Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is eduFire
2. What will be offered on eduFire
3. Why "eduFire"?
4. About Teaching on eduFire
   1. How do I get started teaching on eduFire?
   2. Do I need any special software to do a session on eduFire?
   3. Do I need a webcam or any other hardware to do a tutoring session?
   4. What tools will be available to teach with on eduFire?
   5. What does a tutoring session look like?
   6. How do students schedule lessons with me?
   7. How do I get paid from my tutoring sessions?
   8. How much does it cost to tutor on eduFire?
   9. What are the qualifications necessary to tutor on eduFire?
   10. How do students find me on eduFire?
   11. How do you calculate Tutor Score?
   12. When does my Tutor Score change from NEW?
   13. What is a profile address?
   14. Can I teach more than one student at a time?
   15. Is it possible to edit class details once the class has been created?
   16. What if I want to add more seats to a class?
5. About Learning on eduFire
   1. How do I do a tutoring session on eduFire?
   2. What is an introduction?
   3. How do I know if a tutor is any good?
   4. Do I need any special software to do a session on eduFire?
   5. What does a tutoring session look like?
   6. Do I need a webcam or any other hardware to do a tutoring session?
   7. How much does a tutoring session cost?
   8. How do I schedule a session with a teacher?
   9. What if I need to cancel or reschedule a lesson?
   10. What payment methods do you accept?
   11. How do you calculate Tutor Score?
   12. What is a profile address?
   13. What about privacy and security?
6. About Setting up to use eduFire
   1. What equipment do I need to use on eduFire?
   2. Do I have to download something to tutor or learn on eduFire?
   3. How do I use eduFire on a Mac?
   4. What do I do if I or the other user hears an echo of our voice during the tutoring session?
   5. What else can I do to improve the technical quality of my tutoring session?
7. About Your eduFire Account
   1. What do I do if I forget my password?
   2. How can I contact eduFire about another problem?
8. Other Questions
   1. Where did those awesome flag icons come from?
   2. What is SuperPass?

1. What is eduFire?
   eduFire is a community of people passionate about teaching and learning online. As a student you'll find outstanding tutors from all around the world, all available at the click of a button. As a teacher you'll be able to reach new students and teach from anywhere. (top of page)


2. What will be offered on eduFire?
   Our offerings are broken into three categories: Languages, Exam Prep, and Other. Our most popular languages are Spanish, Italian, French, German, Mandarin and Japanese. However you can teach or learn any language on eduFire! So if you're just dying to teach or learn Pig Latin you've come to the right spot. You'll be able to browse a list of languages that are offered on eduFire. As far as Exam Prep, we're really just getting started here, but we've got teachers in place for all the major exams with more to come. If there's something else you're looking for, try searching for it in the search bar, or e-mail one of our team members to see what we can do. (top of page)


3. Why "eduFire"?
   Our name was inspired by the William Butler Yeats quote "Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire." It's our belief that making learning easier, more convenient and more fun will make the world a better place for everyone. (top of page)

About Teaching on eduFire

1. How do I get started teaching on eduFire?
   Getting started teaching on eduFire is easy. Sign up and create your profile (the better and more complete your profile the more likely you'll be to get new students). You'll soon receive messages from students interested in learning from you. Pretty simple huh? (top of page)


2. Do I need any special software to do a session on eduFire?
   Nope. You just need an Internet connection (broadband recommended) and a web browser. If you don't have flash installed then you'll want to install Flash. When you're ready, you can check your audio and video settings here to confirm that you're all set! (top of page)


3. Do I need a webcam or any other hardware to do a tutoring session?
   You don't need a webcam, but learning online is much better if your student can see you. If you have a desktop computer, we recommend this Logitech Quickcam, and if you have a laptop, we recommend this camera. In addition, we'd recommend purchasing a headset if you don't have one already. A headset will help you and your student to hear each other better. At eduFire HQ, we've used this Logitech headset and been happy with it (and it's only 18 bucks!). Another alternative is a microphone plus headphones. You just don't want feedback from speakers going back into your microphone and creating an echo. (top of page)


4. What tools will be available to teach with on eduFire?
   Our service currently offers a virtual classroom with a seemingly endless array of tools such as: whiteboard, text chat, presentation mode where teachers can use PowerPoint presentation slides, audio, screen sharing, file sharing, and much more. This is whilst using video and voice. This really is a classroom; so you can teach 1:1 (one-to-one) or if you prefer you can hold a 1:M (one-to-many) class and have anything from two students up to ninety nine (yup, that isn't a typo, you really can have 99 students from anywhere in the world!). The only restriction is your imagination. We want to give you the tools to teach how you want and when you want. (top of page)


5. What does a tutoring session look like? Sneak a peek of what a tutoring session looks like here. (top of page)


6. How do students schedule lessons with me?
   Interested students will request a tutoring session and send you two possible times for the lesson. You'll receive a message here at eduFire (we'll also notify you via e-mail) and you'll be able to select one of the times or suggest additional times instead. All times will adjust for your local time zone based on the information you gave us upon sign-up. This means everything the user sees is always in their local time zone. (top of page)


