Best Virtual Classroom Software for Online Teaching & Tutoring

Zoom is designed for meetings. MeritHub is designed for online teaching, tutoring & training.

A differentiated feature set that you don’t get in video-conferencing softwares.

What is Virtual Classroom?

A virtual classroom is a video conferencing software where teachers and students/learners engage each other using learning materials such as PPTs, PDFs, audio files, video files, quizzes, games, and much more through the online whiteboard. The difference with other video conferencing tools is that the online classroom offers an added feature-set that is essential to a learning environment and student engagement. Everything happens in real-time in the presence of teachers and provides the learners with an experience very close to traditional face-to-face teaching.

Virtual Classroom tools specifically designed to teach online

Multi-way Audio-Video CommunicationLow latency, secure audio-video communication with your students.

World’s Best WhiteboardCollaboration and interactivity at their best with in-depth drawing and annotation tools.

Lesson Recordings and PlaybackRecord all lessons in MP4 format, and share them with your students.

Student Motivation and EngagementEngage students using Whiteboards, Quizzes, and reward them for their accomplishments.

Store, Share, and Annotate FilesDedicated drive for every teacher, share and annotate PPT, PDF, DOC, and Images.

Teacher and Student Screen SharingShare the complete screen or any specific window or browser tab.

Real-Time Public and Private MessagingGroup chat and one-to-one private messaging with students.

Embed Websites and Google DocEmbed any website, Quizlet games, google docs, and spreadsheet on the whiteboard

Quizzes, Polls, Question Bank and LeaderboardUltimate student engagement tools. Save everything for future use.

Raise Hand and ReactionsStudents can raise hand to ask questions or send reactions in the response.

Breakout RoomsDivide students into groups and send them to separate classrooms.

Waiting RoomsEnable waiting rooms to let selected students enter the classroom.

Picture-in-picture ModeKeep viewing student’s video while you are sharing your full screen.

API: Integrate with Your Website, Moodle or WordPressComprehensive virtual classroom software API to enable integration with any website or app.

Upload Your Own Videos or Play YouTube VideosUpload Audio-video files and play them directly. Or play YouTube with URL.

Easy Tutor and Student ManagementManage thousands of teachers and students under one organization.

Calendar and Session schedulingSchedule, one-time or permanent sessions, and receive reminders.

On-Demand Session BookingShare your calendar with students, and let them book the session.

Analytics to Reduce No-showsGet a report of no-shows in live sessions in one click.

Automatic AttendanceGet automatic attendance report of sessions in a particular session or by date range.

Join classes from any deviceLaptop, iPad, Mobile phone, it just works.

Custom Feedback FormGet the student feedback by designing the custom form.

Send Session Reports to ParentsLet teachers fill out session report at the end of the session to send it to parents.

Highly Secure, Reliable and ScalableEnterprise grade security and reliability. Your data is safe.

Low latency, secure Audio/Video communication

check_circleInherently low latency- Based on WebRTC open framework.
check_circleSecure connection between participants and servers.
check_circlePlatform and device independence. All major browsers and devices support WebRTC.
check_circleStudents/participants can stop any specific video for them if they are on low bandwidth.
check_circleTeachers can control whether learners can publish mic and cam in the live class or not.
check_circleParticipants can increase/decrease the quality of the video as per their choice.

World’s Best Online Whiteboard

check_circleCollaborate real time with participants.
check_circleFree hand drawing with stylus pen and iPad.
check_circleOne-click content sharing.
check_circleReal-time co-annotation on Pdfs and Ppts.
check_circleSave & download annotated content.
check_circleMathematical shapes and graphs with desmos integration.
check_circleDarg-drop text and images. Allow students to annotate and solve assignments.
check_circleOpen multiple A4 size whiteboards.

Multiple simultaneous screen sharing

check_circleShare any specific application or all open windows.
check_circleYou can share multiple application screens simultaneously.
check_circleMultiple participants can share screens at same time for deeper collaboration.
check_circleTake the screenshot of the student’s screen and annotate on it to explain in a better way.
check_circleSee screen in whiteboard area or make it full screen.

