Online Tutoring

Online tutoring works very well, even if a pupil lives relatively close by as it can save them so much travelling time and means that the parent does not have to be a taxi driver.

We arrange the time and then I send an invite to join my meeting on Zoom. The pupil can be on a laptop, desktop or an iPad/ tablet. I prefer it if a pupil is in a room on their own with a desk or table. This allows the integrity of the student/teacher relationship to function well as if we are in my special teaching environment where distractions are at a minimum.

I have a wonderful iPad Pro and use Paper Pro, which allows me to teach in a very visual way – see the examples below. It is so good and clear that I use it as a valuable tool in my in-person lessons as well. It makes everything much clearer and far more interesting than using pencil and paper.

I can see what they are doing when they share their screen and they can see what I’m doing when I share mine. This learning is very flexible and because I use excellent websites (see My Toolbox), it is interesting and they concentrate fully.

I can upload a photo of a comprehension from one of my books and then annotate it in different colours while we talk.

I can draw things as I’m talking. If they don’t understand, then I can erase the last bit and they can watch me doing it again. This works well with the very visual learners.

We went through this piece of writing considering the questions that the school had set.

Mind map of a story

I wrote down the ideas that the child had and then he wrote the story. I can send the pupil a screenshot of the page for reference.