Magic Ears is an innovative online English learning platform for students ages 4-12. With a relentless focus on the long-term, our mission is to bring a global classroom experience to every child and to. Magic Ears classes also take place during Beijing peak hours (Evenings throughout the week plus 10 AM – 11:30 AM on weekends). With magic ears, you don’t have regular students; they vary between each class. They’re assigned to you through the system and your schedule will likely be full most of the time. If words are unclear you need Magic Ear by Atomic beam the discreet sound booster that looks like a pocket radio. Magic Ears adds a boost to your hearing, so you can hear voices up to 100 feet away. Magic Ear personal sound booster gives you super hearing instantly. Feature new technology that enhances vocals while canceling background noise. Students can log in at any time to find a tutor. Tutors can log in at any time and connect with students. How long you speak with a student depends on the package they have purchased. Some students book packages with 15 minute times slots, others for 30 mins, and some book hour-long sessions.
The payment structure which Magic Ears uses takes a bit of explaining as the rate varies depending on how many hours you teach. The base rate, per 25 minute class, depends on your experience but ranges from $9-11.
Sample Magic's ingenious plug-in makes A/Bing fast, fair and simple.
We've often extolled the virtues of referencing your mixes against commercial tracks in the pages of SOS. The act of referencing, commonly known as A/Bing, refreshes your ears and, if done quickly, can help reveal flaws in your own mix. For the full low-down, check out Mike Senior's September 2008 article on creating a reference CD (http://sosm.ag/sep08-reference-cd).
A/Bing is easier if you're working in a hardware studio, where you can connect a media player to your mixer or monitor controller and switch back and forth between your working mix and the reference audio. Setting up comparable arrangements within a DAW, by contrast, requires forward planning in terms of routing, level matching and muting channels that contain reference material. That's where Magic AB comes in. Conceived by Marc Adamo, it's the first plug-in from sample library specialists Sample Magic, and is available in 32- and 64-bit VST, Audio Unit, AAX and RTAS formats. Magic AB is a specialised media player plug-in that allows you to quickly switch between your own mix and up to nine different reference tracks, each with independent level controls and looping options. It's designed to occupy the final audio effect insert slot on your mix bus, so that your reference material does not get fed through any mix bus processing, such as compression or EQ, that is being applied to your mix-in-progress.
As Easy As AB
Conceptually, Magic AB is much like having a media player connected to a monitor controller, but with some really useful added features. Fast switching is key to the efficacy of any A/Bing method. As Mike Senior puts it, 'The ear is very quick to acclimatise to changes in tone between mixes, so the quicker you can switch between your reference tracks and your mix, the more revealing the process is likely to be.” Magic AB converts the sample rate of your reference tracks to that of your project and then loads the audio into the system RAM so that playback and switching are instantaneous. The down side is that this can quite quickly use a significant amount of RAM, especially if you record at higher sample rates. However, as most DAWs have already moved to 64-bit architecture, and can therefore address an unlimited amount of RAM, this should become less of a problem over time, especially given that RAM upgrades are so affordable these days.
Uncompressed WAV and AIFF files at up to 24-bit/96kHz quality can be converted within the plug-in on Windows systems, as can MP3 files, with additional support for the AAC format on Macs. FLAC is the most common lossless audio file format, so I was surprised to find that it's not natively supported on Mac. This isn't a big issue, as there are freeware tools for converting FLAC files to WAV, but it's worth noting. With the correct codecs installed on a PC, there are no such issues.
Thanks to a big A/B toggle switch on the plug-in, flipping back and forth between the two audio streams is intuitive, and by mapping MIDI CC messages to a controller, switching can be achieved without opening the plug-in window. If fast switching isn't for you, though, it is possible to set a crossfade time between 0 and 2000 ms.
Level Playing Fields
If you're mixing any modern genre of music, chances are that your reference material will be much louder than your mix, because it's been maximised and limited during mastering. Our ears often tell us that louder is better, so to make a fair comparison, you should match the level of the reference tracks to your mix. Magic AB's level-matching functionality is thus one of its main selling points.
Magic AB has two ±12dB faders, one for your material on the 'A' channel, and one for your references on the 'B' channel. There are also likely to be level differences between each of the commercial tracks loaded into the plug-in, so each track also has its own ±12dB level control. If any of your references are unmastered audio files, the extra 12dB boost will be particularly handy. The implementation has been well thought out, making the potentially laborious task of level-matching several audio files very quick.
