Outschool Review – The Freelance Option For Online Teachers

By David Unwin •  Updated: 05/20/22 •  Teach Online

Outschool is an online tutoring platform that has been around since 2014. Teachers teach classes online using Zoom for a variety of subjects, not only English. While anyone can sign up to Outschool, they do have an application process to become a teacher.

Once you go through the application process and get accepted you’ll have to create a teacher profile, list out your credentials (like education and work history as it relates to the course your teaching), and then set the course availability for potential students to enroll.

Outschool in turn takes a 30% commission of your course sales but they do provide the payment processing, students and the marketplace to get organic enrollments. You can price your course between $5 to $70 per student enrollment. Successful Outschool teachers make thousands of dollars a month teaching a course they love and passionate about.

Outschool

15000+ video chat classes for K-12 science, art, mindfulness, English, social studies, life skills, and more. Become a teacher today.

Outschool is perfect for online teachers

Outschool is a wonderful compliment to any online teaching company like VIPKID because you have your morning classes and then schedule your Outschool course later in the day. Of course, you should always make your class time as convenient as possible for your prospective students as most students are available:

*Students are available worldwide, not just in China.

In this Outschool starter guide for teachers, we’re going to cover everything you need to know for getting hired, tools and equipment required for teaching, how to get bookings and more.

Outschool has begun to get more attention as online learning has grown in popularity. It’s also become a great choice for teachers because you have more control over your pay. We consider it the Fiverr of online learning.

What is Outschool?

Outschool is simply an online tutoring platform where you teach classes online using Zoom. If you’re not familiar with Zoom, it’s a more advanced video chat platform for online learning and conferencing. If you’re going to apply to Outschool this is the first requirement, learn how to get the most out of Zoom.

With Outschool you have your choice of what subject you would like to tutor. This is nice because most teachers actually teach different subjects at school like social studies, math, science.

You can teach these core courses or you can teach more elective style topics like art, music or computer skills.

What to teach on Outschool

As a prospective teacher you can choose the class subject, the student age as well as the student class size. Students are aged 3-18 years old and it’s designed for students who are in kindergarden up to seniors in high school.

There is no adult teaching with Outschool at this moment. Lastly, you can you can sign up to Outschool and be notified about requested classes they need teachers for.

Outschool class subjects:

The following are the main categories of subjects you can teach. Each subject has various sub-categories:

You should think of Outschool as a type of freelancing option for online classes. You can create a class on whatever you want, but you should create a class on something students actually want and need.

You can then price the lessons whatever you want as well, but until you have built up a solid track record, it’s best to start at an attractive, lower rate (not too low of course, you don’t want to devalue your class).

It’s also a lot of upfront work as you need to plan and design the lessons out yourself and learn how to use Zoom. Each curriculum of classes you design could easily take you a month or more to make.

However, like any freelancing platform once you have a successful class structure that’s proven to work, getting students and making money becomes easy.

As your course gets good reviews and is found organically in the Outschool lesson marketplace it will be easy to get new students without you needing to do anything. Successful teacher on Outschool are able to simply focus on teaching.

Which is why we like Outschool so much, you just teach and go. No homework, no grading, no quizzes, no parent conferences. Just teach your class, do a great job, get good reviews and grow your online class.

Who can teach on Outschool?

To become a teacher you must be from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand. No, South Africans and Filipinos are currently not accepted as teachers.

You also need to formally apply and get accepted as an Outschool teacher.

What are the educational requirements

As Outschool is a freelance class platform, there no specific educational requirements are enforced. However, as part of your teacher profile that parents can view when deciding to enroll their student in your class or not you should emphasis anything relevant to the class your teaching.

Clear and specific work experience, any education degrees or certificates you have, your professional background and the ideal students you would like to teach are all things you should list out.

Outschool teacher introduction video

Outschool does require an introduction video, but unlike the VIPKID introduction video that parents see, Outschool’s intro video is for internal use only.

It’s part of the application process and a way for the Outschool staff to get a better understanding of your presentation style, personality and teaching space. This is excellent because Outschool is committed to having successful teachers on their platform.

They make money only when you make money so they want quality teachers who can provide great lessons on interesting topics.

How much do Outschool teachers get paid?

As an Outschool teacher, you set the enrollment price per student. It can range from as little as $5 to as much as $70 per student per class.

The price depends on what you want to charge as well as what the demand for your class is. The higher the demand, the more you can charge.

We suggest starting at a lower price point, getting used to the process of using Zoom and teaching. Getting student feedback and improving the class and lesson structure over time.

You want a low price point because you personally need that learning experience for yourself but it also helps you craft better lessons as you figure out what works for your students.

Outschool Pros and Cons

So let’s wrap this up with a nice clear set of pros and cons for becoming an Outschool teacher.

Pros:

There are numerous positives about becoming a teacher on this platform. Here are some of the most notable:

Cons:

Outschool is not perfect. There are some roadblocks that prospective teachers need to be aware of.

Outschool Online School for Students – Conclusion

Outschool is a unique opportunity for teachers. Unlike iTalki where anyone can teach anything to students of any age, Outschool is specifically focused on K-12 students.

If you’ve been looking to get started with teaching online but want to teach something you have a deep knowledge and interest in, consider looking at Outschool.

It takes time to get setup, but there are teachers who are making thousands of dollars each moth.

Outschool

15000+ video chat classes for K-12 science, art, mindfulness, English, social studies, life skills, and more. Become a teacher today.

David Unwin

I've taught as an ESL teacher in Thailand for 5+ years at all levels of education, from elementary to University. I was also one of the first 1000 VIPKID teachers. Here I create content on teaching abroad, online and helpful tips for the classroom. Learn more.