This document is our technical handbook and links to to help you, the student, understand how we conduct an online tutoring session. Our aim is for a collaborative experience that is rewarding for all. We’ outline why we have chosen the tools we have chosen, how to use them and the procedure to obtain maximum value out of your online learning experience.
Personal Contact Information
We need contact information for the student so that during a session, if for whatever reason, the internet connection ceases or the platforms we are using fail, there is a back up and way to get in touch. This is why we require a contact number for these emergencies.
An email is also required to which we send an invitation link to your Zoom invitations – our online conferencing tool. Both of these we will collect from you before we begin your sessions.
Shared Google drive
We create a shared Google Drive for each student, and accessible only to the student and our tutor. We use this for two purposes. First, we save all of the whiteboards to that folder so that the student can refer back to them when they are studying for their tests.
Second, we ask the students to take a quick picture of any ongoing work exercises from their teacher, or past test questions that they want to review, and upload it into that folder the day before their session. This way the tutor can have them posted to the whiteboard before the session begins so that the session can be focused on learning and not on such preparation details.
A link to the shared drive is sent to the student during out registration process and we suggest you bookmark this link. This folder is yours. Your tutor will also upload material for you such as copies of each whiteboard session, or any other material that they feel will be helpful for you such as exercises, examples, or other study material.
Zoom
What is zoom? I’m sure by now if you haven’t used zoom personally, you have certainly heard about it. Zoom is an online audio/video conferencing tool. We use it primarily for the audio portion of the session. The video conference is not necessary should you not wish to use it, but it’s nice to put a face to the voice.
Zoom provides the vocal communication between you and your tutor, however the bulk of your screen will normally be in the whiteboard. The start of the session begins on Zoom, the tutor provides the link to the whiteboard through the Zoom Chat, and the actual math work is done there.
There may also be times when the zoom platform is used for either the student or tutor to share their screen with each other. For example, the student may wish to show the tutor something on a website that their teacher has given the student access to, but that the tutor cannot access.
Finally, it is also possible to share documents through the zoom chat if for whatever reason the shared drive is not available.
Online whiteboard
The online whiteboard platform that we have chosen to work with is awwapp.com. We chose this one because it isn’t too complicated, so has a fast learning curve, has proven to be very stable, and includes features such as easy uploading documents such as images, powerpoint slides, pdfs. It also allows for the exporting of the completed whiteboard contact as either an image of pdf.
While awwapp.com doesn’t have a built in audio or visual we found that the platforms that had everything built into one were not as robust. Sometimes more is not better. Awwapp.com does online whiteboard well and that’s what we really need for math, a way to allow all participants to be able to write. You, the student, DO NOT require a subscription to awwapp.com as we already have our licences in order. The tutor will provide a link to the awwapp online whiteboard that you will be using during your session right after the zoom conference begins, and give you a quick tutorial with it at the start of the first session.
The main advantage to the whiteboard is that it allows you and us to write the various math symbols easily using natural writing movements rather than trying to figure out how to type them. We do, however, realize that for many people writing with a mouse feels clumsy at first. For that reason we suggest that you consider investing in a graphics stylus to make it feel more like writing with a pen and paper. There are many really expensive styluses on the market for use by graphics designers, but also many very affordable options.
If you have a touch-screen especially, there is a huge selection out there such as the Wacom Bamboo Stylus:
If you do not have a touchscreen then there are equally good options like the following:
File format for documents for online whiteboard
Tthe awwapp.com online whiteboard allows us to post various documents and file type to it to simplify tutoring. So, for example, if you take a picture of an exercise sheet we can simply embed that into the whiteboard to work on. The file types it allows are: jpg, jpeg, png, ppt, doc, pdf
We prefer that the student upload material to their Google Drive work on in one of these formats. It will cut down on the time the tutor has to prepare, which is only 5-15 minutes per session. Any more than that, it is unfortunately an addition fee. We will explain what kind of preparation our tutors do within these 5-15 minutes.
Converters
If for whatever reason the document that you have with your math problems is not in one of the above formats, what do you do? There are many free online converters out there. Usually students will have images that they haven’t taken of their homework or exercises with their phone. Most of the time it is either a jpg, jpeg, or png. However, there have been times when the image format is not supported by awwapp.com. The iPhone native heic is an example of such a file format. In this case, these image files
will have to be converted before they can be uploaded to the awwapp.com whiteboard. If you tutor has to do this, this is an extra processing step and part of their preparation time meaning less time available for other preparation. Because of this we ask that the student do this step.
If, for example, you have used your iPhone and have images in HEIC format, you can simply convert them to JPG using an online converter such as: https://heictojpg.com/
Preparation guidelines for a tutoring session
Student preparation
The student will have to do a bit of preparing for each session. The most important being deciding what material they want to work on and then uploading some digital documents for the tutor to use and prepare from. We ask the student be realistic in their expectations from the one hour of online tutoring If you come in with a week’s worth of class notes and a dozen exercises to work on, there is a chance you may not get through everything just due to the limited time. So do narrow down what you would like to work on to those problems and material you’re really stumped by. The documents that you share with the tutor, please have uploaded and sent to us the night before your session, and send us an email to info@raisemymarks.com telling us that material is there for your tutor to prepare from.
A simple email such as the following is enough,
Subject: “I have uploaded material for my session on TOPIC. Thanks.”
First Session
Going into your first session, you will first meet your tutor on Zoom. You may wish to turn your video on for this portion so that you can see each and get a bit of a sense of each other. After a quick greeting and discussion of where you feel you most need help and your expectations, the actual session will begin. First, the tutor will give you the link to your whiteboard through the Zoom Chat, and you will both then go to use that whiteboard app – minimizing Zoom so that you can still hear each other.
At this point the tutor will give you a brief tour of www.AwwApp.com, post up the first of the materials that you had asked to go through to the Whiteboard, and actual tutoring will get underway.
You must expect that most of the writing will be done by you. The tutor is not your teacher showing you how to do things, this is where you try to do the work and the tutor help guide you through it – asking questions and giving feedback as you work through it. Math, like everything in life, gets better with practice – not just watching someone else do it.
Our goal is to get you through your material with you being able to do the work yourself so that you are absolutely prepared when your next test arrives because you have seen it and done it already, and you have come to understand it. This can only happen with practice.
When getting towards the end of the first session, the tutor will give you warning that the session is winding down, and leave a few minutes at the end to get your feedback on the session and to answer any questions that you might have.
After that, most sessions will follow the same general pattern, except of course that you won’t need to introduce yourselves or go through the familiarization with AwwApp.
Technology Issues
Should there be a connection issue from the student end, please contact our Student and Parent Care Specialist, Mike, at 613-294-3573 so that he can coordinate between the student and the tutor.
Please find a copy of the technical handbook and links for your records here,
Technical Handbook For Students
Happy learning!