How to Tutor Online: A Best Practice Guide

For companies just starting
Our Pay as you go package gives you:
For scaling companies
Our Startup package gives you:
For large-scale companies
Our Enterprise package gives you:
Sign up to our mailing list to get monthly updates and insights straight to your inbox.
By signing up to our newsletter you consent to receive marketing communications from TutorCruncher.
Online tutoring has become an important part of the tutoring industry and a steady stream of income for those who have mastered how to tutor online. It has allowed online tutors and students from around the world to connect. During the pandemic, online tutoring was the only tool available for many, and has since maintained its popularity, making it an essential skill to master.
Continuing to learn is more vital now than ever before. In this blog, you can find out a bit more about how to start tutoring online and what you need to do to ensure your online lessons are a success!
To begin with, it is important to learn a bit more about what you will need to teach online. There are lots of tools available to facilitate long-distance learning; however, it can often be difficult to choose the right one for you. The most important thing to remember is that the tools you use should be suited to your teaching style.
Here are a few things you might want to consider when choosing online learning tools:
With tutoring online, it is important to consider how you will connect with your students. You should think about whether you need to set up a call or video chat for the lesson. Utilizing a tool that can help you connect with your students in real-time can help keep them engaged and get the most out of the class. It also means you are able to make sure your students are getting the most out of the class.
Before you choose a tool, confirm you know what you are looking for. You may want to think about some of the following questions:
If you are looking for a free video chat, there are a number of different options to choose from, such as:
An online whiteboard, a document sharing software, or an online tutoring platform, may be useful if you want a collaborative workspace where you and your students can interact. These tools allow your students to interact with the lesson material online, in real-time.
As with video chat services, you can find lots of different online whiteboards ranging from Free to Premium pricing. You also need to decide what you need for teaching online in order to choose which tool to use.
If you are looking for a free tool to collaborate with your students, you could consider using:
You might also want to think about whether you want to use a premium service for a monthly subscription. These tools are usually able to provide you with a more extensive set of features.
Some tools you can use include:
Once you have figured out what tools you will use, it is vital to make sure you are familiar with how they work. Ensure you spend some time learning how the whiteboard or video chat you are using works before beginning your classes.
You might also want to think about briefing your students if you are using a collaborative workspace. Most online whiteboard and video chat providers have a great FAQ section on their website, meaning you and your students can quickly familiarize yourselves with these tools.
Before your online lesson, make sure that you are fully prepared for your class. If you are new to online tutoring jobs, it is easy to forget some of the materials you may need for your class, which could disrupt your workflow.
Here are a couple of things you might want to consider before your lesson:
It can often be difficult to find a quiet spot in your house to host your lessons. Any excess noise or background activity could distract you and your student, so make sure you do have a space where you can teach optimally.
Mentally prepare yourself for the lesson! Spending some time before the lesson getting into the correct mindset can help you perform the best.
Unlike fact-to-face tutoring, lessons online require a bit more planning. Since it may be more difficult to track a student down if they don't show up, timely reminders can be very useful.
Make sure your student knows and has confirmed that they will be attending the lesson. Setting up automated reminders is a great way to ensure your students are reminded that their class is starting soon.
It is important to remember before your lessons that online tools can occasionally be unreliable. Making sure you have a backup option in case of technical difficulties can be a lifesaver!
This is why you should always check your Wi-Fi connection before starting your online tutoring services to make sure you can be heard clearly. Additionally, you should test one of the many online tutoring platforms, such as TutorCruncher to see what features work best for you.
The most important thing to remember when running a lesson online is to be adaptable. As mentioned above, technology isn't always reliable. Working from home means there are likely to be more distractions.
Here are some things you should be prepared for during your online lessons:
Remember to communicate your ideas as clearly as possible. With video calls, it is normal for audio to be a little unclear from time to time, so feel free to repeat key bits of information.
Keep in mind that sometimes less is more. Giving your students enough time to think and solve problems means they will have a more rewarding experience.
Following a lesson, it can be useful to give students feedback on their class as well as pointers for what they can do to improve. Using a tool that has a report function will allow you to send information to your students after the lesson.
Most online whiteboards and video chat services usually give you the option to record lessons. You should consider whether this is something you want to utilize. Recording sessions with students and sending it to them can allow them to revise parts of the lesson they were unsure