editor It’s no secret that the sudden shift to online education has left educators overwhelmed. Tutoring remotely has its challenges, but the rewards online tutoring brings to both educators and students are really appreciable.
Amidst the pandemic, learners still need to continue their studies, and online classes have made it convenient for all. So if you are an online tutor who is struggling with running an online class, here are some proven tips on how to conduct live online classes.
Bring professionalism to your sessions
Even if you are tutoring from home, it is critical to maintain a professional attitude and behaviour. One best step is to dress professionally, just like you would attend an actual classroom session. Online classes can help you develop your public speaking skills by providing opportunities to practice speaking in front of a virtual audience. During every session, keep the reference books handy even if you are not going to use them regularly.
The overall idea is not to waste time on finding the necessary materials as time matters the most during an online class. Also, ensure you have a strong internet connection so as not to interrupt your classes.
Create a tutoring site to host your online classes
There are a lot of platforms available in the market for tutors to host online classes. However, such platforms lack flexibility and don’t offer educators much control over monetization and other aspects. Instead, the best approach is to use course management software to create your own tutoring website. Get a tutor to help you succeed in your online class and achieve your academic goals.
If you want a software recommendation, Pinlearn is an excellent professional software for hosting both live online classes and self-paced courses. Besides, the software facilitates scheduling online classes, managing users, accepting payments, etc.
Keep up the engagement
Each student has a learning style of their own which you need to identify when conducting online classes. It is not only important to identify the skills but also to find ways to nurture them. Also, make it a practice to actively encourage your students to participate in the tasks and activities. Online personality tests can help online class participants to better understand themselves and how to learn more effectively. Ask questions, and encourage them to come up with answers while you guide them.
Along with the normal curriculum, add engaging activities that help your students understand the concept through fun learning. While making your online class interactive, you must be an expert in the subject as you would have to answer creative questions from the students’ side. You can do certain things to boost engagement during an online session.
- Share your screen with students so that they can view your learning materials.
- Display handwritten notes.
- Summarize concepts after every topic.
- Incorporate brief writing tasks and leverage polls to boost engagement.
Speak and repeat
Listening comprehensively can be difficult for some learners, especially in an online learning environment. Hence, repetition is the best way to make sure your learners understand the concept. It also helps reinforce the learning process, which is again important. Once you talk about a concept, ask your students to repeat back what you have discussed. Don’t worry if the repetition will make the session boring. If you use this wisely, it will be worth it.
Practice your online sessions
Before your online class, make it a practice to rehearse your sessions. Teach as if you are talking to your students even in your practice sessions. Include all details, step by step, exactly what you would do in a real class. For example, if you would include an engaging task between your class, include it in your rehearsal sessions. Practicing in front of the camera in real-time will make you confident to do it during the actual classroom session.
Create your online learning experience
Before starting your first class, think about how you would deliver your classes. Are you planning to deliver live classes or use a combination of both live and self-paced classes? You can also consider offering online courses on certain subjects so that your learners can learn on their own. It can also be this way- Teach your normal class and broadcast it to your students.
When delivering your online classes, make sure you focus on offering the best user experience.
- Ease of use
- Student interaction
- Custom branding
Collect feedback from learners
Student feedback can be a valuable tool if you want to improve your online classes that your learners will benefit from. After each class, ask your students for their valuable feedback to know how satisfied your students are with your classes. Ask whether they are getting enough support during the classes. Are they finding it easy to use the tutoring platform? Do they know where to look for help if they need any help regarding using the platform or facing any challenge? You can use learner feedback to improve the classes.
Conclusion
Online tutoring is a lucrative opportunity for tutors as it is a growing market. Before getting into online teaching, conduct research, create a professional teaching space, plan your classes, set up your tutoring platform, and start teaching with confidence. Once you have a carefully crafted plan, you have the foundation to establish your online tutoring business.
