We’re back with a few more Zoom tips and tricks to help you make the most of online tutoring! These Zoom tips will make life easier for both students and tutors alike. Give them a try today!
1. Work Together with File-sharing Programs
One challenge of tutoring over Zoom is that the tutor and student aren’t physically in the same room. Without the right tools, it can be difficult to work on the same assignment at the same time. Fortunately, this can be remedied through the use of file-sharing programs.
Google Docs is a free online word processor that allows many people to collaborate on one document simultaneously. Students and tutors can add and remove text, highlight sections, and leave constructive comments together in real time. When a tutor has access to a document, they can use the edit tool to offer suggestions to help improve the text. This also makes for perfect teaching opportunities, and students will find heightened levels of success with the functions of Google Docs.
Dropbox is a great way to share files of all types. This can be particularly useful if students are working on multimedia projects including visual art or videos. Dropbox makes it easy to share large files that are otherwise difficult to send online. Tutors can also store all of their relevant teaching materials in a common file so students can access them at any time.
2. Appeal to Visual Learners with Drawing Games
As we mentioned in our other list of video call tips, games can make the learning experience much more engaging. This is especially true for visual learners, as colours and pictures go a long way toward lighting up their brains.
If your student is a visual learner, you can use a drawing program to doodle or play simple games. Sometimes students just need a brief break from a task, and taking five minutes to scribble something can make all the difference. Microsoft Paint is equipped with all the tools you need, and Zoom’s screen-share function ensures that tutor and student can both participate. For Mac users, the Whiteboard function on Zoom is a great substitute.
You can also try specific games to help teach certain concepts. Games focusing on matching pictures to words can help younger students learn word association while practicing drawing their own animals, trees, or other figures. This technique also works very well for French tutoring and learning other languages. Guessing games like Hangman are perfect for introducing new vocabulary terms, and you can jazz it up with plenty of colour.
3. Maintain a Steady Connection
Online tutoring only works if you have a stable internet connection, so you’ll want to do everything you can to achieve that. If you’re having trouble with your connection, you can try a few different Zoom tips.
To improve your internet speed, try disconnecting your other devices from the network. This means turning off your smartphone’s wi-fi and asking the others in your household to do the same.
If you’re using a device that has an ethernet port, such as a laptop, plug it into the modem/router instead of using wi-fi. The direct connection will be faster and less prone to interruption.
If you have to use wi-fi, you can try moving closer to your modem/router to improve the signal. Also, some modems/routers have two different wi-fi channels: 2.4GHz and 5GHz. If you’re very close to the modem/router, use the 5GHz. If you have to be further away, use the 2.4GHz.
Lastly, you can try purchasing a wi-fi extender. This will help the wi-fi signal reach every room in the house so you can enjoy uninterrupted tutoring.
4. Find Free Education Resources Online
You can also take advantage of the many free resources online. Teaching websites provide sample lesson plans, explanations of concepts, and even entire curriculums. These can also be a great way to see which topics your students are studying in school, sorted by subject and grade level.
The National Science Teaching Association is one such website committed to helping teachers and tutors. It provides a wealth of lesson plans and other resources for teaching science concepts to students of all ages. Check out this lesson plan for explaining the existence of ecosystems beyond the reach of the sun!
For quality textbook materials, check out OpenStax. They provide in-depth online textbooks for a wide variety of subjects, and they’re all free!
We Would Love to Hear Your Zoom Tips
Have you found any other strategies that work for your tutoring sessions, or for meetings in general? Be sure to contact us! Also, check out our other online tutoring and Zoom tips. Thanks for watching!
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