Articles in this section

Online lessons

As a school please ensure to read the following article in advance of your students starting online lessons.

 

System requirements

The online classroom software (Tutor Room) runs in a web browser so there's nothing to install. All modern web browsers (i.e. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) are supported.

Requirements:

  • A device with a camera and microphone (e.g. laptop, tablet, desktop, etc).
  • Good internet connection (2.5Mbps upload and 5Mbps download is recommended).

Note: Phones are supported by the Tutor Room but are not recommended because the screen is too small to provide a high quality online learning experience.

 

School internet security

Firewalls and web filters

If your students are going to be on the school premises when they attend their online lessons, your school IT manager must configuration the school firewall or web filter.

Requirements:

  • Allow all subdomains (including nested subdomains) of tutorroom.uk (i.e. *.tutorroom.uk).
  • Ensure WebSocket connections are not blocked.

Notes:

  • It's important to ensure the wildcard allows nested subdomains, e.g. sub1.sub2.tutorroom.uk.
  • There is no website hosted at https://tutorroom.uk, the online classroom is hosted using a range of subdomains of tutorroom.uk.
  • We are unable to provide IP addresses or specific ports as the platform uses dynamic cloud services and high-range ephemeral ports (TCP Port 443 and UDP/TCP 34000 to 64000).
  • For schools using the Smoothwall filter, see their article on allowing WebSockets.
  • If you're using Chromebooks, please also see below.

Configuring the school firewall or web filter is essential to ensure students are able to connect to the online classroom (Tutor Room) and that video and audio works correctly. Please configure your school internet security in advance of online lessons starting, to allow time in case there are any issues which need to be resolved.

For any technical questions or support regarding your school internet security in relation to the online classroom (Tutor Room), please contact support@tutoringhelp.co.uk.

 

Chromebooks

Chromebooks can sometimes be configured to block WebSockets, which will prevent the Tutor Room from working correctly.

If WebSockets are blocked on a Chromebook, in the network proxy settings, ensure "Use the same proxy for all protocols" is unticked and the "SOCKS host" is blank. This should resolve the issue, but otherwise please contact support@tutoringhelp.co.uk.

 

Attending a lesson

Once students have been added to your account and linked to their tutors, the students can then attend online lessons in the Tutor Room.

When it's time to attend an online lesson, students simply:

  • Login > click Attend lesson > click Enter Tutor Room.

They'll be taken to a waiting room page, then once the tutor authorises them to enter they'll be taken to a Lobby, where they need to:

  • Allow access to camera and microphone > click Join.

Students will then automatically enter the Tutor Room where they'll see the tutor (and the other students if applicable).

Note: To attend lessons, students simply login to their own account on the platform and enter the Tutor Room. No apps, links, URLs or emails are required.

 

Using the Tutor Room

During a lesson the tutor will guide your students in using any tools, if required. However, for your general reference, here is an overview of some of the tools available.

 

Troubleshooting

If students are having technical issues they can open the automatic troubleshooting from inside the Tutor Room (Set.png Setup > Set_-_Troubleshooting.png Troubleshooting). Alternatively, see the Troubleshooting article for more information on resolving technical issues.

  • Updated