Online tutoring has been an essential part of the education industry for many years. The growing popularity of online learning has allowed students the opportunity to choose and interact with tutors from around the world. An online tutor is not only a popular profession for many pedagogic individuals but also an additional option for part-time teachers.
What does an online tutor do?
A tutor is a person that helps students improve their grades, gives tips for preparing for exams, and provides feedback for appropriate study strategies. So online tutors are similar, but they interact with students through online platforms.
Unlike tutoring in real classrooms, the experience of working as an online tutor can make a lot of difference. So, where should you start when you want to work as an online tutoring?
How to become an online tutor?
1. Determine the prerequisites
Just like becoming a teacher at a school or center, an online tutor also needs to find out if they meet the prerequisites to teach. Try asking the following questions if you intend to be an online tutor:
- Who is your target audience? Elementary school, middle school, or high school?
- Do you choose to become a freelance online tutor or a private center?
- If you are an online tutor, what strengths help you convince students and parents to sign up for your course?
- What is the current market for tutors in your area of expertise? How can you compete?
- If you were a tutor for a center, which center would you like to work in?
An online tutor will stand out when they have teaching experience with a certificate in a specific subject. This will help you build trust with students and parents.
2. Understanding the target audience
No matter what industry you are in, researching your target audience is critical. Make sure you have studied and understood the needs of the target student segment. You should identify student characteristics based on age, location, or their needs to address academically. From there, you will be able to develop ideas and a roadmap for the course to meet the needs of students in the most practical way.
3. Choose a topic to teach online tutoring
Choose topics you will feel comfortable and confident in from your skillset to teach online. You can choose to go by level and subject or, more specifically, an issue within that subject. For example, many online tutors teach English. Still, some tutors offer conversational English courses, while others only teach writing and grammar. Also, having some advanced degree or expertise in the subject you want to tutor will give you a competitive advantage. For example, for an online English tutor, you may want to own certificates such as IELTS, TOEIC, TESOL, or TEFL, in addition to a pedagogical degree.
4. Build appropriate curriculum
The curriculum plays an important role in deciding whether the lesson content you want to convey is receptive to the students. There are now many formats for online courses, such as live web video, pre-recorded video with written annotations for students to reread and take notes, and live learning via Skype call, Zoom, or Google Meet. In addition, you can also integrate learning management platforms to have an effective way to teach online tutors, such as messages or discussion forums.
How to become a certified online tutor?
You don’t necessarily need a pedagogical degree. You can ultimately become an online tutor in the following ways:
1. Register on online tutoring platforms
Suppose you have good English communication skills or want to teach English online. In that case, you will find many online tutoring platforms such as Udemy, Udacity, SkillShare, Edx, etc. Every online website has its own model with different features. For example, a platform may allow online tutors to create and sell their courses on their website globally. You can sell courses on it and earn revenue by teaching through the online platform.
To start registering as an online tutor on an online platform, you need to fill in your primary login information, profile, and experience. Many platforms also require a certificate as proof of your educational attainment. Before your profile is made public to students, you need to go through the review and approval of these service sites.
Other platforms offer online video tutorials. You can schedule live classes with one-on-one tutoring sessions, providing teacher-student interaction. These platforms also provide real time classroom experiences that make the learning experience more immersive and enjoyable for students.
2. Create your own website for online tutoring
You can set up an online tutoring website, although this may require more effort.
- Create a domain name with your website address: Once you name your tutoring service, you will have to do a domain name registration to run the website.
- Use hosting platforms like Wix or WordPress, where you can upload your video lessons. You can also connect communication methods such as Skype, Zoom, or Google Meet if you want to promote 1-on-1 courses face-to-face.
- Create a Facebook fan page: Facebook is an effective social networking platform for you to start advertising your online tutoring services. Connect your website to Facebook and join Facebook groups and communities to reach the right students.
Choosing the most appropriate learning style is not based on any educational trends. Online tutoring may only be suitable for students with high self-discipline and basic knowledge. Students should rely on the ability, interests of themselves and their financial status to choose the appropriate option for them.
