Platform choice: Zoom, Meet, or Teams
Use what your students already have. Zoom offers breakout rooms and annotation; Google Meet is frictionless for school Gmail users; Teams appears in corporate family accounts. Pick one default and send the same join link pattern every week.
Audio matters more than video
Parents forgive blurry video; they do not forgive not hearing explanations. A basic USB headset beats laptop speakers. Test with each new student in the first five minutes.
Shared workspace
Options by subject:
- •Math/science — digital whiteboard (Zoom whiteboard, Excalidraw, or tablet with stylus).
- •Languages — shared Google Doc for corrections in real time.
- •Exam review — screen share past papers; annotate PDFs.
Session flow template (60 minutes)
Repeatable structure reduces mental load:
- •0–5 min: connection check, homework review.
- •5–40 min: core teaching.
- •40–55 min: guided practice.
- •55–60 min: assign homework, confirm next lesson, log notes.
Scheduling and links
Put the video link in the calendar invite and your tutor CRM student record. Avoid sending a new link every week unless security policy requires it — wrong links cause no-shows.
Backup plan for outages
Agree a fallback: switch to phone audio plus WhatsApp photo of work, or reschedule if outage exceeds 10 minutes. Document the lost time policy in your cancellation agreement.