19th July 2019 9:00
By Blue Tutors
In an interview recently we were asked about a suitable environment for online tutoring. Weirdly it’s something we’ve never thought much about but as the demand for online tuition increases, it’s definitely something which needs to be considered. Our guidelines for face to face tuition have always been that the tutor should be relatively smartly dressed, the environment should be conducive for a lesson (quiet, comfortable etc) and the location should be relatively professional; a public place is fine, or an office, and if in someone’s home and the student is a minor then another adult should be present.
Online interviews have opened our eyes to the more relaxed approach to an online ‘meeting’ compared to one in person. It’s understandable, but people are definitely more relaxed when doing a Skype interview with us. This isn’t actually what we want, and we’re considering editing our guidelines so that candidates approach the interview in the same way as they would in person.
The reason to make an effort at interview? We all know the value of a first impression, and tutors should understand that parents and/or students will make a judgement after the first lesson, whether that lesson is face to face or online. Of course that first impression shouldn’t impact the student’s assessment of the quality to tuition, but it’s naive to think that a student will be able to objectively separate the two judgements.
When tutoring online, a tutor’s first thought should be to prepare as if it was face to face; smartly dressed and looking as one would outside the house. Ideally the room would be an office or something similar, but few people have an office in their home, so the best plan is to have a plain background with no distractions. Even if tutoring from your bedroom, it’s not difficult to pull a desk away from the wall and have your laptop facing a plain background, rather than out into what is clearly a bedroom.