7. How do I get paid from my tutoring sessions?
   The system is completely automated so you can concentrate on what you love doing, teaching! When a session is finished, the student will receive an invoice to pay the tutoring fee (or alternatively, you can require pre-payment for sessions by editing your profile). The fee is based on your session rate. Most sessions are one hour in length but you are free to have shorter or longer sessions if you'd like (just be sure to make that clear in your profile or by creating a special subject such as "40 Minute Japanese"). As we receive payments we aggregate them and disburse funds to each teacher on Wednesdays. (top of page)


8. How much does it cost to tutor on eduFire?
   eduFire is free for tutors to sign up and create a profile. We charge a 15% fee for you to use our streaming video and audio tools to tutor on eduFire. You are only charged when you tutor a session, so you will only be charged when you're making money tutoring on eduFire. (top of page)


9. What are the qualifications necessary to tutor on eduFire?
   There are no minimum qualifications necessary to tutor on eduFire. However, the better a tutor you are the more likely you will be to attract new students and charge a higher prize for your services. We strongly encourage you to update your profile with any information that will make a student more likely to select you including your education, credentials, certifications, etc. (top of page)


10. How do students find me on eduFire?
    Attracting students to eduFire is a team effort. On our end we'll be doing a number of things to spread the word and market the site. On your end we encourage you to market your services as well. We'll be working to give you tools that make it easy for you to promote yourself on other websites and find new students that way. The most successful teachers use services such as Twitter, CraigsList, YouTube, Facebook and their own websites to name but a few. It's all about getting your URL distributed and doing so on a regular basis. (top of page)


11. How do you calculate the Tutor Score?
    Your tutor score is calculated like this: for every student who rates you 7-10, you get one point. For every student who rates you 1-4, you lose one point. For every 5-6, you get zero. Your score is the total of all your 7-10 ratings minus all your 1-4 ratings. The scores are inclusive of both 1:1 (one-to-one) and 1:M (one-to-many) classes. (top of page)


12. When does my Tutor Score change from NEW?
    Your tutor score will change from NEW after you've conducted one session on the site and your student has left you feedback. (top of page)


13. What is a profile address?
    Your eduFire profile address is the web address of your profile page on eduFire (for example, http://edufire.com/jon). It's the address that you can give out when you're advertising your tutoring services, or posting on Craigslist. It's a simple, unique, and memorable address that you can choose. Also, once you choose your address, it can't be changed. (top of page)


14. Can I teach more than one student at a time?
    Absolutely! One of our goals is being able to provide the very best tools to help you teach. As well as teaching one on one, you can hold a class with anything from 2 to 99 students (yeah, that wasn't a typo, it really is supposed to say 99!). You have two choices in how you create these classes: a.) Create a free class! This is a really effective way to advertise your paid services. Simply create a class from the 'Classes' link and type in $0 as the fee per seat. Teachers are not compensated for free classes. b.) Create a class with a minimum of $5 per seat. Just like single student sessions, you receive the total revenue less 15%. (top of page)


15. Is it possible to edit class details once the class has been created?
    What you can edit depends on whether anybody has registered for your class; obviously nobody would want to register for a class on, for example, "Japanese for total beginners' only to find the tutor has changed it to, 'Intermediate Japanese'. This is why you will see different levels of functionality before and after anybody has registered. (top of page)


16. What if I want to add more seats to a class? You can, at any time! Minimum class number is 2, maximum is 99. If your maximum of say, 20 seats have all been taken and you receive messages from yet more students wanting to join, you can just increase the class size, even minutes before it's due to start! (top of page)

About Learning on eduFire

1. How do I do a tutoring session on eduFire?
   Getting started learning on eduFire is easy. You start by browsing the list of tutors. Once you've found a great tutor you can schedule a session with them by clicking the "Request Session" button on their profile page. Remember all time zones are in your local time. The system works out time differences so you don't have to. Once you've scheduled a session, you do your live tutoring on eduFire (here's what the session looks like). You also pay your tutor through eduFire, too. (top of page)


2. What is an introduction?
   An introduction is a free text chat between a student and a tutor. Text chats can last as long as both parties desire and students should use them as a way to see if this is a tutor from whom you want to take a class. (top of page)


3. How do I know if a tutor is any good?
   At eduFire it's our goal to make it easy for you to determine whether a tutor is good or not. You can view the tutor's credentials and background, watch a sample lesson, read testimonials from other students, and read feedback from other sessions. In addition, each tutor has a score on the site that allows you to tell at a glance whether the tutor is right for you. (top of page)


4. Do I need any special software to do a session on eduFire?
   Nope. You just need an Internet connection (broadband recommended) and a web browser. If you don't have flash installed then you'll want to install Flash. When you're ready, you can check your audio and video settings here to confirm that you're all set! (top of page)


