Nearo is built for live, one-to-one instruction, and this article gives you a simple overview so you know what to expect and what to do next.
What Nearo is
Nearo is a platform designed specifically for one-to-one remote tutoring and instruction.
It focuses on real-time interaction between two people, rather than large group meetings or webinars. This makes it well suited for teaching, guided practice, and personalized support.
Nearo is commonly used for:
Academic tutoring
Skill-based lessons
Guided practice and feedback
Remote instruction that benefits from screen sharing or hands-on help
How Nearo works
Tutors and teachers use the Nearo desktop app for better performance and reliability during live sessions. Students and other guests can join a Room from a web browser, with nothing to install.
Sessions happen in real time and support:
Audio and video
Screen sharing
Remote control, when active
There are two ways to connect in Nearo: Rooms and Calls.
Rooms in Nearo
A Nearo Room is a personal session space that every teacher and admin has by default.
Hosts open their Room from the Nearo desktop app: sign in, then click the blue Open my room button at the bottom of the My room card at the top of the home screen
Guests join using a shared Room link — no account or app required
Guests can join from any device, including phones, tablets, and Chromebooks
Guests wait until the host admits them before the session begins
Calls in Nearo
A Nearo Call is a direct call between two teammates using the Nearo desktop app.
Calls are placed from the desktop app to a teammate listed under Call a teammate, the last section of the home screen
Both people need the desktop app installed and need to be signed in to Nearo
Calls cannot be placed or received from a browser
Who uses Nearo
Nearo is used by:
Students and guests joining sessions
Individual tutors and teachers
Schools and tutoring organizations
Your role affects how your account is set up and how you connect, but all participants have access to the same core session tools once a session begins.
What you can do in a session
During a Nearo session, you can:
See and hear each other using audio and video
Share your screen (hosts, Call participants, and guests who join from the Nearo desktop app)
Use remote control to interact with the shared screen
Chat with the other person using the built-in chat window
Draw on the shared screen using the drawing tools
Write and draw together in a shared notebook that saves automatically
Switch features on or off as needed
Each of these features is explained in more detail in the Audio, Video & Chat, Screen Sharing, and Notebooks sections of the Help Center.
What you need to get started
To host a Room or use Calls, you need:
A Nearo account
A supported Windows or macOS computer
A working microphone and camera
A stable internet connection
To join a Nearo Room as a guest, you only need a Room link, a browser, and an internet connection.
For details, see What are the system requirements to use Nearo?
How to get started
To begin using Nearo as a host:
Get your Nearo account — see Setting up Nearo as a teacher or organization Admin
Download and install the Nearo desktop app from the Nearo Dashboard: sign in there, then find the Download the Nearo App card in the right-hand column of the page (below My Roster in a narrow window)
Sign in to the Nearo desktop app by clicking Sign in on the first screen, Welcome to Nearo (it is below Join a Room). To confirm your role, open the Dashboard and click the organization switcher at the top of the sidebar on the left; your role (Admin, Teacher or Student, or Host or Guest) is beside the organization's name
Open your Room with Open my room, or call a teammate under Call a teammate, both on the home screen of the desktop app
If something is not working as expected, use the search bar in the Help Center to find relevant articles and fixes.