Online tutoring setup: what you need before your first lesson

The checklist, in order

Tutors don't agree on the extras. In one February 2025 thread a tutor says Zoom alone is enough and you don't need an external camera or a lighting setup; others recommend a second monitor, good lighting in front of you and a decent microphone or headset. In another, a tutor says not to cheap out on a headset because a very cheap one was uncomfortable after about 45 minutes. Start with what you have and upgrade the one thing that bothers you.

Sound, light and camera

• Sound first. One tutor in the February 2025 thread says being able to hear you properly matters more than your face. Use a headset or microphone you can test, and close the door.
• Test your audio with someone else. The room sounds different to the person at the other end. Ask them if you echo or cut out.
• Light in front. Tutors in the same thread say to put bright light in front of you, not behind you. A window is free light, as long as it is in front.
• Camera at eye level. Stack the laptop on books if you need to, so you are looking at your student and not down at them.
• A plain background. A tidy wall, a curtain or a closed door is enough. Tutors in one thread prefer a real wall to a blurred or fake background, which they say can leave odd edges around your head and hands.
• Keep two devices off the same call's audio. If you join the call on a laptop and an iPad, disconnect the second device's audio, or you will hear echo. Zoom notes that muting isn't enough. See the Zoom iPad setup.

How you write: mouse, pen tablet or iPad

Writing math with a mouse is slow and messy, but it works for a first lesson. Type the steps, or write them large and slowly. If you want handwriting that looks like handwriting, there are two common routes:

• A pen tablet that plugs into your laptop. One tutor describes a tablet without a screen as better for your posture, because your hand stays at desk height while you look at the main screen; another prefers one with a screen built in. Which you pick is up to you. How to choose and set one up.
• An iPad and Apple Pencil as a second device while the laptop runs the call. Step by step, with the echo fix.

Your student doesn't need either. They can type, use a mouse or trackpad, or photograph their paper work and drop it on the board.

The board and the call

This is the part that changes how a lesson feels. A screen share only goes one way: your student watches you write. On a shared board they write the next line on the same page, and you see exactly where a step goes wrong.

Your student opens the link in a browser or the app. Viewing needs no account; to write they sign in once for free with Google, Apple or email, so tell them before the first lesson. Calls on the board need a free sign-in too.

A five-minute test call before lesson one

1. 1Call a friend or family member on the setup you plan to use, from the room and the hour you'll teach in.
2. 2Ask how you sound and look. Are you clear, in the light, at eye level, without echo?
3. 3Open the board together and both write on it. Check that their writing appears for you.
4. 4Upload or paste a worksheet, so you know how your materials get onto the board before a student is waiting.
5. 5Write down what failed and fix it once, rather than during the lesson.

Do you need a tutoring platform?

Not to start. A call, a board and a way to get paid are enough for a few students. If you later want scheduling, billing, recording and a room for each student built in, a tutoring-room product may fit better. Cost per hour is the thing to compare:

• Lessonspace alternatives: monthly plans with included hours.
• Pencil Spaces alternatives: per-hour plans with a monthly minimum.
• Zoom Whiteboard alternatives: if your students already use Zoom.
• Free whiteboard for online tutoring: the overview with free-plan limits.

What to know before you start with Instaboard

• Your student needs a free sign-in to write. Anyone with the link can view.
• Free covers 5 boards. Pen strokes don't count toward the 150-item limit, and each imported PDF becomes its own board. With several regular students, Pro is $5 a month billed yearly ($59.99 a year).
• Free calls end at 60 minutes; Pro calls have no limit.
• No lesson recording, no class mode, no scheduling or billing. Use Zoom or Meet for recording, and a separate tool for payments.
• Equation cards only. There is no LaTeX editor.
• The eraser removes whole strokes. Undo is the quickest fix.

Questions