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On BlueTeach, Teachers get paid with credits.
Paid classes are charged by the minute. Teachers set up a per hour, per attendee fee when they plan a class. We then calculate the estimated price for the class (duration multiplied by the per hour fee).
Students can only sign up to paid lesson if they have enough credits on their account to pay the estimated price. After the class, they are automatically charged for the time they spent in class with the teacher.
Teachers can cash out their credits at any time on a Paypal account. The minimum withdrawal amount is 50 credits.
Teachers can cash out credits from their account page by clicking on the "cash out" button.
Am I sure I will be paid by my students ?Yes. Students must have credits on their accounts to sign up for a paid class. After the class, their accounts are automatically charged.
How do I get started ?The first thing to do is to create your profile. Fill in some information about yourself and add a picture, don't be Mr. Nobody. Put up some ads so other users can know what you are teaching or learning.
Before setting up a class, we recommend you attend a BlueTeach orientation class (we do them about twice a week). We'll help you out to get familiar with the virtual classroom and will give you a few tips for conducting classes.
You can then plan your first lesson ! You should start out with free lessons to get some students to know you. Students usually want to meet the teachers before commiting to paid classes.
How do classes take place ?Classes take place in BlueTeach's virtual classroom. There's no installation, all you need is a computer with the latest version of Flash installed. To what version of flash you have and install updates, click here.
To learn more about the virtual classroom, head to the Virtual Classroom F.A.Q.
How do I attract new students ?Here are few tips to find new students :
1. Complete your profile :
Filling in the "about me" section with something about yourself, your credentials, or teaching experience will make it much more likely for students to contact you or sign up to your classes. Adding a profile picture increases threefold your chances of being contacted. You can also publish your profile page. To know your personal URL, check your profile page.
2. Put up some ads :
The tutor search engine (coming soon) works on the ads teachers have put up, so your profile will never show up if you don't have any. Write compelling ads and add relevant tags so students can find them.
3. Create free public classes :
The best way to attract new students is to create public classes and to publicize them. Share them on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, etc... to attract new students.
All you really need is a laptop with a microphone. Having a webcam really improves class experience. If you do not have any, you can buy one for under 30 dollars.
It is also recommended to have a headset. This prevents audio echos during classes.
How do I improve sign ups to my classes ?The most important part about creating a class is giving it a great title. Great titles give a precise idea of what will be taught and how. "Learn how to ask your way around in Spanish" will work much better than "Spanish lesson" for example.
The second most important thing is putting a great picture. It will help your class stand out among the rest.
You can invite people to your class from your BlueTeach contacts or directly by mail. All this can be done from the class creation form or from your class' page.
How do I improve my attendee show up rate ?When a student signs up to a class, he receives a mail with a link to the class page and instructions on how to join. He then receives a reminder mail one hour before the class.
However, this is sometimes not enough to have a good attendee show up rate.
A good way improve show up is to send a personal mail to your students. You can do that from the class page. Involving your students by establishing a first contact will make a huge difference.
What topics can I teach / What are the qualifications needed ?Teach whatever your good at ! There are no restrictions on what you can teach on BlueTeach. Every teacher is welcome to share his knowledge, be it a language, an academic topic, an instrument, a technology, or really whatever !
What is my "personal URL" ?You "personal URL" is the public URL for your profile. You can share it around you so people can see your information, the topics you teach, and sign up to your next classes.
Can I set up recurring classes ?Yes ! You can set as many dates for a class as you like. Planning recurring classes is a good way to build up audience.
Can I edit a class details after creating it ?After creating a class, you can update the class date and time, fee, and ad dates. When you change a classes fee or date, all attendees' RSVP statuses will automatically switch back to "waiting reply". They will receive a mail to RSVP again.
To edit a class' details, click on the option button next on the class in your next class. You can also edit the class' details directly from the class' page.
When you create a class, you can choose between making it private, on invitation only, or public.
A private class will only be seen by the people invited.
On invitation classes can be seen by anyone, but people can not directly enroll. They must ask for an invitation. You can check if someone requested an invitation to your class in the attendees section of the class' page.
Public classes are open to everyone. Anyone can join them freely. If it is a paid class, one must have enough credits on his account to pay for the estimated class fee in order to enroll, so you're sure anyone who enrolls will have the ability to pay.
You will soon be able to record your classes. For the moment the feature is not available.
Most classes on BlueTeach are currently language classes, but you can really learn anything you want. Just check out the public classes to find out what's being taught now.
