Instant Lessons
Start an unscheduled live lesson, choose content quickly, and invite students without building a full schedule first.
Who this is for
Teachers who need to teach now: a trial lesson, replacement class, quick consultation, or ad-hoc practice session.
What this page answers
- When should I use an instant lesson?
- How do I choose content for it?
- How do I invite students?
- What happens after the session starts?
When to use an instant lesson
Use Instant Lesson when the teaching need is real but the normal scheduling workflow would slow you down.
Good examples:
- a trial student joins unexpectedly
- a scheduled lesson needs a quick replacement room
- you want to teach from an existing lesson without creating a new calendar event first
- you need a blank lesson space for diagnosis or conversation practice
Instant lessons still create trackable lesson and session records. Use normal scheduling when the class belongs to a recurring program, needs planned homework, or should appear in the calendar far in advance.
How an instant lesson flows
One click collapses the "prepare" and "teach" phases together: pick content (or skip it), and a live session opens straight away.
Color key: purple = a decision · orange = choosing content · green = the live session · blue = teaching · darker green = finished.
Instant lessons are always group-type — even for a single student they open a joinable session with an invite link. When you start blank instead of choosing an existing course lesson, the lesson is stored in Unsorted lessons. This is a teacher-side holding place for content that is not part of a course yet. Your student never sees that label: on their side it simply shows as their level and language, for example "B2 English". You can move the lesson into a real course later.
Instant lessons are marked with a distinct "Zap" badge on lesson cards so you can quickly identify them. If you assign an instant lesson, it will also appear alongside regular lessons on the single-course page.
1. Start from the Dashboard
Open the teacher Dashboard and click Instant Lesson in Quick Actions.
If you already have an active instant lesson, the quick action changes into a resume action and takes you back to the existing live session.
2. Choose the course context
The first step asks whether to use an existing course or create a new course context.
| Option | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Use existing course | The lesson belongs to an active course and should use that course's students and materials. |
| Create new course | You are running a trial, diagnostic, or standalone session and only need language and CEFR level. |
When you create a new course context, choose the target language and CEFR level so the lesson and AI tools have enough teaching context.
3. Choose the lesson content
For an existing course, choose one of these lesson modes:
- Pick existing lesson — open a lesson already in the course.
- New blank lesson — start with an empty lesson space.
- Use a template — start from a reusable lesson template or a public course template.
For a new course context, Locuto.PRO starts with a blank lesson so you can teach immediately and fill in structure as needed.
4. Add students
You can start the instant session immediately with no participants and invite them later, or you can invite:
- students already enrolled in the selected course or class
- new students by email
- any ungrouped students by sharing the direct join link
Email invites generate a join link. Share the link directly or let Locuto.PRO send the invitation email.
Immediate admission for new students: If a student is not yet enrolled in any class, or is a brand-new user who hasn't completed their setup wizard yet, opening an instant lesson link admits them directly into the live classroom. The initial onboarding wizard is deferred until after the lesson so learning can begin without delay.
5. Set title and length
Add a clear session title and choose the planned length. The length helps the platform label the session and gives students a realistic expectation before they join.
6. Open or share the lesson
After creation, Locuto.PRO shows the invite link and the new live session. You can:
- copy the join link
- share it with the student
- click Start live lesson to go directly to the live lesson
The instant session starts immediately. Students can join immediately from the invite link. You do not need to start a separate scheduled session first. The session then behaves like other live sessions: you can use the call, lesson content, chat, rewards, lesson switching, completion screen, and follow-up workflow.
What is tracked
Instant lessons are fast to create, but they are not informal notes. Locuto.PRO still tracks:
- lesson and session status
- invited students
- attendance and presence where applicable
- completion or cancellation
- homework and follow-up actions you assign afterward
- billing effects shown on the completion screen