Magic AB's timeline is independent from that of the host DAW, and instead of just running each reference track from start to finish, it lets you loop a user-defined section of each, with the help of a zoomable waveform display. Although muscle memory from my DAW zoom key-commands tripped me up a few times, dragging loop points within the plug-in interface soon became familiar. Once a loop is set, DJ software-style quarter, half, 2x and 4x buttons help to make changing the loop length painless. Magic AB always loads the entire file, even if you're only referencing a small loop, so in theory its RAM footprint can be dramatically reduced by pre-editing loops before loading them. However, this obviously is more work and prevents you from making any changes to the loop within the plug-in.
One of the few limitations in the current version is that if you want to loop, say, a chorus and a verse from the same track, you would need to open two instances of the same audio file with different loop points. Being able to define more than one looped section per track would be a welcome feature, freeing up track slots and potentially RAM as well, and this is promised for a future update.
Presets
The nine slots available for reference tracks proved quite enough for my needs, although an unlimited number of presets can be saved. Loop points and levels are all saved within presets, so saving and recalling playlists for specific tasks is very straightforward. These tasks might include generally acclimatising yourself to a new room or testing your mix against extremes, such as when sibilance is piercing or the bass is too loud. They're also really good if you want to put together genre playlists or, as part of the mastering process, adjust relative track levels so they sit together on an album.
The plug-in has built-in Peak and RMS meters as well as a crest factor meter that measures the difference between the other two values. Helpfully, both working mix and reference audio streams are metered simultaneously, so it's possible to make some judgements about dynamic processing without having to switch back and forth endlessly. For more detailed analysis, I found using Magic AB with a spectrum analyser and various other meters offered an extra layer of insight.
Although Magic AB doesn't change the sound of your mix directly, using it as a reference tool will help to improve your mixes. It's often said that there's no magic bullet for creating a great mix, but Magic AB helps to reveal any weaknesses, and that's invaluable. Considering how much easier this plug-in makes referencing, and how inexpensive it is, for me it's a no-brainer. Magic AB will be a fixture at the end of my mix bus for the foreseeable future.
Pros
- Massively streamlines mix referencing.
- Very inexpensive.
- Looping features are simple but effective.
- Level-matching is quick and intuitive.
Cons
- RAM footprint can be quite big.
- No native support for FLAC on Mac.
Summary
Magic AB is a serious tool for checking your mixes against the competition. Although similar functionality can be achieved with workarounds, this puts all the main tools for referencing in one place, and for a surprisingly small outlay. Once you've seen how easy referencing can be, you'll be reluctant to go back.
information
When you hang around in online ESL teaching communities and forums, certain online English teaching company names seem to pop up a lot.
The companies that have people talking tend to be the best and that’s why, today, we’re going to look at a relatively new online English teaching company that everyone’s talking about – Magic Ears.
What is it that makes Magic Ears such a hot topic with ESL teachers? Is it really one of the best online English companies to work for? And if so, why?
We’re going to answer these questions so that you don’t have to by taking an in-depth look at the company and comparing it to DaDa, another hugely popular online ESL company.
Ready? Good. Let’s start with the similarities.
PROS of working for both DaDa and Magic Ears
- Hourly rates of over $20/hr.
- Work from the comfort of your home.
- Extra incentives and bonuses.
- Pre-planned lessons; no preparation time.
- Job satisfaction.
CONS of working for both DaDa and Magic Ears
- Your schedule might not always be filled.
- You’re reliant on your computer.
- Technical issues can ruin your day.
- Communication with management can be tricky.
- You can only work during Beijing peak time hours.
The above is just a general overview for you to see if this career seems right for you. If you’re still interested in applying for an online teaching job at this point, that’s good – you’re probably not going to read anything else that will change your mind.
Become an online teacher!
From this point on, we’re going to explore the differences between the two companies so that you can choose the one that is the best fit for what you’re looking for.
Let’s start with the important stuff – the job requirements.
Hiring Policy [DaDa vs Magic Ears]
DaDa
DaDa only requires applicants to possess four things:
- Bachelor’s Degree
- Passport from a native English-speaking country.
- Teaching certification, such as TEFL, TESL, Celta
- Criminal background check
If you have these four things, you stand a good chance of getting employed. They don’t require that you have any previous teaching experience but it does help!
These things would help to you ace the interview and negotiate a higher pay rate though, so if you do have them – great! You’re golden!
Magic Ears
It looks like Magic Ears only hires Native speakers from the US and Canada. Whilst that is bad news for all the Brits, Aussies, and South Africans out there – sorry guys – it does mean there is less competition for those of you that are from that part of the world.
