At a time of social distancing, online tutors need to be more digitally knowledgeable and agile than ever.
However, mastering the digital space is not enough to be a top-notch, sought-after online tutor.
Take inspiration from these helpful tips to bring your online tutoring career to a whole new level:
1. Participate in Online Classes Yourself
Singapore has established very high standards when it comes to education. Children are expected to perform at their very best, and that’s where online tutors play a crucial part.
Remember, your guidance is a significant factor in their academic development and progress.
Continued learning will not only keep your mind sharp and well-conditioned to teach. It will also help you develop critical thinking skills and creative ways of communicating with your students.
More importantly, you can “borrow” ideas and teaching techniques from online instructors.
Fortunately, several e-learning platforms provide valuable resources for tutors like you.
A great example is Skillshare, which offers free online classes taught by experienced practitioners worldwide. It even has classes specifically designed to help aspiring online instructors create and deliver engaging online courses.
Platforms like Skillshare help you refine existing skills or perhaps explore something new. The best part is, you can pass on the latest theories, concepts, and techniques you’ve learned to your students.
2. Make Every Hour Count
The majority of Singapore’s population has reliable internet access, making online tutoring services highly accessible and practical.
Since most parents book sessions in advance, you can strategize your schedule and prepare the lessons ahead of time.
Unlike in-person sessions where you meet students in their homes, online tutoring takes travel out of the picture. This means you can dedicate more hours and energy to developing more refined and comprehensive lessons.
Having time flexibility also offers the advantage of becoming more available for students when they need immediate help. Students can reach out to you much easier for exam prep or when they have quick questions for assignments.
In a nutshell, you should maximize your time flexibility to become more efficient and productive.
Use it well to ensure you’re providing quality lessons your students deserve. And when you know they provide excellent value, pricing your services comes easy. Do be willing to reduce your tuition rates a little as you can save travelling time for online tutoring.
3. Encourage Student Participation
While online tutoring comes with several benefits, it also presents some inevitable challenges.
One example is keeping your students engaged and focused, which can be tough especially in an online learning environment.
By now, you probably know that every student has different needs and learning styles. This means you have to develop a unique approach for each student to increase lesson participation.
However, every class must involve engaging and interactive activities that spur participation. You can do this through gamification, visual presentations, and student feedback sessions.
Incorporating fun into your lessons enhances the quality of the learning experience and maximizes student engagement. Memorizing your presentation can also help you stay the course and run your classes more smoothly.
4. Provide Regular Exercises
After an online class, it can be tricky to ensure that students understood the lessons.
Thankfully, there are creative exercises you can do to determine whether or not your students grasped their lessons well.
For instance, you can try the “Misconception Check” exercise to check if they can get their facts right. To do this exercise, give your students a false statement and let them identify the correct answer.
Consider incorporating more assessment exercises into your sessions to make learning more fun. In addition to increasing your students’ interest, it also helps strengthen your relationship with them.
5. Go Beyond Video Chat Tools
Since your primary workspace is digital, you can easily utilize additional education tools in your online classes. Online whiteboards and file-sharing apps are examples of technologies you can use.
The key is to enrich your students’ digital experiences across multiple access platforms and devices.
Thanks to the pandemic, no one can tell for certain how long we have to stay in our homes. But instead of seeing this as a disadvantage, take this time to familiarize yourself with various technologies.
You’re probably using several digital tools as of the moment, but that’s no reason to stop exploring.
As an online tutor, it’s not only vital that you’ve mastered your chosen subjects. You also need to know the platforms and tools that can give your students a one-of-a-kind learning experience.
6. Stay Professional
Keep in mind that you still need to be professional even when working from home. One way to do this is by dressing up as if you’re tutoring students in their homes.
Apart from making an impression on your students and their parents, dressing up also puts you into work mode.
It’s also beneficial to maintain a conducive workspace at home. The backdrop of your office can play a part in setting up a professional-looking classroom. If your room is messy, you can use a green-screen background.
Wrapping Up
It’s no secret that being an online tutor in Singapore is a lucrative opportunity. But it also involves the pressure of helping your students succeed.
It can be very daunting and challenging, but nothing compares to the feeling of fulfillment when they reach their goals. These tips can help you grow as an online tutor and, in turn, enable your students to achieve their best selves.
Sure, you may need to change routines, step out of your comfort zone, and — at times — be a beginner again. But there’s nothing wrong with any of that.
Remember that having a growth mindset, which entails these things, is key to achieving extraordinary things.
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