Create a great first impression
As an online teacher, it is important to create a welcoming your new students. When getting started as a Great Thinker Learning Academy teacher, ensuring that you have properly working equipment and a well designed work space help students feel comfortable and focused.
Here are a couple of tips and products that I use to help get you started.
Requirements:
Computer or Tablet
Stable Internet
Web cam and microphone (The built into the computer could work)
Quiet environment
Proper Lighting
Welcoming backdrop
Using the computer camera will work perfectly well, however you may want to move around or place your camera on something different. A webcam will allow for this. This particular webcam has a clip to attach to table, making it easy to move around with you.
Lighting is important when designing your classroom. Harsh lights can make it difficult to concentrate as well as create a glare if you are holding things into the camera. Photographer lights or lamps can get cumbersome and are not very portable if you are teaching on the go. I prefer this ring light. It is powerful, but does not have me seeing spots from the harsh light. It is also portable. This is perfect for when I am traveling.
My husband surprised me last Christmas with a stand up and sit down desk. It is perfect for when I have multiple classes in a row and need to either sit or stand. I recently added this laptop stand to prevent my computer heating up too much when I stack it on books so I can look at the camera, but not have my workspace so high.
I still like to go old school and write on mini whiteboards. I use these all the time. The are also cheap….less than $2 each. They are also magnetic so I can slap some magnetic animals or letters for games. I also get picky with markers. I do not like cheaper brands of markers because they leave a ghost film on the board. (This can be removed with hand sanitizer though). I like these