I want to start teaching online classes
Looking to start teaching online classes but not sure how? Maybe you're already an Obby teacher for in-person classes or you're totally new to Obby, either way, we've put together some handy tips for you to get started 🎓
Getting started:
First things first, you'll need to set up your Obby profile if you don't have one already. Please click the button below to complete your profile.
Still thinking about whether this is right for you? Read a little more about how to be be a better online teacher > Here < and this should help give you a good idea 😀
Keys to success:
Teach something you are really passionate about. We know that our students get most inspired and enthused about classes when their teacher is excited about what they are offering.
Bring your own style and approach to your subject. When you offer something a little different, students will be more intrigued to find out what you've got in store. With live, online classes, your home is your oyster (or something to that effect...), so make it personal to you!
Think outside the box. If you're adapting in-person classes to go online, think about what materials students could use from their home. Be imaginative and have a sift through your own cupboards to see what could be used as alternatives (e.g. old magazines or newspapers to make origami!)
Build a following. Deliver a great learning experience and ask your students to leave reviews. Spread the word about your classes and the virtual revolution!
Adding your first class:
So you're ready to go and add your first class - great stuff!
What should I teach?
What are you passionate about? What have you got experience in teaching already? And most importantly, what can you do from your own home?
Obby offers a huge variety of in-person and online classes, from pottery to salsa dancing, life drawing to french. There is no end to the topics that our teachers cover.
However, only some topics work for online classes. If you are a teacher who is adding online classes to your in-person class profile, think about how you can adapt what you teach to being virtual. This may move your more practical class to something theoretical. For example, you teach silversmith classes in-person, but online, you could teach the fundamentals of jewellery design.
Whatever it is, make it fun, accessible and most importantly informative!
What time should I run my classes, and how long for?
Think about people's normal working schedules. Weekday lunchtimes (1pm - 2pm) or evenings (5pm - 9pm) are likely to be times when students want to have a break from their day to day routine and learn something new.
On the weekends, you can be a little more flexible, but think about times when you find yourself about to pick up the hoover (or let's face it, the remote...) for lack of something to do at home. For example, between 10am - 12pm and 3pm - 6pm.
Aim for classes to be 1 hour or 1.5 hrs maximum. As amazing as video technology now is, it's harder to engage for long periods of time over a video chat - so think short and sweet! This also gives you the chance to add multiple levels to classes that may normally be 3 hours in-person.
What should I price my class?
With live, online classes the cost of a venue and materials is drastically reduced. Your price comes down to your time, and the time it takes for you to prepare for each class.
You may want to add a way for students to purchase a materials kit for your class, but think of this as an additional cost to the class.
You will also want to take Obby's commission into account.
We recommend pricing between £10 - £15 for a 1 hour class without materials.
How many students should I have for each class?
Unlike Instagram or Facebook live stream, Obby online classes will give students a chance to interact and engage with you and other students via video, so it's good to keep the class size to a smaller number so that everyone gets a chance to do this and not get lost in a crowd.
A maximum size of 8 students means there will be 9 of you in total in the video chat. In gallery view, this will display in a 3 by 3 format, which is very manageable when running a class. Any larger and your students start to look quite small...
How do online classes work?
Obby online classes mostly take place on Zoom. Zoom is the "leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, collaboration, chat, and webinars" [source] across multiple devices.
Obby has an umbrella account with Zoom which means you only need to activate the account we set up for you (no need to sign up), and download Zoom for free - giving you access to a more premium account.
Read more on how to run your classes via Zoom > How to prepare for your online class.
Ready to get started?
Great news!
Simply follow the steps in our handy help page for adding classes.
Click here to see how to add a class.
Already ready to prepare for your first class?
Click here to see how to prepare for your online class.
If you have any questions or would like further advice, please let us know!