One of the first things I do when I enroll a new student for online tutoring is set up the folders I use to keep their work organized. I have a Google Drive folder called “Students” and inside I create a folder for each student as they start with me.
Inside the folder, I have a “Completed assessments” folder and one for “Completed Lessons.” I track a lot of things in Drive, so I also have a spreadsheet for the irregular words I have taught (I use the irregular words from the Fry list so I have a copy for each student). I keep a checklist of skills for their current OG level in the folder, as well. For each of the files I use for a new student, I have a blank copy saved with the word “template” in the title. That way, when a new student starts, I can open them template file and make copies for the new student so I don’t have to reinvent the wheel. I’m experimenting with doing my card deck as a Google Slides presentation, so each student gets a copy of that file that I can personalize, as well.
For each student, I create a “Student Reading Notebook” file and a “Spelling Notebook” file. As I plan lessons for each student, I file them in their folder. After the lesson is taught, I drag it into the “Completed Lessons” folder to keep the main folder uncluttered.
I keep some things on paper, like tracking their responses to phonemic awareness activities and recording their responses on assessments. I used to keep digital copies of all those completed sheets, but these days I just keep a paper binder with a tab for each student. That binder is always on my desk and I take notes in it and sometimes flip back to check something from an assessment while I’m teaching, so it’s helpful to have it nearby.
One of the great things about online tutoring is I can make as many copies of a file as I need, so instead of sharing one copy of a paper book like my in-person students sometimes do, I can save a copy of pdfs and ebooks so that each student has their personal copy with notes and highlights.
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