When I began working with high school student, Andrew (name has been changed), his mother called me looking for someone who could help him work through learning Spanish despite his Dyslexia. During our first session, I tried get a fair assessment of his ability to succeed. In doing so, I was not necessarily looking for some type of magical aptitude for it, but simply what his attitude was toward the subject. For example, I began by asking him why he was hiring a tutor. In turn, he explained that he had been in his required Spanish classes for two years and was failing. He worried he wouldn’t be able to pass the class, which would affect his ability to get into college. In my experience, a student who gives me an answer like this fears failure. And, to help him take advantage of my services, he needed a pre-tutoring pep-talk. In this talk, my plan was to use the Skype platform to go about changing Andrew’s perspective on the learning process so he could excel.
In general, there are two parts to this pep-talk. The first part is to establish my expertise so my students will trust that I can meet their needs. The second is to help them view failure as an opportunity.
Though Andrew and his parents came to me because they felt his needs were not being met locally, as is common with new Skype students, Andrew still had some apprehension about working with a Skype Tutor, especially given his struggles even without the distance barriers. So, to help ease his apprehension, I had to establish my expertise around my ability to better meet his needs as a Spanish tutor and as a Skype Tutor. First, I shared my credentials and a brief overview of my experience with Spanish including the work I have done as a professional with the language. Next, to help Andrew understand his struggles were not uncommon and, even more importantly, were not uncommon to overcome; I shared a little about my initial struggles with the language. I find my students feel a lot more comfortable struggling and letting me help them with their struggles when they know I’ve been through them myself. And, lastly, for extra reassurance, I explained that I developed my curriculum specifically to make those struggles easier to overcome. Next, it was time to talk about my industry expertise. As a student who with Dyslexia, Andrew’s most difficult hurdles to overcome were learning to read and write in the new language. So, to help him overcome his anxiety about hiring a Skype tutor and the distance barriers involved, I introduced him to cramberry.net. Though this is only one of many online tutoring tools I use, cramberry.net works specifically on both reading and writing skills while still following my philosophy of using baby steps and building on failure to learn. It does this by looking for the concepts the student is having the most difficulty with and focusing on those concepts until the student has mastered them. In introducing Andrew to this tool, he realized that not only can I better support him because of my past experience with helping students with learning disabilities, but because, as a Skype tutor, I know how to better integrate virtual tools that will specifically make things easier on him.
To help Andrew see failure as an opportunity, I began by telling him the value of failure. Really, after studying and working with so many successful leaders throughout my career and as an MBA student, I have learned one all-important lesson: all success is built on trial and error. I like to pass this tidbit of information onto my students. In this way, they can begin to see failure as an opportunity instead of something to dread. Next, in light of this perspective, I told him that we will deal with failure together. I explained that when he fails, it is an opportunity for me to see what he does and does not know. Then, using cramberry.net and my other online teaching tools, we could slow down a little and work on what he was struggling with until he had mastered it. Undoubtedly, with small steps, I assured him he could master anything.
I enjoyed watching Andrew come to understand and trust in this process. In doing so, he went from being fearful of failing – to being enthusiastic enough to take creative risks and correct his own mistakes. While viewing failure as an opportunity and using my Skype Tutor virtual tools to support this process, Andrew began to excel. As we worked, I used every opportunity to help him continue seeing failure in a different light. Here is how I went about doing this: –I always warned him beforehand when a concept would be a little challenging to grasp. Then, I reassured him we would take all the time we needed to learn it together using baby steps. And, I manipulated my virtual tools to support him in his new struggles. –As we started learning the new concept, we took it slowly and I always told him that we would work on it until he was so good at using the concept that he would never forget it. In using baby steps and my Skype tutoring tools to support them, he saw himself excelling and gained confidence and enthusiasm. –I praised him even through his mistakes. For example, when he used a verb correctly but didn’t use the right pronoun, I expressed how happy I was about how well he had conjugated the verb and then told him we needed to do a little refresher on the pronouns. –Lastly, I followed through. Andrew knew I would always remember his struggles and develop lesson plans we could work through together to overcome them. By responding quickly to failure, he didn’t have to fear it in other contexts when virtual supports weren’t available (such as in class). In our forum below, we would love to hear your stories on how you used online tutoring platforms to help your students through their fears of failure! Sign up here to let us know if you are interested in teaching or learning online.
Congratulations on deciding to start your very own Skype tutoring business! Starting your own business is exciting but can be a little challenging. However, once you have word-of-mouth on your side, your business will often build its own clientele. But, you must first get the ball rolling and then keep it rolling. In this post, we will discuss some of the ways in which I began building my own clientele. Though some of these tips can be used to start any business, others are specifically catered to starting a tutoring business. I hope these tips will serve you as well as they have served me!
