Here is a simple guide for tutors in Singapore looking to conduct online one-to-one tuition in 2021:
Advantages of Conducting Private Online Tuition
Demand for private tuition experiences may be limited with these heightened safety and social distancing measures established by the Multi-Ministry Taskforce. If you are worried about job opportunities during these challenging times, conducting private online tuition might be the best solution for you!
Here are some key advantages of conducting online tuition:
Reduced travel time
Well, let us start with the simple. While the news of no face-to-face tuition might initially have discouraged you, breathe a sigh of relief when you think about getting a good break from the tiring traffic, making your commute unnecessarily longer. With the option of online private tuition (until face-to-face tuition is available again), you can skip the long travel times and instead schedule more classes in your day!
This may afford you the flexibility of scheduling classes of shorter duration, once more increasing the flexibility with which you can teach your students so you may adapt to a schedule that seems best for both of you. And more appointments per day translates into a bigger impact on more students and a higher net income!
Greater safety during the covid-19 pandemic
Another simple but obvious advantage is that online private tuition allows you to continue working and making a living while keeping both yourself (and your family) and your students (and their families) safe.
Click here for a list of covid-19 resources shared by the Singapore Government, and learn how to be safe.
Opportunity to enhance teaching skills and gain e-teaching competencies needed for future educators
Teaching can help you grow your skills, such as how to present content in new and engaging ways so that your students stay focused, how to build rapport through video calls and other digital correspondence enhancing your communication skills, and how to become adept at using digital platforms.
All trends point to the digitalisation of pedagogy in our future, and gaining experience in e-teaching activities through conducting private online tuition can help you develop the competencies needed from educators in the future.
[image: infographic from Economist Intelligence Unit Report by Microsoft, 2020]
According to an Economist Intelligence Unit Report from 2020, while most respondents felt that technology was important and valuable for teaching and learning in the classroom, only 38% felt their training had equipped them for using digital technologies in the classroom.
By offering and conducting online private tuition, you may gain the necessary skills and become trained in e-teaching, giving you a competitive advantage over other aspiring educators.
Make a lasting impact on your students’ lives.
What is more, this global pandemic has been particularly hard for children who are unable to go to school and do not have the necessary support to deal with the constant stress. With online tuition, you can make a lasting impact in the lives of your students and guide them to build resilience.
Remember your passion for learning and love for growth, and try out online tuition now!
Don’t let the pandemic stop you. Be safe, and click here to sign up to be an online private tutor with MindWorks today!
Join our telegram channel to receive regular updates on tuition assignments in Singapore!
Simple Guide to Start Online Tuition in 2021
Now, are you eager to start online tuition but don’t know how to proceed? Here is a simple guide to get you started in delivering high-quality tuition experiences for yourself and your students:
1. Establish a good working space for yourself
Start by designating a working space for yourself at home. Make sure you have a clean environment wherein you can focus completely. Set up video calling software on your computer or laptop such as zoom, teams, skype, or even google hangouts which will allow you to get into one-on-one video call sessions with your tutees.
Also, make sure other devices are handy:
you may need your headset/earphones for clear audio transmission
you may want to connect to a tablet or iPad, so you may share the screen as you write, and
you may want to scan any worksheets or textbook chapters you would like to refer to, so you have digital copies of them.
A bright and clean environment will help you stay focused and also appear professional. Consider customizing your backdrop on these apps if you wish to maintain privacy.
2. Work through your own stress and be positive, so you can begin to share happiness
In order to deliver high-quality tuition sessions, you must first begin by cultivating a joyful presence for yourself. Recognise that it is okay to experience negative feelings during these challenging times, and learn to let go to create peace.
Tutor Young and tutor Alice, founders of MindWorks, believe that being an excellent tutor requires first finding one’s own happiness and satisfaction. Mindfulness practice, a good amount of daily exercise, keeping hydrated and eating nutritious food are important elements that will help you maintain a positive attitude when meeting your students online.
Here is an article about how to stay positive during the covid-19 pandemic, and here is a beautiful poem about hope.
3. Work on building rapport with your students. Don’t let online communication hinder your connection
It is a skill to learn to stay positive and energetic on-screen in a way that allows your students to connect with you. Working online on lessons may get boring with them, which is why it is important to build rapport. Many teachers have found that more time for discussion during lessons allows students to engage with the material in real-time, increasing comprehension.
Encourage your tutees to ask questions, and create a growth mindset environment in your sessions where asking questions is appreciated. Encourage them by praising their effort and hard work, but remember to set clear boundaries. For instance, while you may want to share your WhatsApp or other accounts for easy contact, make sure to maintain discipline about your working hours and when they can and cannot contact you.
4. Upskill: Incorporate digital tools to make lessons more engaging
Teaching digitally might require you to upskill and take some courses yourself so you may make your content more engaging.
Here are some online apps you can use:
Miro is a free and paid whiteboard app where you can write and draw in real-time to explain your ideas more clearly during lessons. It also allows people to collaborate in real-time to make mindmaps, or draw which will help you make your class more interactive.
Quizziz is a good, free tool for creating online quizzes which can help you test your students’ understanding.
Quizlet is also a good free tool for improved memorization through flashcards and inbuilt interactive games. An alternative of this, which students may create and use for themselves, is called Anki flashcards which uses spaced repetition technique to guarantee improved memory.
Prezi is also a good tool you can use to make more engaging powerpoints for your students. With beautiful visual designs and good animations between slides, it is sure to keep your students captivated while learning.
There are many such tools, so we encourage you to do a little research and experiment to find the ones that work best for you and your students. If you would like to read an article with more such tools for online teaching, make sure to let MindWorks know in the comments!
5. Reconsider your lesson plans and make adjustments
Now, in terms of your lessons' actual content, you may need to make adjustments in your lesson plans to adapt to the online mode of teaching. Ask yourself the following questions which will help you understand what changes to make:
Are your lessons plans realistic given the time and resources available? Are you factoring in extra time for technological mishaps?
Because of the online learning mode, students may need more time to understand and practice the material. Think about how you may improve the learning and feedback process by online shared whiteboards or google documents where you can see the student’s work in real-time.
Are there more interesting ways of discussing a subject? You may use many online learning platforms to make a subject more interesting for your tutees, such as Khanacademy for classes in Math, Science, Economics and more or Crashcourse videos on Youtube.
Comment below if you would like a list of open learning resources!
6. Be open to feedback for continuous improvement
Remember that the process of Home-Based Learning can be challenging for both students and their parents/guardians /caretakers. This is why it is vital to clarify expectations in the beginning and give regular updates about the students’ progress.
Parents and students may have different expectations from you as an online private tutor, so make sure to seek feedback and be open to criticism. Perhaps make an easy to use survey for the parents, or schedule a brief meeting with them to seek feedback and keenly listen to their suggestions about how you may improve.
By having clear communication channels, you can not only improve your teaching and help your student achieved the desired outcomes in the short term but also establish good credibility, which goes a long way for getting future assignments with the same parent or word-of-mouth recommendations.
If you haven’t already, sign up to be a tutor at MindWorks and join our telegram channel to find online tuition assignments in Singapore right away!