Now

TEACHING ONLINE
THE ESSENTIAL TOOLKIT
TEFLWORK.COM
The Essential Toolkit for Teaching English
ONLINE
The traditional classroom is no longer just four
walls and a desk. It’s on computers and tablets,
televisions and smart phones. Learn all the tips
and tools to get started teaching English online.
Online teaching is the secret to
location independence
For many, TEFL is a ticket to travel. It’s an opportunity to introduce the world’s lingua franca
to new places, far and wide. It’s a way to learn as you teach. But with online teaching, You can be
location independent; working from the home office or from the hotel café. Countless teachers,
both new and experienced, are hopping onto the online teaching bandwagon just as it’s taking off
– and you should, too. Here’s how.
The Tools
The best tools to use in the virtual
classroom - for just one student
or many.
Get in touch:
teflwork.com
[email protected]
Find students
Where to look for English students
on the web when you're starting your
teaching business.
Market Yourself
Find out how to market yourself
online and attract even more
students.
THE TOOLS
First thing’s first, you’re going to need a bit of online know-how.
There are so many tools that promise to make your online classes a
lot easier, both paid and free. We’ve looked into all of them – here’s
our pick of the bunch.
BASIC HARDWARE
A desktop computer or
laptop
A microphone,
headphones and
webcam
A notebook and
pen
While there are ways of
online teaching via
tablets and mobiles, to
take advantage of all the
great virtual tools
available it’s best to stick
to a laptop or desktop
computer. Make sure
your internet connection
is speedy and your hard
drive has a lot of space –
there’s nothing worse
than a dodgy connection
and a lagging screen.
Most computers come with
all these things in-built, but
if the quality is low then
you should consider an
upgrade. A good, noisecancelling set of
headphones not only helps
you to better hear your
students, but blocks
distractions from the
outside world. Many sets of
headphones can also be
purchased with a
microphone attached.
Just because you’re
teaching online,
doesn’t mean that
everything should be
stored on the screen.
Having a notebook and
pen on hand it a great
way to jot down notes
and observations
about your students,
such as the areas
they’re struggling with,
or ideas for future
classes.
THE TOOLS
STANDARD WEBTOOLS
Skype
The most important part
of online teaching is
communication. There’s a
reason why Skype is the
world’s biggest internet
phone and video calling
service: its sound and
video quality are
usually great, no matter
where you are in the
world. The best thing
about Skype is its screen
sharing option. With a
click of a button, your
student can see exactly
what you’re seeing. That
way, you can use digital
worksheets, slideshows
or blackboards like you
would in a normal
classroom.
www.skype.com
Prezi
Twiddla
A good scout is always
prepared: and so is a
good teacher. Whipping
up presentations to
screen-share with your
students is the best way
to get a point across
quickly, without having to
verbally explain or type up
notes on a live chat.
With Prezi, an online
presentation tool, you can
create fun and engaging
slideshows to keep your
students interested. Plus,
if you’re already working
at a school you can use
Prezi for free – otherwise,
it’s just a few dollars a
month.
The difference between
in-class teachers and
online teachers is that
the latter don’t have
blackboards, right?
Wrong. Twiddla is a
virtual blackboard, where
you can write, draw and
scribble while you teach.
Plus, you can set up an
online ‘meeting’ while you
Skype with students, so
that they, too, can write
on the same blackboard.
The basic Twiddla
account is free, but if you
want to get more serious,
access to extra features
starts from $14 USD.
www.prezi.com
www.twiddla.com
THE TOOLS
SO, YOU'RE GETTING SERIOUS...
Moodle
www.moodle.org
Moodle is a free, open source learning platform where you share and store content
with groups of students. They can complete independent learning activities,
download and upload homework, access resources and chat with other students in
the forums.
WizIQ
www.wiziq.com
If business is strong, and you want to start tutoring more than one student per
class, there are a number of brilliant online platforms to help you do so. WizIQ, for
example, allows teachers to build an online academy, with coursework and
activities learners can do by themselves – including on their tablet or smartphone.
You can also set up a virtual classroom, with live audio, video and text chat with
several students, and live, interactive whiteboards. The tool also allows you to
break students up into groups or pairs for certain activities – just like you would in
a normal classroom.
PayPal
www.paypal.com
Of course, one of the most important parts of online teaching is actually getting
paid for all your hard work! PayPal is one of the world’s biggest and most wellknown payment services, and is incredibly simple to use: just an email address is
all your students need to deposit course fees straight into your bank account.
HOW TO FIND STUDENTS
Italki
Italki is a great way to get started
teaching online. It’s got a database
of over 1.5 million students,
meaning that when you sign up
you get exposure to thousands of
potential English learners. They
charge you a 15% commission on
every transaction you make with
students, meaning that it’s
probably better used as an opening
portal for a first-time online
teacher.
www.italki.com
Online classifieds
If you know the nationality of the
students you want to teach, placing
an advertisement on their local
directories is as easy as using
Google translate.
Otherwise, there are a number of
free-to-use online classifieds boards
where you can advertise your
services, such as:
Skype Learn Teachers
Online Teacher Directory.
Learn Out Live
MARKET
YOURSELF
ONLINE
Connect with other like-minded
teachers – both those who work
online and in academies – and join
relevant hashtag-based chats on
Twitter. #ELTchat is probably the
biggest and oldest, but #tesoloz,
#AusELT and #edtech are also great
places to connect and learn.
If you set up a Facebook page, you
can also advertise your business by
posting in ESL-based groups. There
are countless online communities of
English learners from all over the
Social media continues
to grow as one of the
most powerful digital
marketing platforms.
Set up a Twitter,
Facebook, LinkedIn,
Pinterest and
Instagram account, and
start sharing your
ideas, interesting
content and, of course,
start advertising your
services.
world, and all it takes to find them is
a simple search. Further down the
track, you can harness social media
to make your own little community
of English learners. Encourage
students to follow you on Twitter,
Instagram and Pinterest, and to ‘like’
your Facebook page. Then, you can
set up your own hashtag chats and
Facebook groups, where students
can support one another, share
information and resources and,
most importantly, recommend you.
ONLINE
LEARNING IS NOT
THE NEXT BIG
THING, IT IS THE
NOW BIG THING.”
- DONNA J.
ABERNATHY