Are you a teacher or tutor who had no choice but to create a digital learning environment for your students due to the COVID-19 lockdown?
Nothing beats the fun experience of learning inside the classroom where you can communicate with your students in person – that’s a fact. However, it’s still possible to instill knowledge, establish a good relationship and connection, and make this online learning setup a rewarding experience for your students.
Check out these 15 tips on how to be the most effective (and even coolest) online tutor you can ever be.
1. Be a tutor, not a reading material
Many students require closer connection – they need to see and hear their tutors to be truly inspired or interested in a subject. Aside from encouraging video calls, you may also show your face to your students when creating lecture videos. Research suggests that lecture videos are more effective when they show the teacher’s faces when compared to narrated slideshows.
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2. Work in a setting that’s conducive to effective tutoring
To make your online tutoring session more effective, eliminate background noises and move to a quieter location. Use a headset to reduce noises and make your voice clearer. Also, check the items behind you and make sure they’re not distracting.
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3. Prepare for possible technical glitches
Technical problems, such as slow equipment, unstable internet connection, and corrupted files, happen, so make sure you set yourself up to avoid these issues. Have a troubleshooting plan in place should any of these technical glitches take place in the middle of your online tutoring session. For instance, you can make sure the student has the document open on his or her laptop or mobile device as the session begins.
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4. Use technology to your advantage
From your main communication channel to different programs designed to navigate online learning materials, find the best apps you can use to ease the learning process, and send projects, homework, and lessons.
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5. Use a lot of imagery
Gone are the days when students need to rely on boring black and white textbooks with little to zero images. You can use technology to your advantage by providing attractive visual aids such as videos and pictures to make your lessons easier to understand. Use vibrant infographics, snippets from a documentary or movie, and even memes to get your message across.
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6. Test out slides on your phone
Not everyone has a laptop or a tablet – some students accessing your learning materials and quizzes on their phones. Make sure you test your slides on your smartphone and check if the text is optimized and readable on small screens. Focus on font sizes, template designs, colors, screen ratios, and overall compatibility.
7. Ask questions
Not sure if your students clearly understand each task? Ask simple questions. With this, you’ll know if your audience truly understands the subject matter.
8. Combine theory with practice
Theories are better taught through an application. With this, students aren’t only memorizing – they’re actually learning the concepts by heart.
9. Track progress
The digital classroom setting has different types of assessments. Whether you prefer individual homework or group projects, invest some time into executing strategies that track student progress.
10. Incorporate familiarity
Are you teaching a complex concept? Teaching with familiar concepts is key. You’ll be amazed at how quickly a learner can understand physics or chemistry by connecting the subject matter to real-life and everyday objects.
For example, online Math tutors may use math problems that use real-life scenarios to make the theories and formulas more understandable.
11. Give references
The beauty of online tutoring is flexibility. Yes, you may set schedules, but the materials you’ve presented can be easily accessed and reviewed after class – at their own time and pace. Aside from the learning materials you’ve personally created, you can also give your students links to other relevant online references which can be valuable. The web never runs out of quality resources you can use to foster learning.
12. Engage your students to be proactive
To “insert fun into the lecture” is such a vague statement.
Encourage your students to be proactive. Ask them to make short films, blog entries, and even memes about the topics they’re studying. You may even let your students lead a discussion or even a part of the lesson.
13. Stay current
Another effective way to stimulate your online students is to connect relevant social, political, scientific, and other current issues to the content. Allow them to freely express themselves and understand other points of view.
14. Make it personal
What’s the difference between a personal online tutor and a random tutor on YouTube, teaching the same lessons? The personal tutor can get to know their students and cater to their tutoring lessons to their individual needs.
The more personal a subject is, the greater the chance for a learner to cooperate and show progress.
15. Be enthusiastic
Bringing energy into the lecture may be easy when you’re sitting right next to your tutee, but it may be challenging when you’re not in a live, in-person tutoring session. So make sure to double your projection of enthusiasm when you’re online tutoring. You may project your voice a little bit more, make bright eye-contact, and be as lively and engaging as you can be.
Author Bio: Carmina Natividad is a daytime writer for Inflow Education Tutoring Sydney, a tutoring organization in Sydney, specializing in Math and English Tutoring. She enjoys writing practical tips on education, parenting, family, and relationships.
