. THis is the stuff that the brighter verbal learners *get.* Click. Stick. Cool thing is, the kinesthetic learners get it pretty quickly too, with a couple of times writing it out.
The computer doesn't know that... so it doesn't know whether to explain wiht the logic, or show you with the x's and your pencil. Guess my job is secure for a little while longer :-)