Remote Desktop for Teachers and Tutors: Help Students From Anywhere

A good teacher shows rather than tells. In a classroom, you walk to the student's desk and point at the screen. Online, you need a way to do the same thing: see what the student sees, show what you see, and sometimes take the mouse for a moment. Remote desktop and screen sharing give you exactly that, and they suit teachers of software, coding, design, accounting and almost any computer-based subject.

Three ways to teach with your screen

You share, they watch. You present your screen in an online meeting while the students follow along. This is the classic demonstration.

They share, you watch. A student shows you what they have done and where they are stuck. You see the same error they see, which is worth ten minutes of description.

You take control. The student allows you to use their mouse and keyboard briefly to fix a setting or to show a technique, and then takes control back.

Most lessons use a mix of the three.

Setting up a session

1. Choose the right tool for the moment. For a group, start a meeting and share the screen. For one-to-one help with a student's computer, use remote access.
2. Share a code or a link. Students open PeerFlow and enter the code, or follow the meeting link, which works in any browser.
3. Agree the rules. Say what you will do: "I will take control for two minutes to change the setting, then give it back."
4. Keep the lesson moving. Switch between the tools smoothly, and let the student do most of the typing.

Drawing and pointing

Words like "that button on the left" are slow and vague. A pointer, or a quick drawn circle on the student's screen, makes instruction instant. PeerFlow supports drawing on a shared screen, so you can circle a menu or underline a line of code, and it disappears when you are done. For more, read how to share your screen and draw on it.

Teaching software well

• Slow down the first time. Do each step at half speed, then speed up.
• Let students drive. People learn by doing. Ask them to repeat the step while you watch.
• Use screenshots and recordings. A short recording of the lesson lets students review the steps later. Record only with consent.
• Check their view. Ask "can you see my cursor?" at the start, and every time something changes.

Preparing the student's setup

A lot of lesson time vanishes into set-up problems: the wrong version of a program, a missing plug-in, a camera that does not work. Ask students to prepare ahead, and use remote access in the first lesson to fix their set-up in one go. Then you start every following lesson ready to teach.

Children and privacy

Remote tools are powerful. When you teach children, a parent or a school should know when sessions happen, and who attends. Keep control permission short and visible, never connect to a student's computer without them present, and avoid opening anything unrelated to the lesson. For more on safety, see is remote desktop safe?.

A comparison of lesson modes

Practical tips for tutors

Keep a short written guide for new students: how to open PeerFlow, how to share a screen, how to stop. Test the connection five minutes before a lesson. Have a backup, such as a phone call, in case the network fails. And finish each lesson by ending the session, so that nothing stays connected.

Getting started

Try a practice session with a colleague, then invite your first student. Install the Windows and Android apps, and read about free video meetings with no sign-up and no time limit for your group lessons.