5. What does a tutoring session look like?
   Sneak a peek of what a tutoring session looks like here. (top of page)


6. Do I need a webcam or any other hardware to do a tutoring session?
   You don't need a webcam, but we'd highly recommend it. The experience of learning online is much better if your tutor can see you. The good news is that webcams are pretty cheap these days. If you have a desktop computer, we recommend this Logitech Quickcam, and if you have a laptop, we recommend this camera.If you don't install a webcam you'll still be able to do a tutoring session. You'll be able to converse with and see your teacher but he or she won't be able to see you.In addition, we'd recommend purchasing a headset if you don't have one already. A headset will help you and your teacher to hear each other better. At eduFire HQ, we've used this Logitech headset and been happy with it (and it's only 18 bucks!). If your system has a built-in microphone then we recommend using headphones or earbuds for your audio as this will prevent your tutor's voice coming out of your mic and creating an echo for the other person. (top of page)


7. How much does a tutoring session cost?
   Tutors set their own prices for tutoring sessions. You'll see a tutor's rate listed in his or her profile page. Payment will either be required before a session, or afterwards, depending on the teacher's preferences; it will be very clear from their profile. For payments required after a session, you will be sent an email with a link to your 'My eduFire' page. There you will see a link to take you to the payment page. (top of page)


8. How do I schedule a session with a teacher?
   When you click the "Request Tutoring" button you'll be taken to a page that will allow you to suggest two possible times for your tutoring session. Once you've done so your tutor will receive a message and either confirm one of these times or suggest other possibilities. Once you and your teacher agree upon a time you'll be sent to a page giving you additional details about your tutoring sessions. (top of page)


9. What if I need to cancel or reschedule a lesson?
   If you need to cancel or reschedule a lesson we encourage you to do as far in advance of the lesson as possible. You can cancel a scheduled class from your "My eduFire" page. (top of page)


10. What payment methods do you accept?
    After completion of a session, there will be a link to pay for your session with Paypal. You can use a major credit card, bank transfer, or use existing Paypal funds. (top of page)


11. How do you calculate Tutor Score?
    Tutor score is calculated like this: for every student who rates a tutor 7-10, the tutor gets one point. For every student who rates a tutor 1-4, the tutor loses one point. For every 5-6, the tutor gets zero. The Tutor Score is the total of all of the 7-10 ratings minus all of the 1-4 ratings. (top of page)


12. What is a profile address?
    Your eduFire profile address is the web address of your profile page on eduFire (for example, http://edufire.com/jon). It's a simple, unique, and memorable address that you can choose. Also, once you choose your address, it can't be changed. (top of page)


13. What about privacy and security?
    We take your privacy and security extremely seriously. We encourage you to view our Privacy Policy here. If you have any questions regarding privacy or security please contact us at privacy@edurev.com. (top of page)

About Setting Up to Use eduFire

1. What equipment do I need to use eduFire?
   You'll need a computer with broadband access. If you're teaching you'll need a working webcam and if you're a student we would highly recommend having one as well. If you have a desktop computer, we recommend this Logitech Quickcam, and if you have a laptop, we recommend this camera. The experience is a lot better if both teachers and students to have a headset with microphone. We use this Logitech headset at eduFire HQ and are quite happy with it. (top of page)


2. Do I have to download something to tutor or learn on eduFire?
   No, eduFire is a browser-based service so you won't need to download any special software. If you don't have Flash 9 installed then you'll want to install Flash. When you're ready, you can check your audio and video settings here to confirm that you're all set! (top of page)


3. How do I use eduFire on a Mac?
   There's often a special setting you'll need to configWe show you how to set up your webcam on your Mac here (top of page)


4. What do I do if I or the other user hears an echo of our voice during the tutoring session?
   This most commonly occurs when either the tutor or student is not using a headset. What happens is that the person's voice comes out of your speakers and in turn gets picked up by your microphone thus creating the feedback. If you want to use your computer's built-in micriphone we strongly suggest using headphones or earbuds for audio. Ideally, however, both the tutor and the student should use a headset with a built-in microphone. We use this Logitech headset at eduFire HQ and are quite happy with it. (top of page)


5. What else can I do to improve the technical quality of my tutoring session?
   Through extensive testing, we've found that the following programs can negatively impact the quality of a tutoring session:
   • Peer to Peer and Download clients (BitTorrent, iTunes)
   • Screen Sharing (VNC, Remote Desktop, Apple Screen Sharing)
   • Video/Audio Conferencing software (iChat AV, Skype, Photobooth)
   Pausing or closing these programs is strongly recommended before beginning a tutoring session. (top of page)

About Your eduFire Account

1. What do I do if forget my password?
   You can get a new password here. (top of page)


2. How can I contact eduFire about another problem?
   You can contact us (day or night, even) over at the contact us page! (top of page)

Other Questions

1. Where did those awesome flag icons come from?
   We got them from Icon Drawer. Thanks! (top of page)

If you have any other questions consider asking them in the forums. We have a great community full of helpful people! If it's a more private matter, please e-mail us!