⭐️⭐️In this issue⭐️⭐️

• The new ping indicator and how to use it to improve your classes

• Perplexity extension for Chrome - super handy classroom helper

• Bullet dodged? Or a day in the life of an online ESL teacher

Facebook

😑📘Koala Teachers Family recap

List of upcoming holidays for Koala Go staff

Tips for tutoring online while you travel

Replay of webinar - OG IMSE with Emily and Xavier

The most bestest, most up to dateist, most completest, FAQ for Playground Dragons

US timezone based OG tutor needed for 7th grader

Koala Go

🐨🛜The new ping indicator and how to use it to improve your classes

If you are not a tech savvy person, this is an explanation of how to use or not use this new feature.

AI Tools

🤖🤫Perplexity extension for Chrome - super handy classroom helper

When you need a quick answer in the middle of class.

Enjoy!!

Editorial

✍️🃏Bullet dodged? Or a day in the life of an online ESL teacher

A few weeks ago I answered an ad looking for ESL teachers for Chinese students, there are dozens of these every month that I ignore but this one was plainly written by a real teacher/human and not a recruiter. Since I had several slots still open during prime hours in China I decided to check it out. I got a request to do an informal interview the next day.

The interviewer was a long time teacher and gave the real story of what the company was like to work for. Very refreshing. I passed the interview, was told I wouldn’t need to do an intro video, just a demo class, fair enough. The owner of the company would contact me on Classin.

I was contacted a few days later and the owner wanted me to make an intro video, send a resume, do another interview and all the other stuff these Chinese companies tend to ask for. 

I decided…nope, not gonna do it. The pay was too low, and I just couldn’t go back to working for another company like that, they have very different standards/morals than I do. I wrote a nice email to the interviewer explaining my decision and the reasons why I was no longer interested. They seemed surprised at the owners behavior…Bullet dodged?

Currently, those prime-time China slots are filling up with European, and South American students on Preply, at a much higher pay-rate.

I am uncomfortable having all my eggs in one basket (Preply), but the other baskets I have access to have huge holes in them.

⬇️⬇️ User Submissions ⬇️⬇️

Playground

💧👩🏻‍🏫Seeking content for Dunk The Teacher and Escape the planet

Do you like the concept behind these games but they don’t have the right content for you? Send me an email about it.

My original plan was to offer many different versions with the content that teachers like yourself wanted (each version at $3), but since I cannot read minds I need you to tell me what you need. 😆

Submissions

🙋🏽‍♂️🤷🏻‍♀️How do I submit my Playground to be featured in Koala Bites?

If you have a Playground you would like to have in this newsletter, or for that matter, anything the readers might find useful. Just click that button that says “Submissions”. That will open an email for you to describe what you would like to submit.

I like to schedule a time where I can come to your classroom and tour the Playground. Then I will do a short write-up. There is no cost for this.

Bye-bye

👋🏾Well that’s it for this issue

Don’t forget to share it with your friends or on social media!