Setting up as an online tutor

Online tutoring is more popular than ever before. From topics students are struggling with in school to any subject they want to explore more. If you’re an educator, academic, or industry expert who has decided to tutor this article will ensure you are set up for success.

Essential Technology

You already have a computer or laptop but consider an investment or two to optimize learning and communication.

Headphones & Microphone— with the rise in video conferencing you may already have adequate headphones and microphone. While the built-in mic on your device works, it can pick up a lot of background noise. So, consider upgrading to a headset, USB microphone and earbuds, or wireless earbuds with a built-in mic. Apple earbuds deliver outstanding sound quality but are far from your only option. USB products also deliver outstanding sound quality and are typically cost-effective.

Online Whiteboard— perhaps the most interactive environment available when it comes to online lessons is an online whiteboard. Many available whiteboards allow users to create slides, add files and resources to the board space, and collaborate. However, you or your student will most probably experience the need to annotate on the board with ease. Hence, a good way to solve this and utilize online whiteboards to their full potential is to use them in conjunction with a pen-enabled tablet. Just plug the tablet into your laptop (or use a wireless tablet) and you can write on your whiteboard of choice. Encourage your students to get a pen-enabled tablet too. You can find high-quality and affordable pen-enabled tablets on Huion.

Reliable Video Conferencing Tool

You have countless video options to choose from for your tutoring sessions. You may be tempted to select your preferred conferencing tool but consider your tutoring needs.

At LessonWise, we provide a fully integrated tutoring solution, including a featured-packed online classroom and essential features for online education. This includes:

• Video conferencing
• Course scheduling
• Tasks & assessments
• Reports creation
• Resource sharing
• Payment processor
• Auto-recording of all lessons
• Direct messaging with students
• Public listings to advertise your services
• And more!

Prepare Your Lesson Plan

Students choose 1-on-1 or group tutoring for a personalized experience, but you still need to create a lesson plan. Most tutors prepare a general lesson plan that they tweak depending on factors such as student skill level or learning needs. Your student will get the most out of each session and feel they are a priority if you show up prepared with a lesson plan, supportive resources, and interactive graphics.

Set Up For Tutoring Early

A student should never have to wait for their tutor to arrive to their session. So, give yourself a solid 10 minutes to set up before each session. This provides time to get comfortable, ensure you have ideal lighting and background, and check your audio.

If you’re using a browser application, the audio settings must be configured via the browser settings.

If your student has a touchscreen device too, ensure the settings are enabled to allow them to annotate on the shared whiteboard during the lesson.

Follow-Up Post Lesson

Take a few minutes post-lesson to write notes for yourself regarding each session. Also, send a follow-up email to your student including a lesson summary, annotated whiteboard PDFs, and resources required for self-learning.

If possible, send the full recording of the lesson so that students can revisit their tutoring session. Research shows that by revisiting exactly the same information previously learned, students can re-consolidate knowledge and turn it into long-lasting memories. If they’re left to Google what they can’t recall, it often ends up overwhelming and confusing students further.

At LessonWise, every lesson is automatically recorded so students can log in to our platform any time to view all resources and improve their retention of learned materials.

Ready To Begin Tutoring Students?

Now that you have a tutoring strategy in place, you’ll require an all-in-one platform. We invite you to consider LessonWise!