Preparation

 

To begin building your Lessonpal profile, prepare the following information: 

1. Gmail or Facebook account
2. Full name and date of birth
3. What subject(s) do you want to teach? 
4. What educational, skill, or age level do you want to teach those subjects? 
5. What is your expertise in teaching these subjects?
6. What Lesson packages would you like to offer for these Subjects (how many lessons, what duration, for what total price)? 
7. What days and times would you like to teach?
8. How much minimum booking notice do you need from your students before a lesson? How far ahead would you like to allow your students to book your lessons?
9. Would you like to set up an out-of-office setting or block your calendar for any specific dates?
10. What handle would you like to pick for your profile URL would you like?
11. Your pic, location, zip code, and headline
12. Your story for the About section
13. Your intro video URL
14. Your education
15. Your experience
16. Your phone number

 

Getting Started

 

Signing up

 

When you first land on the Lessonpal website, you must either Sign Up or Log in. If you have never logged in to Lessonpal before, Click on Sign up. 

 

You will be prompted to choose a sign-in via either your Google account or your Facebook account. Choose the one you prefer to use (note: you must already have an existing Google or Facebook account). When you sign in for the first time, you will be asked to confirm your name, birth date, and email. 

 

You will also be asked to agree to Lessonpal’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy when selecting Agree and Continue. To read the Terms of Service or Privacy Policy, simply click on them from there. 

 

Enter the needed information and sign in. If you have already signed up with Lessonpal, you will only need to log in with your existing account (either on Google or Facebook).

 

Teach with us

 

Once you have logged in or signed up, click the Teach with us button in the app bar. This will take you to the Teach lessons page, where you can learn more about the process of becoming a teacher on Lessonpal. Scroll down to If you are ready to begin your application, click the orange button that says Get Started. 

 

The next page will review the three key steps to apply to teach with Lessonpal. First, you will add your lesson packages. Second, you will add your availability. Third, you will add your profile information. When you understand the steps, click the orange button that says Continue. 

 

Step 1: Lesson Packages

 

What do you want to teach?

The first page in your application is the subject page. Here, you will answer the question, “What do you want to teach?” Click on the input box in the typing box and begin typing the title of the subject you want to teach. 

 

Try to select one of the options provided in the drop-down menu. For example, if “IB Calculus” is not an option, try “Calculus” or “Mathematics” instead, and elaborate on your particular expertise later on. 

 

If you plan on offering lessons for multiple subjects, start with only one. Later on, you can add more subjects individually. When you have selected a subject, click the black button on the bottom right that says Next. 

Expertise

The next page asks you to describe your qualifications for teaching the given subject. Here, you can elaborate on your expertise. The gray text will guide you on what type of content is needed in this section. Click inside the text box to begin typing. 

 

Another option is to write your expertise paragraphs in a separate document (such as Google Docs or Word) and then copy-paste it into Lessonpal. When you are finished, select Next on the bottom right corner.

 

Teaching preferences

You now have to select your teaching preferences for the subject you selected. Here, you can specify what level students are the best fit for you. You can choose to indicate one of two types of levels: (1) Age and proficiency level, or (2) Academic level. 

 

To choose either, select the gray circle with white in the middle until it turns orange. Then, under your selection, you can select at least one level or as many as you would like. 

 

Your options are 12-under, 13-17, 18-22, 23+, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced for the age and proficiency level. For academic level, your options are Elementary School, Middle School, High School, and College. When you are finished, select Next on the bottom right corner.

 

Lesson packages

Next, you will input the details of your lesson packages. Students and parents on Lessonpal will purchase the lesson packages as a whole. You can add as many as you would like, but you must add at least one. 

 

Add one by selecting the number of lessons from the dropdown menu (ranging from one lesson to ten), the lesson duration (either 30 minutes or a full hour), and the total price of the lesson package. 

 

Note that the price you set is for all the lessons and not the hourly price. Typically, the cost per lesson decreases as you increase the number of lessons in the total package. Pricing is entirely up to your discretion as a teacher. 

 

When you are done inputting the details for your first lesson package, click the orange Add button on the right of the lesson package. 

 

If you add a package and decide you want to edit or delete it, you can click the three dots next to the lesson package you want to modify. To edit, click Edit. To delete it, click Delete. When you are finished, click Next on the bottom right corner.

 

Reviewing

The next page is the Your lessons page, where you can review the lessons you just set up for your first subject. To check the details, click the downward-pointing arrow for the given subject. 

 

To edit the Expertise, Preferences, or Lesson packages, click the orange Edit button next to the respective section. To edit or delete the subject as a whole, click the three dots icon next to the subject name and click either Edit or Delete. 

 

Repeating the process

If you are interested in providing lessons for several different subjects, you will want to repeat this process of adding lesson packages and details. To do this, click the orange button on the top right of the screen that says Add a new lesson. Repeat this process until you are satisfied with all your offered lessons. 

 

Once your teacher application is approved, you can edit this and add new lessons at any time. When you are finished, click Next on the bottom right corner. Clicking this button will take you back to the landing page. Your next step is to click the orange Continue button under Step 2: Add your Availability. 

