A Guide for Families This presentation will move from slide to slide automatically and will last for about four minutes.

“Making the connection between students and teachers!” Helping Learning was designed to provide students with the same sort of help they could expect to receive when they raised their hands in class. Using the internet, students and teachers can talk to each other and share live images using webcams. Longer sessions for revision or general tutoring can also be booked.

The Helping Learning service can only be used by students who have registered. Registration is straightforward and we recommend that it is completed by an adult. As we use Skype, the free internet telephony service, you will need to download Skype and choose a Skype username before registering with Helping Learning.

When you have your Skype username you will be ready to register. You can access the Helping Learning registration page from our home page. You will need to have a headset or a microphone and speakers to use Helping Learning. A webcam will enable you to share pictures with the teacher.

Registration is completely free. During the registration process you will be asked to provide a Family Admin password.

The information that you provide will be stored on our secure server. We will not share this information with anyone else. You can view our Privacy Statement from the link at the bottom of our website.

Family registration is now complete As soon as your registration is complete, you will receive an containing a username and password to enter the Helping learning site. You are now ready to start using Helping Learning.

Using Helping Learning Eventually we hope that the service will be available twenty- four hours a day. For the time being we will be asking teachers to be available during the period from 6pm to 9pm each weekday. As the student numbers increase we will extend our hours.

You can view all your transactions, charge up your family account and make alterations to your user account once you have logged-in and identified yourself. You will need your ‘Family Admin Password’ for some of these actions. John Johnie123 Mary Maz5 Peter PeterPiper

Mary is a 13 year old student who has been set some Geography homework involving the use of six-figure grid references. She is unsure about them and is going to seek help through Helping Learning. Helping Learning in use!

Mary’s family has already registered with Helping Learning and they have a username and password to access the service. StuSmithD125 *******

Before she can contact a Helping Learning teacher or make changes to her account, Mary must identify herself from the list of family members. John Johnie123 Mary Maz5 Peter PeterPiper

Next, Mary is asked to select whether she needs instant help or wishes to book a revision or tutoring session. She chooses ‘Live Help’.

The system now invites Mary to indicate her level of study so that she can be matched to appropriate teachers.

……….. and then to identify the subject.

A list of teachers who are currently on-line and available to help at the appropriate level and in that subject, will then appear on her screen. Using the information that is provided Mary can select the teacher she wants to talk to. She can see how much the help will cost. Mr A Smith Miss B Jones 3

Before she is connected, the system will check that there are sufficient funds in the family account to pay for the help that Mary has selected. Families can, at anytime, top up this account or request repayment of the remaining balance if they do not wish to continue using Helping Learning. 3

Payment in to the Family Account may be made using either a debit or credit card and you will automatically be connected to Nochex, our secure payment processing provider. As soon as there are sufficient funds available Mary will be able to continue. 3

Mary is asked to confirm that she wishes to make this contact. Her chosen teacher will then receive a message on their computer inviting them to call Mary. Once the link is established Mary and the teacher can talk to each other and use webcams to view her work. The teacher’s computer. Mary

Provided that the call exceeds 30 seconds, Mary’s family account will have been reduced by the agreed fee and her teacher will receive a credit in to their account. After the call, Mary will be invited to rate the help she has received on a scale of 1 to 10.

If Mary decided that she needed some additional help with geography she could see if there are any appropriate online geography revision sessions available or she could book an online general tutoring session with a geography teacher from the Revision and Tutoring link.

Please use the feedback form on our website to tell us what you think about Helping Learning and how we might improve our presentation and service. Why not register your family now?

Thank you for watching this presentation. We hope that it has helped you to understand how Helping Learning works. If you would like to know more, please contact us via the feedback form on the website.