Hey, hey teachers! I hope you all had a WONDERFUL 4th of July holiday. I hope you had some good food, good fireworks, and some much needed fellowship with fellow humans. At this point in the summer, most teachers are starting to think about going back to school, if they haven’t already. Are you already? Are you teaching virtually this year or are you back in person? In my area, several districts are implementing a 100% virtual campus. Teaching will NEVER be the same, and I’m here to help make that pivot. If you know any teachers getting ready to take on another year, make sure you steer them this direction. This podcast is packed full of helpful tips and tricks they need in order to be successful. Today is week 4 of 4 teacher friends for the online classroom setup. In the previous episodes we have covered the technology you need in your devices, classroom lighting, and your background. Today, we are talking all the little gadgets you will probably see or have seen, if you’ve been around long enough. There’s tons out there, and I will mention a couple today, but it’s sure to give you a starting point as your figure out who you are as an online teacher. Remember, if you want all the information already written out for you, you can grab your free pdf download at onlineteacherallyson.com/setup. Let’s get into it!
Happy Fourth of July!
Hey, hey teacher friend! I hope your bellies and hearts are full from last weekend. We all needed a little care free fun in our lives after this season we all endured. But, how many of you can say you’re actually happy to be teaching online again? I know for most people, they’re probably pretty unhappy about it. I tend to be the oddball out when I say I absolutely love teaching online. Maybe it’s the millennial in me, maybe it’s something else, but what better way to fuel my passion than to help other teachers at the very least hate it just a little bit less? And if you end up loving it? Well, almost nothing could make me happier in this very moment. Are you ready to finish off this series? We’ve hit all the main topics, but today’s is more fun and light hearted. Today we’re talking about gadgets. You know, those things that claim to make your life easier, but you’re not sure you actually need it? Yep, those. Today we’re hitting on the 4 main gadgets. Like I said in the intro, there’s tons of others, but the point of this series is to just get you started.
“The arm”
So, let’s get you started! The first gadget is what I call “The arm”. I have no clue what the actual name is, but I’m sure you’ve heard of it, seen it, or used it before. The arm has two clamps on either end of it, with a bendable middle section. One clamp sticks onto the edge of your desk or table, and the other wraps around your phone. The point of this is to be a makeshift document camera. Ever had to share a piece of paper and tried to hold it up to the camera? Yeah, kind of a disaster. This helps solve this problem without forking out the money for an actual document camera. However, if you’re working for a school district, they probably have one you can check out for the year. If this is an option, its definitely my recommendation. But, back to “The arm”. You will place your phone so it faces down onto the paper you want to project. In my experience it has worked…fairly well. Because the center is so flexible, it’s not the steadiest of bases. The phone bounces around pretty easily with your normal movements on the desk. I also had trouble getting it centered just right, and that drove me nuts. But, like I said, it works enough.
Pro tip…
My pro tip for this on Zoom? Join into your Zoom meeting on your phone, so you will be joined in on your computer AND your phone. When you’re ready to project, spotlight your phone so that it is the big window for all your students. Nothing is worse than your students squinting to see that tiny little square. Another downside I’ve experienced with this method is the sound crossover between the two devices. You know how when you hold a microphone too close to a speaker it makes that awful screech? This isn’t that bad, but there’s definitely feedback that nobody wants to listen to for 30 plus minutes. You can mute the incoming and outgoing sound on your phone, but it’s a much bigger hassle than you think. This is why I recommend an actual document camera if that’s possible for you.
Microphone
And with that note, let’s move on to gadget 2 – a microphone. Does your computer have a built in microphone? Probably. Is it great quality? No. will it work? Yes. but, what fun is an entire podcast episode on gadgets if we don’t check out some cool gadgets along the way? My favorite way of improving my sound quality is a quality headphone and microphone set. Since I began teaching online, I have used a couple, and they continue to be my favorite. Before I start my classes, its one thing to plug in and I’m ready to go. The microphone is also visible to your learners, so if anybody is that picky, it’s got you covered. You can also use earbuds with the attached microphone that you probably have lying around your house. I personally don’t use those because the microphone isn’t as close to my mouth sacrificing some sound quality. Want to get really professional? You might want to check out something like a podcast microphone. I did buy a separate microphone to record my podcast episodes, and you can tell the difference. I bought mine second hand online and it has served me well. The podcast microphones are specialized to pick up those smaller sounds like your Ps and Ts. If you were to ask me my favorite, however, it will still be my headphones. And with that, let’s talk headphones and why I picked that over my pricier podcast microphone.
Headphones
My headphones for online teaching have the microphone attached. It comes around from my ear to rest by my mouth. It’s light weight, and out of the way. It also cancels the noise around me so I can hear my students better. It doesn’t however, cancel my noise. So, if your environment is noisy, this won’t help you there. Mine also have a small controller attached so at the click of a button I can turn off sound, mute myself, or adjust the volume. They also travel well, so if you are anticipating having to move from your home to your classroom, or elsewhere, these are an easy, lightweight choice. Currently, i am using MPOW headphones, and have been for a year. Before that? I was using some of my husband’s old gaming headphones. While they worked well, they were too big for my head and often slid around as I was teaching. You may be asking, “What about my bluetooth headphones? I love those things?” Those are a great option too! They also have the added bonus of being cordless. That is the one downfall to my headphones. If you’ve got ‘em, and they connect to your computer quickly and easily, go for it!
Tablet or Laptop stand
As a bonus for my podcast listeners, I’m going to finish off this episode with a gadget not listed in my free pdf download. Have you grabbed yours yet? If you haven’t you can get it right now at onlineteacherallyson.com/setup. This bonus gadget is a stand for your tablet or laptop. These stands will help raise your technology off the table and will help you hit that just right angle. I personally just use books and binders to help elevate my laptop camera. That extra couple inches helpes hit my classroom background and face just right. It helps wiht lighting and covering some of those angels we all like hidden. The stand is even more beneficial for tablet users. They sit SO LOW on the computer that I always feel like I’m looking down on it. It hurts my neck and my ego. It makes me feel like I opened up my camera and the forward facing camera came up. We’ve all seen those memes! Since I’m pinching pennies, I usually use books and other props to help, but let’s face it, that balance can be precarious, and one wrong move can send my camera tumbling.
Do you have a gadget you love?
Ok teacher friends, with that short and sweet episode we are done for today! I hope you found something helpful in here. I hope you know where you want to spend your hard earned money and where you want to keep it. As always, these are my personal opinions and experiences. But, we’re all different teachers. What works for me may not work for you, and vice versa! Do you have a gadget you swear by? Let me know! Shoot me a DM on instagram at Teacher.Allyson. I’d love to share it with your fellow teachers! Don’t forget you can grab all this info ready for you at onlineteacherallyson.com/setup. It will automatically be added to your inbox and it will make sure you don’t miss out on first dibs to the video tutorial series from our previous series on simple classroom swaps you can make to up your student engagement. I’m so excited with how it’s coming and can’t wait to share it with you. That’s it for today, teachers! See you next time!