Drive to store, share and annotate files

check_circleUpload your existing content once. Use and share it unlimited times.
check_circleConsumes 50 times less bandwidth than screen sharing.
check_circleStore Ppts, Pdfs, Audio/videos files, Docs and Excels files easily on cloud.
check_circleAccess them from any device.
check_circleView and play files on the web, no need to download.
check_circleAnnotate them with whiteboard tools.
check_circleArrange files in hierarchical folders easily.
check_circlefind content with search and bread crumbs .
check_circleEvery teacher and student get an exclusive drive .
check_circleAdmin can put files in “Shared Drive” that all teachers can access in the classroom .

Real-time messaging, ask questions, raise hand and share feedback

check_circleInteract in a group chat or private on-to-one chat with students.
check_circleStudents & teachers can text-chat with-in classroom.
check_circleStudents can raise their hand to indicate that they need something from the host or teacher.
check_circleThey can ask specific questions that only the host or moderator can see.
check_circleStudents can share feedback through emojis.

Advanced people management

check_circleThe teacher and the moderator can manage students’ permission to publish cam, mic, and writing on the whiteboard.
check_circleTeacher can mute any student, stop their video, or do these actions for all the students in the classroom.
check_circleZoom students’ videos, bring them on full screen and capture what they are showing on camera.
check_circleEnable waiting room or lock the rooms to restrict the entry of new participants.
check_circleDisable chat for a particular student or all the students in the classroom.

Everything you need to control the classroom

check_circleMute classroom in one go.
check_circleRemove all chat messages.
check_circleClear all whiteboards.
check_circleIncrease/decrease quality of video based on available bandwidth.
check_circleEnable/disable whiteboard download for students.
check_circleRemove & block participants.
check_circleDivide students into breakout rooms, send content to specific breakout rooms.
check_circleEnable waiting room and permit students to get into the classroom.

Embed google docs, webpages, YouTube or any games

check_circleYouTube VideosJust pick the URL of the YoutTube video and bring it to the classroom. Play it synchronously on all students’ screens. All students will see the video directly from YouTube and the teacher will control it from their own screen. Google docs/sheets: Change the settings of the doc and embed it in MeritHub whiteboard through url.
check_circleWebpagesEmbed websites like Wikipedia, BBC, and other webpages.
check_circleGamesIf the game provides embed code, you can embed it in MeritHub whiteboard. For example Quizlet.

Engage students through gamified quizzes

MeritHub is the only platform to offer live, real-time quizzes in any video conferencing solution.

check_circleRich Question TypeGenerate questions in different formats like multiple choice, fill in the blacks, matchmaking, short answer polls etc.
check_circleSharingShare a single question or a complete quiz.
check_circleAttempt ModeThe mode can be teacher-paced or learner-paced. In teacher-paced mode, the teacher can navigate all students through all questions. In the leaner-paced mode, students can complete quiz at their own pace.
check_circleLeaderboard and AnalyticsThe teacher gets complete analytics of all students as well as each question. Students can see the leaderboard after each question to see their rank in the classroom.

Join classes from any device

Learn and teach anytime, anywhere with a fully responsive design for all devices to support critical workflows. Everything including classes, content and recordings can be accessed from any portable devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

Super scalable infrastructure for online and hybrid education

check_circleScalable for millions of concurrent usersAll components are horizontally scalable and different customers’ load can be distributed on server farms.
check_circleLarge WebinarsDeliver one-to-one classes, small group classes, or large webinars including 1000 participants.
check_circleMulti-server lessonOne lesson can use multiple audio/video and signaling servers in order to manage a large number of participants.
check_circleAuto scalableInfreatsure adds servers at the run time automatically to manage the load.
check_circleNo queueYour recordings and file conversion never get into the queue
check_circleSecure AccessAll the databases are only accessible through authenticated APIs.
check_circleMicroservices basedThe system is a combination of 50+ micro services and each service can be loaded on multiple servers.

