Online Tuition: Student Guide

This article explains how online tuition works with TeachTutti and the actions that you, as a student, need to take in setting up and attending online lessons.

TeachTutti has an integrated video conferencing platform that should be used by you for all online lessons and all scheduled consultations. TeachTutti covers the charges for all online tuition and is responsible for maintaining the platform and making sure it is available at all times.

The TeachTutti video conferencing platform has all the functionality needed to conduct online tuition, this includes:

Basically, it offers all of the features that you would expect from any similar system.

The TeachTutti system ensures the integrity of the online tuition offered. As a student you can: make bookings, arrange consultations, attend sessions, generate reviews, monitor your progress, review past lessons, make payments and much more, all as part of a single integrated system. It ensures the safety of students and tutors alike.

If you want to review a past lesson you can access a recording of that lesson e.g. to reinforce your learning or check a point you weren’t sure about. Follow the link to access lesson recordings from your student account (excluding consultations). 

You can make bookings on TeachTutti by viewing tutor profiles, messaging tutors, and sometimes by setting up free consultations as well. All consultations are conducted online and you can book it by clicking on the “Book Consultation” button within the messaging tab. There you can schedule a time and a date for the consultation in line with the tutor’s availability. This isn’t yet a firm booking though - please wait for the tutor’s confirmation first. The tutor may come back to agree the time or reschedule and the message will be sent directly to you. The link to the consultation session will appear in the bookings section of your account. It will also be sent to you on email. Consultation sessions are for 15 minutes.

The consultation is your chance to ask the tutor the questions that you have about the type of tuition they offer, the previous work they have done etc. It will also be an opportunity for you to assess how that tutor is likely to work with you or your child. If you are happy with how things go in the consultation you can book the first lesson at the end of the session.

Bookings operate for online tuition in exactly the same way as face to face sessions. You will choose the online option for tuition, you will choose the tutor that best suits your learning and you will schedule a time in line with the tutor’s availability. The tutor can accept, amend or decline your booking. However, they usually accept or propose an amended time. Assuming you agree to the amended time then the booking is made and the online session is arranged for the time and date agreed. The link to the session is available in the bookings section of your account and it will also be emailed to you (please check junk/spam folders). When the time of the lesson arrives simply click on the link, either from the email or from the bookings section of your TeachTutti account.

Once you and your tutor are in the meeting room the lesson continues as normal. The lesson is scheduled for a set amount of time e.g. 45 minutes is the average lesson length. Just before the time has elapsed you and the tutor will receive a warning that the session is due to end shortly. However, the lesson does not automatically shut down and if you and the tutor want to continue you can do so - but please remember that you may be invoiced for the increased time in 15 minute increments. The invoice is generated when the session is closed and is based on the actual length of the lesson - not the scheduled length. The tutor can change this e.g. if the lesson has run over by mistake, but make sure you are happy to extend the lesson in this way.

If the session ends abruptly without an invoice being created then the invoice will automatically be created in line with the actual length of the session (i.e. rounded to the nearest quarter hour e.g. 35 minutes will be billed as 30 minutes, 42 minutes will be billed as 45).

Before the end of the session the tutor and student will agree on the date for the next lesson. The link for each session is generated by the platform and is available on the bookings page of both student and tutor.

Lessons are arranged in four lesson blocks after the initial session, but you will only ever be charged for lessons that have taken place and you can cancel at any time.

The TeachTutti system has been thoroughly tested, using a high quality international platform for video conferencing. It is unlikely that the system itself will fail, but other problems can arise in any tuition session.

If the session breaks down then either the student or tutor or both, depending on where the internet failure lies, should try to reconnect as soon as possible. The system will detect that one participant is no longer on the call, but will keep the session open for the original planned duration of the lesson plus a 10 minute gap. This is usually sufficient time to re-establish a connection.

At the end of this time period the system will trigger the creation of an invoice in line with the original planned session length or to the nearest quarter as described above. If additional time needs to be made up, then this can be added onto the next session.

The same approach should be adopted for any other mid lesson breakdown e.g. an emergency or the illness of a student or tutor.

TeachTutti’s system has been tested against all operating systems and is compatible with them. The system deploys a platform that is used successfully by millions of people across the globe. There will not be compatibility issues: it is much more likely to be user error.

Students can change the length of the lesson in advance simply by messaging the tutor (and the tutor agreeing). A change in lesson length can also be agreed mid-lesson. The tutor can amend the length of lesson that is invoiced for at the end of the lesson, by choosing the appropriate option.

The system will automatically shut down the session if the lesson continues for 10 minutes without a participant. If the tutor and student take a break then as long as it is less than 10 minutes this will not be a problem. The invoice prompt at the end of the session will still default to the planned lesson length.

If you have any FAQs that you would like added to this guidance, or any suggestions for improving the TeachTutti system, contact support@teachtutti.co.uk.