online tutoring software

While we were drafting this read, we were wondering as to when you’re going to land here! Well, that just happened now!

We understand that you’re into online tutoring (which actually is a great choice) and you possibly should have strong knowledge about online tutoring basics. Or who knows, you might as well be a PRO! 

But anyways, that doesn’t matter! You’re here looking for reasons as to why you should use Zoom for your live tutoring sessions which in other words means you’re about to enter live tutoring!

Quick Statistic: Online tutors in the USA make an average of $39,000 every year!

Isn’t that great? And you planning to include live tutoring features in your online tutoring platform is a step closer towards making that sum!

That was a neat petite introduction, wasn’t it (we believe it is motivational as well?)?

We assume you already know what Zoom is. So, we’ll directly look into the reasons why zoom premium is going to be the ideal solution for your live tutoring website! After that, we’ll look into other possible solutions that are different from Zoom and why you should not be using it – just in case you need to know! 

5 Reasons Why You Should Be Using Zoom 

You know what this section is going to be about so there’s not going to be an introduction here! Let’s head to the first reason!

1. Seamless Group Tutoring Option

If you’re a tutor who is more into teaching multiple students at once, then Zoom is got to be the best option. And guess what? You can do this for free! 

Zoom comes with a free plan that allows you to teach 50 students at once! Though the allowed meeting duration in the basic plan is only 40 minutes (post which you have to upgrade), shelling out a minimal $14.99 per month allows you to conduct unlimited duration meetings for both the group and individuals.

2. Screen Sharing Option

While taking a live tutoring session, which of the below two options would you think would be better when visiting a reference website?

  • Saying your humongous student group to visit the webpage where some would end up visiting something else due to miscommunication
  • Sharing your screen so that everyone can have undivided attention and save time

Zoom exactly lets you do that! You can simply start sharing your screen in no time and let your students take a look at them – with ease!

3. Built-in Whiteboard

At times, things get more complicated and you just can’t share your screen with reference materials or a website! You need to give something more than that to make your students understand the concept! 

Say, you need to demonstrate and solve an equation, you can get it done with Zoom.

How? The built-in whiteboard lets you do that! If you’re not familiar with what a whiteboard is, it’s no big deal! 

It’s the same physical whiteboard you use being built-in as a virtual whiteboard where you can digitally write and explain stuff to your students – probably one of the most needed features for an online tutor!

Here are a few things you can do with Zoom’s whiteboard!

Cool stuff right? That’s not all you can do! You can also use stamps on your whiteboard, use the spotlight tool to guide students and most importantly, you can save the whiteboard contents as an image for later purposes (in case you want to include it in your online course materials).

So, that’s pretty much about the whiteboard. Let’s head to the next cool feature!

4. Internal Messaging System

Communication is key especially when it comes to online tutoring! What if a student of yours gets a doubt and there’s no way for him/her to ask!

Only a solution that gives you a two-way communication possibility is going to work out! And Zoom does that effectively!

Students in your online tutoring class can simply click the “raise your hand” button to let the tutors know that they need to talk! If that’s not sufficient enough, they can use the group chat option to let the tutor know they need something.

Also, students can send a private message to the tutor if they do not want to group chat!

And remember, you get all these features in the free version itself! 

5. Recording Option

On a scale of 1-10, we’d give a generous 9 to Zoom for coming up with this particular feature! Not everyone gets it right the first time – some might learn taking their own time and some might constantly need the reference material along to proceed!

With Zoom onboard, you can allow your students to record the entire session (this is allowed only if the tutor grants permission) and view it later! This helps them better understand the lessons and you on the other hand get good feedback, reviews and increased WOM marketing!

Important Note

Zoom gives its users an API when the PRO plan is purchased. With Zoom API, you can create further use cases like attendance tracking, calendar appointments with Zoom link and more – you should have no trouble customizing it. Since everything you need is already there, you just need to make minor tweaks if needed. 

That’s one way of coming up with a live tutoring feature for your eLearning website. Like we already said, we’ll look into other possible solutions as well!

Live Streaming Software’s for Tutoring Website

You might think that this is going to be the perfect solution but it is not! Live streaming software’s are used by people across all industries! But the thing is, dedicated live streaming software’s come with a lot of baggage – baggage that’s heavy enough to disrupt your online tutoring routine!

When you plan to use a live streaming software, you’ve got to embed streaming engines like Ant Media and Wowza and you have to shell out money apart from the cost of the live tutoring software itself!

Also, you’ll be facing scalability issues down the road which is inevitable! When you’re buying a live streaming software, it basically becomes the core of your website and trust us, you really don’t want to mess the foundation architecture of your website!

But still, if you’re planning to go for this type of solution, you’d have to work on the customization part again! You probably need someone onboard to help you out with this (and that would require you to spend as well)!

Put in a few words, live streaming software solutions are costly and you’d have to constantly pay for the streaming services (do not forget about the scalability issues we mentioned earlier as well)! 

If we were you, we definitely wouldn’t go with this especially if the business is running on a shoestring budget! 

Now to the least popular option. 

Building Live Tutoring Website from Scratch

This is an option no individual would prefer! But if you’re somehow preferring this, then you’ve got to hear this out! 

Building a live tutoring website from scratch involves a huge amount of time, work and effort. The timeframe we are looking at is a minimum of 2-3 months with huge costs that would bore a hole in your wallet!

So, there’s really no point talking about this!

Other Alternatives to Zoom 

Zoom is not the only solution out there to help you to with your live tutoring website! You’ve got plenty of other options as well! Let’s take a look at the most potential ones! 

  • WebEx
  • Skype
  • Google Meet
  • Microsoft Online Meetings
  • Mirror Fly
  • Meet Now and more

While Google Meet is an ideal alternative to Zoom, you don’t have a direct API for Google Meet now! That leaves us with Zoom again (and we’ve been telling you this from the beginning ?)! 

What to Do If You’re Just Entering This Niche

Being a beginner, or if you’re planning to come up with a startup kind of a model, it’s better if you try to cut costs and start thriving with whatever best is available out there! 

Try to focus more on creating quality courses and everything else will fall in place. Instead of spending money on absolutely unnecessary tech, opt for solutions like Zoom or Microsoft Online Meetings and lay the groundwork! There are online tutoring software that come integrated with Zoom API as well – can make the work extremely easy for you!

Final Few Words

Ugh! We just said that! Tried to add a bit of humor! Anyways, jokes apart! 

Live tutoring business is one of the most profitable streams today! It’s pretty sure that you’re an expert in some field and that’s the reason why you’re sticking till the end! 

Take it from us! Try being a minimalist in the beginning. Create quality courses and start with Zoom. Once when you start to make some revenue, then plan on making it sophisticated!

You can also reach out to us in case you have any questions/or you need help regarding this! We’re more than happy to help! 

Best Wishes! 

By Anurag Rathod

Anurag Rathod is an Editor of Appclonescript.com, who is passionate for app-based startup solutions and on-demand business ideas. He believes in spreading tech trends. He is an avid reader and loves thinking out of the box to promote new technologies.