Record all classes in MP4 video format

check_circleDespite being a real-time broadcast, all the content and videos of teachers and students are recorded so that it can be watched later.
check_circleThe classes are recorded on the servers on our cloud, no need to record classes on the local machine.
check_circleParticipants who missed your live class or webinar can now have access to recordings whenever they like.
check_circleAll recordings will be added to your personal library and you can use them in the next class or session.
check_circleNo need to share recordings with students explicitly, they are available on the same page that students visited while entering the online classroom.
check_circleThe teacher or admin can choose to hide or delete the recordings.

Class scheduling, on-demand bookings, and calendar

check_circleMeritHub got a comprehensive scheduling or booking system, where the admin can schedule lessons for teachers or teachers can schedule on their own and the admin can monitor.
check_circleSchedule one-time sessions: The one-time session will generate an exclusive link for a particular session. The next session will require another link.
check_circleSchedule permanent & recurring sessions: Permanent sessions can be used for a series of live sessions. The link for the online classroom will remain the same. This means that you don’t need to send classroom links to students again and again. It will be a big relief if you are teaching a series of lessons to students.
check_circleAttach files for offline view: If you want your students to see files before or after the session, you can attach files on that particular session’s page. Students can see it on MeritHub players or download them if you have given them permission.
check_circleCalendar: Teachers can set their availability. Admin can see the calendar of teachers and can schedule lessons for them. Teachers get notifications.
check_circleOn-demand Bookings: Admin can map teachers and students. A student sees her teachers, checks the availability, and books the lesson with a teacher. That teacher gets the notification.

Attendance, Analytics, Feedback, Parent Reports, and Invoicing

check_circleLive attendance
Get who is late, who is absent, and who is online and offline in the live classroom in just one click. Reduce no-shows with real-time attendance.
check_circleAfter lesson attendance
Get sessions wise, user wise of time-wise detailed attendance report. Get answers like the number of tutoring hours a month? Who can be late? Who was absent.
check_circleFeedback
Design a custom feedback form and prompt students to fill it out after every lesson. This helps you keep eye on the quality of teaching in all the classes happening in your institution. As an admin, you can see the feedback on all the lessons.
check_circleSession Reports
You can assign parents to the students. At the end of each class, teachers can write a progress report that will be emailed to students’ parents automatically.
check_circleInvoicing
You can set a subscription, raise credit requests, keep the track of the balance and automate the invoicing process.

Students’ engagement, interactivity, and motivation at their best

check_circleStudents can send their feedback through emojis and chat.
check_circleTeachers can give various activities and assignments to students on the whiteboard or in separate breakout rooms.
check_circleStudents can raise and directly ask doubts and questions whiteout showing to the whole classroom.
check_circleTeachers can send heart or thumbs up to motivate students.
check_circleTeachers can reward students by showcasing their videos in the middle of the classroom in the rain of colors.

Virtual Classroom Faqs

How Merithub’s Virtual Classroom is different from other meeting tools like ZOOM and Microsoft Teams?

Zoom and Microsoft Teams are popular video conferencing software for online meetings and they are good for meetings. But they provide 20% of what is needed to run online tutoring programs. They have optimized their workflow for corporates whereas MeritHub has optimized its workflow for online teaching. Normal Video conferencing software offers just screen sharing. But along with the screen sharing MeritHub offers a dedicated drive for teachers where they can upload all their study material in the format of ppt, pdf, doc, excel, audio/video, or images and bring them to MeritHub whiteboard in one click. MeritHub whiteboard comes with super rich annotation capabilities. Once you upload files in the MeritHub drive, you can reuse them in different classes again and again.
Zoom or other video conferencing software will never give features like playing gamified quizzes inside it in the presence of the teacher. There is no workflow to manage tutors, students, their roles and permissions, invoicing, real-time student engagement analytics, reports to reduce no-shows, structured content sharing, teacher’s availability, calendar, scheduling, bookings and many other things.