If your child is doing classes, school work or tuition online, there are some essential online learning tips for parents that you must know in order to help them get the most out of their sessions.
Whether it’s distance learning from school, one to one tutor sessions, extracurricular activities or online homework, read on for 19 essential online learning tips for parents that want to help their kids enjoy & get the most from their sessions.
AD This post is brought to you in partnership with MyTutor.
MyTutor offers one-to-one online learning lessons from home. Choose from over 30 subjects ranging from KS2, KS3, GCSE, A-Level & university levels. Trusted by parents & teachers, MyTutor is the ideal way to keep your child’s studies on track.
Check out the video to learn about how MyTutor works and what we have thought of the service, then keep reading for the 19 Essential Tips For Online Learning.
Table Of Contents
19 Online Learning Tips For Parents
1. Schedule Lessons At Times That Work For Your Child
When is your child at their best? Most schools schedule more academic work for the mornings as this is when most children tend to be able to concentrate better, as many struggle more in the after lunch slump. Notice when during the day your child is best able to concentrate and schedule lessons for this time so that they can get the most from their sessions.
2. Choose The Right Tutor
Choosing the right tutor for your child is absolutely essential for maximising their online learning. A tutor can be perfectly capable and qualified, but if your child isn’t inspired by them, they just won’t learn well.
Before signing up and paying for online tuition, check that they offer a free initial consultation.
MyTutor, the tuition company that my 8-year-old has been having lessons with, offers a free 15-minute meeting so that your child can chat with and get to know the tutor before you commit to anything. You can have as many meetings with as many different tutors as you like before committing to anything.
3. Know What You Would Like Your Child To Achieve From The Lessons
Have in mind what you would like your child to gain from the sessions. Would you like to focus on a particular topic that they struggle with? Increase their confidence in a subject such as maths? Or simply keep them stimulated and their brain while they are off school?
You may not even know what you would like your child to gain exactly, but it’s worth thinking about this important posit and discussing it with the tutor. If everyone involved knows the desired outcomes, you are far more likely to actually achieve them.
4. Choose Your Home Learning Space
It is important to think about exactly where your child will sit to carry out their online classes. Sitting in an allocated spot for home learning will help them to get into the right frame of mind for learning. Ideally they should sit at a table or desk that is clear of clutter.
5. Think About Lighting
Make sure that your child’s screen is not in direct sunlight as they will struggle to see the screen through the glare. If your child is involved in online learning situations where your child and the tutor can see each other, it is especially important to think about lighting so that they can easily be seen by the camera and therefore the tutor. Make sure that there is enough light on their face so that the camera can bight them up, but not so much direct sunlight that it makes them squint.
6. Limit Distractions
This is one of the most important online learning tips for parents. Distractions in the home can have a huge impact on the quality of your child’s home learning. Make sure that the television and any music is turned off. Keep toys and other distractions away and out of sight. Wherever possible, keep siblings and other noises family members out of the room to avoid them interrupting your child’s lesson.
7. Use Headphones
Headphones are a brilliant way to help your child focus in an online classroom situation. Not only will the use of headphones help to block out any unwanted noise and distractions in your home, but it will also help to combat any feedback issues that can sometimes be experienced with sound in online learning settings.
8. Make Sure They Have Been To The Loo
Younger children especially will need reminding to go to the toilet before their lessons starts to avoid having to interrupt the session with a trip to the bathroom.
9. Fuel Them Up Before Hand
Hungry children find it hard to focus, so ensure that they have had a snack or meal before their session.
10. Have Water Available During The Lesson
If your child is having a one to one lesson with a tutor the way that my son has been with his tutors, they will be doing a lot of talking. Make sure that they have access to a drink of water. I find that putting the water in a sports bottle helps to avoid spills, which is especially important around electronic devices.
11. Ensure Devices Are Fully Charged
This may sound like common sense, but of all the tips to help your child with their online learning, this may well be the most important! If the device that your child is using goes flat half way through the lesson, you will waste valuable lesson time trying desperately to find a charger and get back online. Make sure that devices are fully charged before your child gets started and have a backup charger on hand too.