Though search engine optimization (SEO) may sound like a complicated, technical term, it really only means tapping into online word-of-mouth advertising. When you have lots of people talking about or engaging with your company, your potential clients will more easily find you on search engines like Google. This is because Google will begin to see you as valuable to its audiences and rank you higher. To garner word-of-mouth, you must show your audience that you are an authority on your subject and are accepted as such. In addition, you must engage your audience by providing share-worthy resources. Here are a few ideas anyone can use to begin an online marketing campaign. (Yes, as a business owner you must know how to market your services. But, with a little patience, it is really quite simple to do):
Of course, a website is a great way to gain visibility on Google, Yahoo and other search engines. But, not all of us have the expertise to design a website. However, social media can also be a very effective marketing tool. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and blogs are some popular social media platforms. The key is to use these platforms to interact with your audience. By interacting and responding to your audience, you create trust and establish yourself as an authority.
If you’re like me and don’t have an extensive background in graphic design but want a professional social media page, visit canva.com. Here, regardless of your graphic design expertise (or lack thereof), you can easily create a logo, graphics for your posts and a professional Facebook or Twitter template that can be copied and pasted onto your business social media pages.
Once you have some web presence, be it through social media or a blog, be sure to engage with others in your industry. You can do so by following them, friending them, and sharing and commenting on their content. By sharing their content or referencing them in your content, you help them reach their goal of more search engine visibility. And, most likely, they will be happy to return the favor.
On the web, your content is the best way to gain clients. What do I mean by content? Well, a post like this one spreads awareness about my business and a similar post will spread awareness about your own. You can write about tutoring in general or information pertaining to your area of expertise. In your posts, create share-worthy content by being authentic and offering helpful information to your audience. When your content is shared, it introduces your business to potential new clients. Here are a few more tips to remember when posting content:
- Your posts should include a picture. Why? Well, a Facebook study reports that a photo increases views by an average 120%.
- People want unique content that helps them in some way.
- People like it when you ask their preferences or opinions because it shows that you care enough to listen.
To avoid sounding like a salesperson, post some information that promotes your business but also some that is simply useful to your audience. As a general rule, for every 1 post you share about your business, you should be sharing 3-4 posts about useful information. Take advantage of these 3-4 posts to share relevant information from someone in your network, or at least reference them with a hyperlink in a post you have written.
In offline advertising as well, word-of-mouth is sure to be your best friend. But, word-of-mouth must start with your students. And, without any students, it can be difficult to get word-of-mouth started. So, here are a few ways I looked for my first students.
To put it simply, a pitch is a succinct description of what you do and, more importantly, why your services are valuable to your listener. In it, you should focus on what makes you the better choice. And, lastly, you might throw in a little story. For example, sharing what inspired you to begin offering your services makes you memorable. Lastly, to reduce your risk of being boring, your pitch should be no more than 2-5 minutes. For more information on creating an effective pitch, check out Amanda McCormick’s entrepreneur.com post on “How to Create a Killer Elevator Pitch.”
Next, make sure you have a business card to hand out when you are networking. These must include all contact information, including your websites or social media pages. I always order enough so I can pass out a few to each person who shows interest. By doing so, your clients can do some advertising for you, as well, initiating your word-of-mouth campaign. To easily create business cards even on a budget, visit Vistaprint.com.
My district, like many, keeps a tutor list for parents and their students. It was through this list that I received my first student. To be added to the list, I called my school district’s central office and asked what steps I needed to take. I was emailed a form to fill out. Once submitted, the district manually added my name, contact information and a brief list of my credentials. Contact your school district to find out if you can be added to its tutoring list.
Second, many professors and heads of departments at the college and university level appreciate having a backup tutor to refer their struggling students to. Many college level students live on campus with limited abilities to travel even around town. And, many are online students who span the globe. In both of these cases, your Skype-based services can uniquely meet their needs. For this reason, I visited my nearby university language department head-of-department and introduced him to my services. I was pleased to discover he was very interested in taking a few of my cards to pass along to any struggling students.
Next, many local libraries keep a running list of qualified tutors in the area. Also, many parents and adult learners search the library bulletin boards for tutor business cards. So, it would be a good idea to post some there. And, of course, as a Skype tutor, you don’t necessarily have to be in the area but can provide resources to libraries outside of your district as well. So, do some Googling of public libraries and give them a call with your information.
Once your word-of-mouth campaign begins advertising for you, your business will more easily build its own clientele. However, it is through continuously offering a good service and genuinely helping your audiences that you can enjoy an enduring and cost-effective word-of-mouth campaign. I wish you the best of luck in your new business.