Magic Ears are looking for experienced teachers, so they ask for:
- Half a year of teaching experience
- A Bachelor’s degree
- A stable internet connection and a good hardware.
No certification required, but it would help improve your application.
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Stand-by Time Pay [DaDa vs Magic Ears]
DaDa
DaDa is a rare gem when it comes to stand-by pay. Not many online English teaching companies will pay you to sit around and do nothing – but DaDa will.
If your schedule isn’t fully booked during regular contract hours, you’re paid half your hourly rate for periods where you don’t have classes. It’s not the full amount, but it’s something!
It’s worth remembering that you won’t get paid for standby time during part-time hours, though, unless the class is cancelled by the student.
Click the image below to read more about part-time hours with DaDa:
Magic Ears
Magic Ears pay teachers $5 for standby hours.
And the good news is that, from what I hear from teachers already working on the platform, your schedule is usually full, which means that you’re not likely to be sitting around twiddling your thumbs all that much.
Cancellation Policy [DaDa vs Magic Ears]
DaDa
DaDa sometimes penalises teachers for unauthorised absences, lateness, and excessive time-off. They lay out the exact terms in the contract, but it’s not something to worry unduly about.
If you’re usually punctual and give the management plenty of notice when you do need to cancel, they’re usually understanding.
Magic Ears
One of the things that Magic Ears teachers seem to love the most about the company is their cancellation policy: no penalties for sick days!
They want teachers to be performing their duties at their best, which means allowing them to take time off when they’re sick, without repercussions.
Click the image below to read about how DaDa compares to VIPKID:
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Hiring Process [DaDa vs Magic Ears]
DaDa
Here is the DaDa hiring process in a nutshell:
- Fill in an online application
- Have a very short interview with a recruiter over skype.
- Attend platform training and have a demo class with a mentor who will act like the student
- Have a real demo class with a real student
- Sign your contract, take some classes, and start getting paid.
Magic Ears
The Magic Ears hiring process has a few more steps:
- Apply online
- Schedule and attend a live interview OR record a demo
- Schedule and attend a training workshop for 1v4 classes
- Schedule and attend a training demonstration for 1v1 classes
- Teach your first trial class
- Teach your second trial class* (if required)
- Pass a background check
- Sign your contract and start teaching
Start Your Magic Ears Application
Pay [DaDa vs Magic Ears]
DaDa
DaDa’s rate of pay is between $15 – $25 per teaching hour. You’ll be sent an offer somewhere in this region after your trial class which will be based on performance and experience.
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There are also bonuses available that can boost this income such as for converting trial class students, recruiting teachers, and occasionally having full attendance.
Magic Ears
Magic Ears advertise a pay rate of between $18 – $26 – a little more than DaDa. Here’s how it’s calculated:
- $9 – 11 per 25-minute class (+5 minutes to give feedback to the student)
- $1 extra per class for punctuality
- $1 extra per class for completing 60+ classes during peak hours each month
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Class Bookings [DaDa vs Magic Ears]
DaDa
Classes for DaDa can be booked during Beijing peak hours (weekday evenings and all day on weekends).
Classes are assigned for you by the platform and you’ll be mostly teaching regular students during your contracted hours. This means you’ll teach the same students for a long period and will have time to get to know them and build up a relationship.
You can also book part-time hours a week in advance where you will teach mainly trial classes and interest classes with students that aren’t your regulars.
Magic Ears
Magic Ears classes also take place during Beijing peak hours (Evenings throughout the week plus 10 AM – 11:30 AM on weekends).
With magic ears, you don’t have regular students; they vary between each class. They’re assigned to you through the system and your schedule will likely be full most of the time.
Discover the differences between DaDa and SayABC below:
DaDa vs Magic Ears… Final Thoughts!
Hopefully, that’s all given you a lot to think about. If you’re still struggling to make up your mind, here’s a few final points that might help you to make your decision.
Both Magic Ears teachers and DaDa teachers all seem to be very happy with their job, but for different reasons.
Magic Ears teachers love the fact that the company offers lots of progression opportunities – something which a lot of online ESL companies lack. Many teachers are offered a promotion or extra duties such as proofreading within just a few months.
Apply to Magic Ears!
DaDa teachers enjoy the fact that they have a more rewarding experience teaching regular students and don’t have to worry about teaching large groups of students like in Magic Ears.
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Whichever option you choose to go with, you’ll probably love it.
If you’ve decided to apply for DaDa, click below to fill out your application.
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Apply to DaDa!