How does an online tutoring session with Paul work?
In addition to teaching classes & private lessons in his office in Closter, NJ, Paul also teaches people through video conferencing software. He has taught students from all over including New York, Pennsylvania, Brazil, Seoul, and Tokyo.
Above is an example of what students see when they study with Paul through a video call. As you can tell, everything looks and feels just like an in-person, face-to-face lesson in a physical classroom. Paul's philosophy of online lessons is to provide an experience that is virtually identical to lessons held in a physical classroom.
Most online tutoring services provide subpar learning experiences because they cannot guarantee the quality of the teacher, the video call, and the teaching tools. In their effort to be "high-tech," they use clumsy and inefficient tools such as web whiteboards, provide mediocre video call quality that can often lag or freeze, and employ a random bunch of teachers, many of whom have lack the proficiency and experience to teach effectively.
Paul, however, has nearly perfected the online learning experience by carefully analyzing all of the weaknesses of current services and designing a superior system. He has taken the following steps to guarantee the best quality online lessons.
First, he uses only the highest quality equipment to ensure HD-quality video and pristine audio during video calls. He invested in a powerful computer, the best webcam, a fast internet connection, and a top-notch headset.
Second, he uses professional video conferencing software that provides crisp, clear video and audio quality.
Third, he designed a dedicated space for teaching that looks and functions like a small classroom. He has a physical whiteboard behind him and a stand for books. Students feel as if they are in a classroom environment.
Fourth, he uses only the best and most efficient online tools to facilitate learning. Using email, Google Docs, and other Internet resources, he can do everything online that he could in person. When going over essays, for example, he and the student can look at, discuss, and write on the same Google Doc in real time. When going over math problems, he can explain the concepts and write down steps on his physical whiteboard. Gmail and Docs makes sharing files quick and easy, and the internet has a wealth of resources to solidify learning.
Fifth, he uses a dialogical method of teaching which requires students to actively participate throughout the lesson. This ensures that the student stays focused and engaged throughout the lesson. Furthermore, he occasionally requires students to share their screens which enables him to see what they're looking at so that he can make sure they are not looking at unrelated, distracting websites.
Students who have studied with Paul through video conferencing have praised the quality of the online lesson. Jessica C., for example, said, "I was hesitant at first to do my SAT lessons over [online meetings], but after my session with Paul, I will definitely consider doing more tutoring sessions through video chat . . . I could clearly see the explanations to the problems when he wrote on his whiteboard. The sound was also clear, and the mic that he used allowed him to block out any excess noise. Not only was the sound and quality of the video good, but it also allowed me to save a lot of time that it would have taken to drive to and from the tutoring center every day."