 

Step 2: Add your Availability

 

Availability

The first step in uploading your availability is looking at your schedule and deciding what times you want to teach. The timezone automatically defaults to the one you are located in. 

 

To add timeslots for each day, click the orange Add next to the day of the week. Use the dropdown selection for start times and end times to create a slot during which you are available for tutoring. 

 

When you are satisfied with the individual slot, select the black Save button on the right or Cancel to cancel the selection. You can add multiple distinct timeslots for a single day. When you have filled out availability according to your typical week’s schedule, click Next on the bottom right corner.

 

Booking settings

The next page is Booking settings. Here, you can indicate your minimum scheduling notice and limit future booking. Note that the minimum scheduling notice is in hours while future booking is in days. 

 

Use the dropdown menu to select how many hours notice you need before a lesson (1-24) and how many days in advance students can book your lessons (1-90). When you are finished, click Next on the bottom right corner.

 

Exceptions

The next page is exceptions, where you can block individual dates and times on your calendar that are unavailable for booking. To select the date and times, click on the date to set both the start and end dates. 

 

Use the calendar function to indicate what day(s) you need to be blocked, as well as the dropdown menu for the time to show what parts of the day, if not all, need to be blocked off. 

 

When you are satisfied with your particular blocked date, click the orange Add button on the right. You can continue adding dates until you are satisfied. If you need to add dates or edit them after your application is approved, that is fine. To delete a blocked time, click the trash can icon next to the date you want to delete. 

 

When you are finished, click Next on the bottom right corner.

 

Step 3: Add your Profile info

 

Finally, you have made it to Step 3: Add your Profile info. To move on to this step from the main tutor application page, click the orange Continue button.

 

Profile URL

Before becoming a tutor, you will want to customize your profile URL. To start, Lessonpal generates a combination of capital and lowercase letters and numbers. However, you will likely want a URL that is easier to read and share. 

 

To change your personalized URL, click in the text box. A unique URL is automatically generated, but we encourage you to change it to something simpler. 

 

To do this, delete the URL currently there, and enter a URL that you like that reflects your identity, name, or tutoring area. Each Lessonpal tutor has a unique profile URL. When you are finished, click Next on the bottom right corner.

 

Profile photo

For your basic information, begin by uploading a photo of yourself. This should be a headshot-type photo. Click the black button that says Upload a photo and select an image already on your computer. When you have chosen your photo, click Open to upload it. 

 

Enter your location (city, state), Zip code, and brief (under 100 characters) headline in the appropriate text boxes. When you are finished, click Next on the bottom right corner.

 

Tell your story

Next, tell your story. Use the text box on the next slide to write about who you are. 

 

This is distinct from your subject expertise because it reflects aspects of your personality, background, and unique interests. The about field must be between 5 and 2,000 characters long. When you are finished, click Next on the bottom right corner.

 

Intro video

On the intro video slide, you will paste your intro video URL. To do this, go to your Youtube or Vimeo channel and copy the unique URL for the video you already uploaded, where you talk about yourself as a tutor. 

 

Return to the Lessonpal tab on your computer, click in the gray box, and paste the link by clicking with two fingers at the same time and selecting paste from the menu. You can edit the video after your profile has been approved. 

 

If you need to temporarily skip this step, select Skip for now on the bottom right corner to move on. 

 

Education history

To add a section to your education history, click the orange Add button on the top right corner. In the respective gray text boxes, fill in the School you attended, the degree you earned there, the field of study, and the start and end/expected end years. 

 

To cancel this information, click the gray Cancel button. To save this information, click the orange Save button. To edit or delete an educational section, click the three dots and then click either Edit or Delete. To add additional educational history, click the orange Add button on the top right corner once again. 

 

Repeat this process until you are satisfied. When you are finished, click Next on the bottom right corner.

 

Expertise

Next, you will add any experience you have that qualifies you to work as a tutor or teacher. This can include volunteer experience, work, or experience in the subject that qualifies you. 

 

To add an experience, click the orange Add button on the top right corner. Fill in your position and organization information. If you are currently working in the position, check the box that says “I’m currently working here.” If you are no longer working there, fill out the position’s start date and end date. If you are currently working there, you only need to fill out the start date. 

 

Provide a brief description of your position in the Description box. To cancel the experience, click the gray Cancel button. To save the experience, click the orange Save button. To edit or delete the experience once you have completed it, click the three dots next to the experience and click either Edit or Delete. 

 

To continue adding experiences, click the orange Add button in the upper right corner and repeat the process. When you are finished, click Next on the bottom right corner.

 

Phone verification

Next, you will be asked to verify your phone number. Type your phone number in the second box. When you are finished typing, click the orange Continue button. 

 

You will receive a six-digit verification code to your mobile phone via text message. Type the code into the text box on Lessonpal and click the orange Verify button if you are not automatically verified. 

 

If you didn’t receive an SMS notification in one minute, you may click on Resend code. When you have typed it, you will automatically return to the teacher onboarding page. 

 

Finishing up

 

You have the opportunity to review any of the three sections of your application. To do so, click the orange Edit button under the section you wish to edit. To submit your application, click the orange Submit application button on the bottom right side of the page. 

 

Congratulations on submitting your tutor application!