If you want to be able to teach online lessons using the webcam on your computer, the technology available today makes this a lot easier than you might think.
What you'll Need
Before we get started, there are some things you're going to need.
Webcam - While it is, of course, possible to give a music lesson with only an audio connection, the experience is far less than wonderful. Also, in my experience teaching guitar, being able to see what the student's hands are doing is critical to spotting bad habits before they get too firmly entrenched.
Skype Account - Obviously, if you're going to use Skype, you'll need to have a Skype account. You'll also need to download the Skype software to your computer. You can sign up for a free account, and download the free software, from Skype's website.
Your student's Skype ID - All Skype users have a unique Skype ID. Ask your student for theirs and you can edit their student profile and save it to our database, where you can access it at any time.
- Go to Students -> Students List
- Click on the Student's Name
- Scroll down the page until you find the Skype ID
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Save Student button
If your students (or their parents) don't know what their Skype Name is, these instructions from the Skype website should help them out: https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA10858/what-s-my-skype-name#
After setting up your Skype account, downloading and setting up the software, and recording the student's Skype ID in their student profile, you're all done!
Starting A Skype Call
When you're ready to start the Skype lesson, go to the Calendar and click on the lesson. If at least one of the participants in the lesson has a Skype ID saved, there will be a button at the bottom center of the popup to "Start Skype Call."
If the lesson is a group lesson, and all of the students have a Skype ID entered in their student profiles, then the call will automatically include all of the students.
Note: Skype won't let you connect to more than 9 other people at one time, and it's really not recommended to try more than 5 at once, because it has a severe affect on the quality of the connection.
If you have any questions, or you run into any trouble with this, feel free to contact our support team, and we'll help you out with whatever you need.