Explain Everything: Remote Tutoring Tips using EE and Zoom

We have learned a lot from private tutors around the world who are using Explain Everything in their work. Some are teachers who do tutoring after school as a side business. Others are those whose primary job is to serve as private tutor.

In many cases, the tutors are using a web-conference tool (e.g., Zoom, Google Meetings, Skype) to mediate voice and video and then are either doing a screen share to display their Explain Everything whiteboard or are utilizing a collaborative whiteboard session in parallel to the web-conference.

We use Zoom at Explain Everything when it is helpful for participants to both see and hear each other and use Explain Everything for whiteboarding. It’s quite similar to the experience that tutors working across distance are trying to create.

​Here are some tips for using Explain Everything and Zoom together for effective remote tutoring.

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Before the session

Create a calendar appointment and include two links in the meeting notes. 1) your Zoom meeting link and 2) your Explain Everything whiteboard link.
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• In Zoom you can use a personal Meeting ID or have a randomly generated Meeting ID created for a recurring meeting.
• In Explain Everything, you can create a whiteboard link that can be reused for each meeting or create a new whiteboard link for each meeting.

Either way, create a routine where two links are clicked when it is time for the session.

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During the session

If both participants are on the whiteboard, then you don’t need to use Zoom’s screen share to see what each other are doing. It will just be visible on the whiteboard and Zoom will handle your voice and video chat. However, if you regularly record your Zoom sessions as part of the tutoring experience, it makes sense for you to share your screen so that the whiteboard activity is included in the Zoom meeting recording.
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• If you are only using an iPad, you can use the iOS broadcast feature to share another app’s screen through your Zoom call.
• If you are only on a desktop, laptop, or Chromebook, you can share the browser window where Explain Everything is opened.
• If you have a desktop/laptop AND an iPad, you can connect your device via a cable or use Airplay to share your mobile device screen via your Zoom session.

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After the session

If you used Zoom to record your tutoring session, you’ll have access to the complete video file which you can always share with the participant.

However, it might be helpful to create a quick recap or summary - which you can do right in Explain Everything using the built-in recording feature. After recording, select ‘Create Web Video Link’ and then you can send your student the full meeting recording as well as your brief whiteboard recap.