12. Put Lessons Into Your Calendar & Set Reminders
I like to use a shared electronic calendar system to keep track of all of my children’s lessons and activities as well as anything else that we as a family have to fit into our days. Check out the video above or the blog post linked below for exactly how to get that set up.
Whichever system you use to record your child’s online learning schedule, ensure that a reminder or alarm is set to go off at least 30 minutes before your child’s lesson to give them time to stop what they are doing, have a snack, go to the loo and get set up for the class.
13. Get Familiar With The System In Advance
No matter how tech savvy you are, finding your way around any new platform can take a few minutes to get used to. Rae sure that you have familiarised yourself with the online learning space in advance of the lesson in order to avoid wasting precious lesson time sorting out basic things such as logging in and using the software.
With my son’s online learning service MyTutor, in addition to your free 15 minute meetings with potential tutors, you can launch a demo lesson space as many times as you like before the lessons. In this lesson space, you can test your wifi connection, camera & microphone to ensure that everything is working as it should prior to the lesson. We didn’t have any problems at all with either my MacBook or my son’s iPad, but if you run into technical difficulties, the support team at My Tutor are around to help.
Before his lesson, my son was able to practice using the shared whiteboard, learn how to access the drawing tools and navigate between pages. This few minutes spent experimenting before his lessons commenced meant that he didn’t waste any learning time figuring things out.
14. Arrive Early
Always aim to have your child sat in their learning space with their device on and ready a good 5-10 minutes before their lesson is due to start. This will avoid anyone feeling flustered and will give you time to log in properly.
15. Check Your Connection
It’s worth checking your internet connection strength before your child’s tuition session, allowing time to reboot it if it is not running as it should.
16. Avoid Using The Microwave During Your Child’s Lesson
Apparently using the microwave can have a negative impact on wifi signal, so avoid using your microwave during your child’s tutoring sessions.
17. Use A Stylus
Getting your child to use a stylus during their inline learning sessions, or any tablet activities for that matter will give them the extra benefits of practising pen control as they learn. Using a stylus rather than a finger will in time help to improve handwriting.
18. Get Feedback From Your Child
After their lesson, get feedback from your child. Did they enjoy it? What did they get out of it? How are they getting along with their tutors?
My son Will has been coming away from his My Tutor sessions really buzzing and excited having had fun and engaging session. When I see how much he is getting out of his sessions, it gives me the confidence to book more lessons with those tutors, knowing how much he is getting out of the sessions.
If for whatever reason, your child is not coming out of their sessions having enjoyed them, it is ok to explore the option of a different tutor that your child may be a better for your child.
19. Be Around, But Don’t Overstep
If your child is having one to one tuition with an online provider such as My Tutor, it is important that you are around to help with any technical issues that they may need help with such as connectivity. It is also important that you give them enough space to really engage with their tutor and maximise their learning.
Our Experience With MyTutor Online Tuition For Kids
My 8-year-old has thoroughly enjoyed each and every session that he has had with MyTutor. During lockdown, the sessions have been an absolute breath of fresh air.
While I have done my best homeschooling my kids during the covid pandemic, it is safe to say that teaching your own kids is hard.
My son has come away from his online tuition sessions with MyTutor bursting with enthusiasm. It has taken such a weight off my shoulders to know that he has had another adult who is far more qualified than me to teach him subjects where I am quite frankly a little lost.
Will I be using MyTurot over the summer holiday?
It is safe to say that we will definitely continue to use MyTutor over the summer holiday.
2020 has been a funny year, and while I have done my best with home learning, I can’t help but feel that my kids need the help they can get to be where they need to be for the new school year.
More than anything, my son has found the sessions with MyTutor so much fun, that he doesn’t see them as “real work”, rather something he looks forward to. Not only will keeping up the sessions keep him entertained, but they will also keep his mind engaged so that he is fully ready for September too.
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Click on the Instagram grid photo below to learn more about our experience with MyTutor as an online tuition service provider.
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