Online Tutoring

Online tutoring involves teaching students within a virtual learning environment. It allows students to learn without being face-to-face with a teacher. There are several online tutoring platforms out there that offer the latest technology as well as a safe, secure learning environment. Some tutors also teach via platforms like Skype. Typically, in order to tutor online, you’ll need to have a laptop, a webcam, a headset, and a fast internet connection.

The Marketplace for Online Tutoring

An article published in the Telegraph interviews some of the UK’s leading online tutoring service providers and asks them to share their views on the rise of online tuition. One of the largest online learning platforms, reported a 500% growth in demand over the previous 12 months, across every subject imaginable.

Another major tutoring provider launched its online learning platform in 2013 enabled 3,500 tutoring sessions within its first year. Robert Grabiner, the website’s founder, credits the website’s success with enhancements in technology and broadband over the last few years.

Of course, there are benefits to improving your education by traditional means but for some, the benefits of online education outweigh traditional methods. The information below details some of the advantages of online tuition and should hopefully enlighten you to the options available for online learning.

Convenience

One of the main benefits of e-learning is its convenience. We live in a world where information and education is available to us at the click of a mouse and many online learning platforms are taking advantage of this. We tend to think of secondary school education when we speak of private tuition but online tuition can also be useful for adults looking to learn new skills. The great thing about online tutoring is that you choose when you have your lessons, you choose how long the lessons last and you can even choose where your lessons take place.

Demand

The e-learning industry is said to be worth £8 billion in counting so expect to see a huge increase in the number of private tutors offering their services online in the future.

Flexibility

Another huge benefit of online tuition is its flexibility. As already mentioned, you can literally choose where your lessons take place: at home; in a coffee shop; on the beach (perhaps only in the summer) and all you really need is a laptop and a headset. Times are changing and people no longer need to sit in a classroom five evenings (or days) a week in order to learn a subject. Those with the motivation can learn from the comfort of their own homes.

However, online learning doesn’t mean that you won’t have to work as it takes just as much effort to learn from someone over the internet as it does face to face and there’s still the revision and assignments to work on afterwards. What it does mean though is that you can choose when to put the effort in. Perhaps you’re a morning person who prefers to work at first light? Or maybe you’re a night owl who gets inspired of an evening? Either way, e-learning definitely gives you that freedom.

By signing up to an online tutoring platform, you automatically increase your client base. Online learning means you’re no longer restricted to teaching students within a few miles radius of your home, the world, quite literally, is your oyster.

With virtual classrooms being used as an alternative to real ones, students and tutors can talk, swap messages, share files and draw diagrams all at the click of a mouse. And in most cases, at the end of each lesson, pupils can play everything back to reinforce their learning.

Although the future of learning is definitely online, it’s worth bearing in mind that there will always be a market for face-face tuition.

Action – Be aware of what online tutoring platforms are out there

Online tutoring isn’t for everyone but there’s no denying that a significant part of the future of private tutoring is online. Having an awareness of what online tutoring platforms are out there, how much they cost and what benefits they offer tutors, will help you make an informed decision about whether you’ll offer online as well as face-to-face tutoring.

How to Improve a Student’s Confidence

Some people believe themselves to be naturally unconfident doing certain tasks. Confidence however, is a skill that can be learned like any other, through practice. People who consider themselves to be confident in a certain situation, have at one point, embraced their uncertainty.

Through practice and taking action, it is possible for someone to change their perception of how they perform and to achieve their goals.

Feeling in Control

If a student feels they are in control of their learning, they feel more confident in their ability to succeed in their studies. One way of improving a student’s confidence is to create an agreed structure for future lessons. Familiarity and repetition can help a student adopt a resourceful mind-set and aid their learning. The structure of lessons will vary according to the subject and the level being studied.

Positive Language

During your lessons, try to use positive language as much as possible, even when correcting a student’s errors. Try reframing the idea of ‘mistakes’ into something more encouraging.

If you highlight an error, give a constructive explanation that leaves the student feeling enlightened rather than deflated. By the same account, it’s important not to be overly-positive and to praise mediocrity. By using positive language honestly and effectively your student will know when they have genuinely achieved and will respect your feedback.

Replacing Limiting Beliefs

As an educator, it’s important not to accept the word ‘can’t’ as a reason for a student’s shortcomings. If your student is struggling with a particular concept or process, break it down into small, manageable chunks and take the time to explain the minor details. It is often the minor details that make all the difference. Ask your student to explain exactly what they don’t understand about what they are studying and give a clear, concise explanation of the practice.

Self-Expression

Encourage your student to express their opinions on everything relating to their studies including your suggestions. After a day of classroom learning and being taught mostly through a one-way system, encourage your student to ask questions that they may not otherwise get the chance to ask in the classroom for risk of embarrassment or due to time constraints.

By letting a student know that their opinions are just as relevant as yours or their teacher’s, they will develop a stronger sense of self-worth, knowing that their thoughts are valued.

The Confidence Effect

How to Motivate Students

At some point in a teacher or student’s career they will be faced with the challenge of teaching an unmotivated student. Such challenges can be frustrating for both teacher and student so we’ve written a brief guide on the most effective ways to put the spark back into a student’s learning.

Everyone has felt demotivated at some point in their lives whether it be linked to learning or not, but very often the thing that makes the difference is approach and perspective. In short, the most effective way to motivate a student is by engaging their interest.

How Do You Know If a Student Is Motivated?

You can tell if someone is motivated from their body language and their verbal responses. If someone is sitting up straight, pen in hand, notebook on table and eyes fixed to the speaker, then they’re generally engaged with the content.

Verbal responses might take the form of reinforced language – if a student repeats what a teacher is saying, it’s generally a sign that they’re taking on board what is being taught and thinking about the task at hand.