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Well, Skype is starting to catch on among many students and adult learners for some surprising reasons. Remember when Hurricane Sandy wiped out a large portion of the East Coast of the United States. Many families lost everything. However, many parents were able to smooth the blow by allowing their children to keep up with their education through Skype tutors. And, surprisingly, many fell in love with all that Skype learning had to offer their children. In this article, we will introduce you to the wonderful, limitless world of Skype learning. And, we hope it will be a great tool for you, just when you need it!
To start, many students hesitate to hire a Skype tutor because they believe the distance will stand in the way of learning success. After trying it, however, many were surprised to find this could not be farther from the truth. Skype tutors can be reached from anywhere, anytime! Let’s say you are a college or high school student who wants to keep up on your studies during the summer. However, you have a vacation planned. With Skype tutoring, this is not a problem. You can meet with your tutor while lounging on the beach via a mobile device. With Skype, no distance or traveling adventures can stand in the way of learning! Even more exciting, this works in reverse as well. Skype teachers are easily accessible, whether they live a block away or an ocean away. For instance, say you are looking for a tutor to teach you a foreign language. But, you want the real thing. You want a native speaker. Well, you can hire a Skype tutor that lives in France just as easily as you can hire a local tutor, but you will get much more value for your dollar. Native speakers will be able to teach you about the culture, history and customs—all very important lessons to truly understanding how to use a new language.
Because of the expenses involved in meeting with students in a central location, many traditional tutors offer a set session length or a minimum session length. For example, many tutors will not meet with their students for any less than a one hour session. However, you may need a little more flexibility to succeed in school or learning a new skill but cannot pay the minimum amount for a short “power” session. For Skype tutors, arranging a half hour session to refresh your memory or answer any last minute questions before a test is more doable. Skype tutors can remain more flexible when they do not have to factor in travel costs and time.
While Skype tutors save on time and costs, so do their students. Fitting in a learning session with your tutor is much easier when you don’t have to arrange for time to travel to and from the session. Moreover, you don’t have to pay associated travel expenses, either. Not only do you save on gas costs with a Skype tutor but, you can often cut down on material costs as well. Many tutors use virtual platforms to create flashcards, notebooks and provide virtual lessons. And, you can complete many of these assignments online as well, further saving you in material costs such as pencils, pens and paper.
So, now we know that Skype tutors can be more qualified, more flexible and cut down on time and costs associated with tutoring. Still, many learners hesitate to hire Skype tutors because they worry the tutor will not have access to tools that sufficiently make up for distance barriers. Well, the world of technology has certainly stepped up to the plate in this regard! Let’s take a look at three of many, many apps and websites Skype tutors use to make learning successful and fun.
Evernote is the perfect app for organizing learning materials on a virtual platform. Tutors can make a notebook for each tutor student. In it, they can insert videos, Skype session recordings, pre-prepared lecture recordings, assignments, relevant articles, and even hand-written notes. On the platform, for example, a history tutor can designate a notebook for different historical periods and organize and store all materials on each period. Moreover, students can search by tags such as “Abraham Lincoln,” or “Civil War” and have instant access to all assignments, handwritten notes, documentaries and any other materials that include those tags. Evernote notebooks are then stored online so you can access them from anywhere, anytime, by simply logging in via phone, PC, tablet or any other internet connected device. Lastly, you never have to worry about organizing handouts or losing session materials, leaving you with an organized subject notebook to reference even years down the line.
On Cramberry, your tutor can either choose from a plethora of already prepared flashcard sets on subjects ranging from Spanish to medical terminology or they can create their own. Then, you, as the student, can log in to the platform from any internet connected mobile device or computer and begin the challenge of answering each flashcard prompt correctly. Amazingly, as you do so, the platform keeps track of which cards you struggle to answer correctly so it can be sure to review them with you more frequently until you’ve mastered them. Lastly, tutors can update sets even on a daily basis.
Trello is accessible from a desktop computer and almost any mobile device. On it, your tutor can arrange cards on a bulletin-board-like virtual platform. For example, he may label one card “To-Do,” another card, “Doing,” and another “Done.” Your tutor can also create a designated “board” where only your cards are displayed. On each card, you and your tutor can attach documents, make comments, ask questions, assign due dates and label cards with colors. To add a little fun, tutors can even set it up so you can “vote” on which assignments you want to do. And, conveniently, all changes are accessible to both of you in real-time.
So, the next time you are looking for a tutor, consider a Skype tutor. Enjoy a highly qualified, flexible tutor who can teach you anytime and anywhere. Moreover, cut down on costs and time while benefiting from the unique tools a virtual learning platform can offer you to make learning fun, productive and flexible! Visit our forum to discuss topics you would like to learn or teach online.
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