How much do classes cost ?Class prices are set by teachers, so they can vary from one class to another. Most one-to-many classes cost around 5 to 10 credits (1 credits is about one dollar, depending on the packs, check here for the price grid). One-to-one classes usually range from 10 credits to 50 credits. Again, this really depends on teachers and topics.
You can also register to free classes. It's a good way to get to know teachers before committing to paid classes.
How do I buy credits, how much do they cost ?You can buy credits from the credits purchase page. Credit packs start at 10$ for 10 credits. You get the best value when you get the 50$ credit pack, for which you get 50 credits plus 10 free !
Your credits can be used to pay for any paid class, one-to-one or one to many.
If you feel you will not be using your credits anymore, you can get them refunded. Note that you can only be refunded on a Paypal account. If you don't have one yet, don't worry it only takes a few clicks to set one up.
For more information on refunds, please check our terms of use.
How do lessons take place on BlueTeach ?Lessons take place in BlueTeach's virtual classroom. It's a videoconferencing app that requires no installation. Check out some screen shots to see what it's like, or watch this short video recording of a class (coming soon).
To learn more about the virtual classroom, check out the dedicated F.A.Q.
Do I need any specific hardware ?All you really need is a laptop and a microphone to communicate with teachers and other class participants. Having a webcam really improves class experience, so if you don't have any, you might consider investing in one. You can find a great webcam for as cheap as 30 dollars.
Having a headset is best, it improves audio quality. It also prevents your audio from echoing.
Who are the teachers / how do I find a great teacher ?We believe that each and everyone of us can have useful knowledge to share, so virtually anyone can become a teacher on BlueTeach.
To evaluate a teacher, check out his profile. Most teachers give information about their teaching experience and credential. You can also check in the teacher's previous classes to get other students feedback on the teacher.
I subscribed to a class, how do I join ?Great, you enrolled for your first class !
You can join the class directly on the class page by clicking on the big blue join button that appears 15 minutes before class start. Until then, the join button will not be there. The class' page can be accessed from your next classes page or from the link sent to you by mail when you signed up.
If the button says LIVE, that means the teacher has already entered the room and is either waiting for students or has already started the class. Hurry up to join !
1. Fill in your profile :
Add a profile picture and a brief personal description (things you'd like to learn, fields of study, etc... ). Try not being Mr. Nobody.
2. Add some ads :
Create some ads to let us know what your interested in learning. Base on your ads, we will be able to suggest great teachers and awesome classes to you.
3. Sign up for your first class :
Check out the public class page and enroll for a class.
4. Give yourself credit :
Buy a credit pack so you can enroll to any paid classes and get the very best out of BlueTeach.com
We accept all major credit cards and Paypal. Note that all payment happen on Paypal.com, though you do not need a paypal account to checkout.
No. BlueTeach's virtual classroom is a browser app. All you need is a broadband connexion and flash 10 installed. Check your flash version to install eventual upgrades.
Do I need a webcam and / or a microphone ?It's best if you have both, though you can do with just a microphone. Consider investing in a webcam if you don't have any, you can get a great one for as cheap as 30 dollars. You should consider acquiring a headset too for optimal audio quality and to avoid echoing issues.
How do I start my audio / video ?Once in the virtual clasroom, your webcam and microphone will be automatically detected. If that doesn't work, try setting it up manually (by clicking on the "Nope, something’s wrong, let’s check my settings" link in the popup). You can also start your audio and video buy clicking on the green audio video button.
If you are experiencing sound echoing problems, try using earplugs. The best way to avoid all echoing issues is to wear a headset.
Can I invite people to my class directly from the virtual classroom ?Yes. Click on the invite button to invite people by mail or from your BlueTeach contacts. Invited people will receive a mail with a link to your class to join you directly.
You can also tweet the link to your class using the tweet button.
You can upload any pdf or Microsoft Office document (Word, Excel, or Powerpoint) to the virtual classroom. Upload files using the upload button.
You can switch to full screen mode by clicking on the full screen button :
Once your document is uploaded you can draw on it using the freehand tool and save it to your private library to reuse it in a next class.
You can save anything pasted on the whiteboard by selecting it and clicking on the save button. You can save mutliple items too.
Ressources are saved to your library, you can access them later on by opening the "my library" tab.
How do I co-browse the web ?The co-browser is an upcoming feature. Check in regularly on the forum to know when it will be available
