If you would like to learn more about using our online classroom and see a demonstration, you can have a look at our online classroom seminar recording here.
We very strongly recommend trialling the Online Classroom before giving your first online lesson to make sure you are familiar with how it all works. Experiencing the classroom first-hand and experimenting with all the different features will ensure you are properly prepared when you come to teach your first student! To access the demo version of the Online Classroom, simply select Demo Online Classroom from the drop-down underneath your name in the top right of the website, or from your ‘Teaching Preferences’.
When you access the demo classroom you'll also be given the option to test your browser. This just makes sure that you are set up correctly for your lesson. You can see how to complete a browser test in this article.
Entering the classroom
Once you have entered the classroom, you will see a page looking something like this - if your camera and microphone do not appear to be working, please ensure that your browser settings are set to allow for both, and refresh the page.
The Whiteboard
The online whiteboard is a fantastic interactive tool which you can use to enhance your lessons. You'll have this open automatically when you enter the classroom. On the left-hand side, you'll see a list of the whiteboards that you have open. You can delete a board from the classroom by pressing the cross in the bottom left-hand corner of the board in the list.
Toolbar
At the top of the whiteboard, there is a toolbar that allows you to draw, write, add images and shapes to your lesson!
Resizing text
We know that sometimes, you may need to make text that you've added into the classroom a little bit bigger - to do this, all you need to do is to click on the text to select it, and you'll then see a few boxes around the text box. If you click and drag the ones on any of the corners or sides, you can make the text bigger or smaller!
Keyboard Shortcuts
There are quite a few keyboard shortcuts that exist in the classroom. These include:
- Zoom: use cmd+[ or ctrl+[ to zoom out and cmd+] or ctrl+] to zoom in
- Undo and redo: cmd+z or ctrl+z to undo and cmd+shift+z or ctrl+shift+z to redo
- Snap to grid: hold down the space bar
- Skew shape: by holding down the Shift button while dragging the corner or side handles on a whiteboard shape you can skew the shape
Tutor Controls
- Sync view: by default, you and your student can go to different areas of the classroom. However if you really need to draw your students attention to a particular page on a document, or an annotation you've made, you can click on the sync view option - this will mean that whatever you're looking at in the classroom, the student will also see on their side.
- Lock toolbar: We know that it can sometimes be difficult, if you’re teaching a younger student to stop them from losing concentration and drawing when you don't want them to in the classroom - to help with this, you can click on the lock toolbar option! This will mean that the student won't be able to make any annotations on the whiteboard in the classroom whilst the lock is on.
- Share screen: If you'd like to show something on a different application on your computer, or a different website to your student, you can use share screen to do so!
Troubleshooting
If you have any problems with the performance of the online classroom, please visit this link to try and identify the cause: https://lesson.tutorful.co.uk/en/troubleshooter
You can also check the quality of both yours and your student's connection by having a look at the connectivity gauges in the top right hand corner of the classroom. If your bars are in red, you may need to follow some of the tips mentioned in this FAQ.
