How it works
How online lessons work
How online lessons work, step by step: what happens from the first enquiry to regular lessons and progress notes, which tools we use, and how lessons fit the Egyptian week and Cairo time. Every lesson is live, one tutor with one learner, with a tutor drawn from our network of 1,800+.
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Five steps
From enquiry to regular lessons
- 1
Enquiry
You tell us what you want to learn: the curriculum or course, the grade or level, the subject, the goal and the times that suit you. It takes a few minutes, in Arabic or English. For a child, the grade and the subject are enough.
- 2
Matching
We choose a tutor who teaches that curriculum at that stage, in the language you prefer. A Secondary 3 physics learner is matched with a tutor who knows the Thanaweya Amma and its new exam format; an IGCSE learner with a tutor who knows the Cambridge or Edexcel papers. You receive the lesson agreement in Arabic before the first paid lesson is booked.
- 3
The first lesson
The tutor gets to know you, finds out where you stand in the subject and agrees the first targets with you. When the learner is a child, the tutor agrees them with the parent.
- 4
Regular lessons
Lessons follow a steady timetable, usually on the same days each week and with the same tutor. The tutor plans each one from the targets and from your schoolwork, university courses or needs at work.
- 5
Progress notes
The tutor sends regular notes on what was covered, what improved and what to practise next, so you can follow your progress and ask questions early. When the learner is a child, the parent receives the same notes.
Tools
Video platforms that open in a browser
Lessons run on Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams. All three open in a browser on a laptop or desktop with nothing to install; on a phone you may need their free app. We agree one platform with you and keep to it.
Zoom
Screen sharing and a shared whiteboard, in a browser or in the app.
Google Meet
Opens in a browser with a Google account, with little to set up.
Microsoft Teams
A good fit if your school, university or workplace already uses Teams.
About WhatsApp calls
WhatsApp voice and video calls can be unreliable on some mobile networks in Egypt, while messages work well. So we keep WhatsApp for short messages, such as a reminder or a change of time, and hold every lesson on Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams.
Light mode on a phone
If you join from a phone on a small data bundle or a weak signal, ask for light mode: cameras go off after the greeting, sound and the shared whiteboard stay on, and the tutor sends a photo of the working or the page when needed. The lesson uses far less data and holds steady.
Before the lesson
What you need for a lesson
A phone, laptop or tablet
A phone is enough for a full lesson. A larger screen gives more room for diagrams, past papers and shared notes.
A headset with a microphone
The camera and microphone built into the device are fine. Earphones with a microphone help when the space around you is busy.
A steady connection
Home internet or a mobile data bundle both work. When several people nearby stream video at once, lessons run more smoothly if you sit close to the router.
A way to show written work
Maths and science learners often need to show their working. A phone camera pointed at the page, or a tablet with a stylus, lets the tutor see each step.
A quiet place
Choose a quiet place where you can concentrate. Lessons for children take place in a shared room of the home, such as the living room or a room with the door open.
The week and the clock
Lessons on the Egyptian week, in Cairo time
Friday is the day off in every school, and the official weekend is Friday and Saturday. In some governorates and some schools Saturday is a school day, and many university timetables run on Saturday too. So we ask about your real week and plan lessons after your school or working day, or on your day off if you prefer.
Every lesson time we send is in Cairo time. Egypt observes daylight saving under Law No. 24 of 2023: clocks go forward sixty minutes from the last Friday of April until the end of the last Thursday of October, so Cairo is on UTC+3 in summer and UTC+2 in winter. A lesson keeps the same Cairo time all year.
If you live in the Gulf, we send the time in your own country’s time as well. Riyadh and Kuwait stay on UTC+3 all year, Dubai and Muscat on UTC+4. During the summer months Cairo matches Riyadh and Kuwait; for the rest of the year it is an hour behind them, so your local lesson time moves by one hour when the clocks change.
Exams shape the year too: the October exam, the first-term exams in January, the midyear break, and the certificate exams at the end of the school year. Share your school or university dates with us, and the tutor plans revision ahead of them.
- School day off
- Friday, in every school
- Official weekend
- Friday and Saturday
- Saturday
- A school day in some governorates and schools
- Lesson times
- Cairo time, UTC+2 in winter and UTC+3 in summer
- The Gulf
- Riyadh and Kuwait UTC+3, Dubai and Muscat UTC+4
Safety for children
How we keep online lessons safe for children
These rules apply to every lesson with a learner under 18, and every tutor agrees to them before teaching.
A parent can sit with the child
A parent may join any lesson the child takes, for part of it or all of it, and may end a lesson at any moment if something feels wrong.
A shared space
A child takes lessons in a shared space at home, with an adult nearby. Tutors teach from a quiet, neutral setting with their camera on.
Contact through the agreed channels only
Tutors contact a child only through the lesson platform and the channels agreed with the parent. They never ask a child for a personal phone number, social media accounts or a private chat, and we never ask a child to open a social media account.
No recording or publishing without consent
A lesson is recorded only when the parent and the tutor have both agreed beforehand, and we never publish a child’s picture or voice without the parent’s written consent.
Respectful conduct
Tutor and learner dress and speak as they would at school. Any concern comes straight to us through the contact routes, and we act on it.
Ramadan and the feasts
Lessons in Ramadan and on the feasts
In Ramadan, working and school hours change and the whole day takes a different shape. Many learners who fast prefer lessons after iftar or earlier in the afternoon, and some choose shorter lessons for the month. Tell us what suits you and we adjust the timetable for the month.
Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha follow the official announcement in Egypt, so we confirm lesson dates around them once it is made. We also plan around Coptic Christmas on 7 January, Easter and Sham el-Nessim, so anyone who wishes can pause or move a lesson.
Questions about online lessons
Start with the first step
Send an enquiry and we suggest a tutor who fits your curriculum and your week.