Positive Reinforcement

A little praise can go a long way. By reassuring students that they’re doing well, you let them know that their hard work is paying off and they’ll soon see the results of their efforts. Learning is a process and not everyone picks things up first time so by celebrating small successes along the way, students will be more likely to commit to learning in the long term.

Acknowledge a student’s good work during lessons and let others know about their successes too – class teachers, parents etc. Be careful not to over praise however, as this can create false hope and lead to disappointment in the future. Be honest with your praise and constructive with your criticism.

Setting Short-Term and Long-Term Goals

When you give something your full concentration day in day out, it can be easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. By creating short term ‘check points’, you give students an opportunity to reflect on what they’ve already achieved and to allow for any adjustments to be made before moving forward.

Even if each individual short-term goal isn’t achieved, don’t necessarily view this as a bad thing as there will still be time for things to come together before the most important goal approaches. Set the barrier high but remember to be realistic. It’s important to set expectations early on during a course of lessons and to make students aware that you can only take their learning so far – the rest is up to them.

Showing Your Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm as they say, is infectious. If you’re passionate about what you’re teaching, then your students are more likely to be engaged with the content. By using positive and empowering words, you can often gain a reaction from students.

Make sure your students can relate to your examples – tell them a personal story and relate it to what you’re teaching, this gives the content an extra layer of intrigue as it becomes a real-world experience.

Keeping Things Fresh

There’s nothing more demotivating than covering the same points over and over or using the same teaching strategies all the time. Variety is the spice of life so by adapting your teaching style to fit the content your students will feel that they’re approaching something they already know from a new angle.

By using a variety of different teaching methods, you cater to all types of learners and increase the chances of students achieving their goals.

Becoming Student-Centred

By focusing more responsibility on what your students think, you encourage them to form their own opinions and set their own work schedules. By giving a student more ownership over their work, you’re giving them less opportunity to find fault in the teaching method or content.

By enforcing the idea that they are responsible for their own learning, they may come to the realisation that blame doesn’t lead to results. By asking your students what they enjoyed about a particular lesson, you’re giving them a chance to say what they feel and at the same time, they’re summarising the work that you’ve just covered.

Taking an Interest in Your Students’ Interests

Everybody needs some down time so why not use the opportunity to get to know your students a bit better. What are their interests outside of school? What are their hobbies? Knowing more about the person you’re teaching allows you to tailor lessons according to their individual needs. You may discover a good way of tying in their interests with what you’re teaching.

Involving Friends and Parents

• Keep parents up to date with what you’ve been teaching during lessons and encourage them to ask questions.

• Given the opportunity, everybody likes to impress with knowledge so having a parent ask about lessons when you, as a teacher or tutor are present, gives them the chance to impress both parties.

• Why not suggest students form a study group? If you have several students who live close by, you could suggest they arrange to meet to discuss lessons and to share thoughts on coursework.

How to Keep up With Trends in the Private Tutoring Industry

Private tutoring is one of the oldest professions there is, but thanks to an everchanging curriculum, new technologies, and a constant quest for better results, keeping up-to-date has never been harder. That's why we've compiled a handy list of ways to stay at the cutting edge of your industry.

Read the Curriculum

For any tutor, making sure you are teaching the right materials is vital. However, for those who don’t teach regularly in a school, finding out how curriculum changes affect you can be tough.

In the past year alone, there have been major changes to A-Levels / IBs / Scottish Highers and GCSEs/MYBs/N5s, with further changes scheduled for the next few years. The government and Exam Boards do a reasonable job of recording major curriculum changes and present these changes in a more easily digestible format.

Get Involved in Social Media

People use social media for a reason: it's a great way to stay informed about what people are talking about. You can follow Education thought leaders on Twitter and LinkedIn. If you have an existing tuition business, setting up a Facebook page lets you hear from your own clients and respond to their questions and feedback.

Follow Industry Blogs

The blogosphere contains a wealth of information on every topic imaginable, and tuition is no different. Following blogs such as The Tutor Website are of course a must, but smaller, less well-known bloggers can often be a goldmine for useful information on more niche topics. If you need help getting started, try Google a list of Education blogs.

Embrace New Technologies

The best way to stay current with new technologies is to try them out first hand. The two technologies making waves today are online tutoring and interactive resources.

Online tutoring can be a great way to teach students who may live too far away for you to travel to in person. And all you need to get started is registering with a tutoring platform and have a Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet account.

account. Similarly, there are dozens of free resources online that can complement one-to-one tuition.

Platforms like the Doddle platform allow tutors to set homework for their pupils and track their progress over time, in addition to providing teaching resources. Similarly, websites like TES has an exhaustive list of resources for teachers and tutors, covering everything from creative exercises to practice exams.

Attend Events

For those who like to travel, going to tuition industry conferences and events can be a great way to hear from those at the cutting edge of the tutoring industry and they also gives you an opportunity to mingle with like-minded professionals. The Tutors Association is the UK's premier tutoring event provider.

Use Google Alerts

'Receive tutoring updates straight to your inbox as they happen.'

Scouring through dozens of blogs and online newspapers can be time consuming, especially if you're only interested in one or two topics. Instead, try out Google Alerts This is a handy little tool that tells you every time certain keywords are mentioned in news articles or forums on the web. So, if you're interested in "Secondary Maths", set up an alert for that term and Google will keep you informed of all the relevant articles that mention those terms.

Participate in Forums and Discussion Boards

What better way to keep up with what's going on than to hear it from parents directly. The forums on sites such as Mumsnet, Netmums and Facebook groups regularly host discussions from parents. You can browse through as a guest, or if you have something to contribute, then you can get involved directly by becoming a member (usually for free).