Setting Up A Virtual Classroom- My VIPKid Classroom
- onesmartcookieesl
- Feb 24, 2020
- 4 min read
Just hired to teach online?
Looking to increase your bookings?
Wanting to establish more “regulars?”
Your classroom setup and décor is important. Think about it. The very first impression that a parent will have of you will be your profile picture. VIPKid recommends that your profile picture be staged in your classroom so that parents have a sense of what your class will be like.
A parent is not going to book a class with a teacher whose “classroom” looks drab or plain when there are many awesome teachers who have colorful, clean, creative and educational classrooms. Their kids also don’t want to take classes in a boring classroom.
I am not saying that you need to go above and beyond, spending hundreds of dollars to decorate your space. Not at all! Not even close! It can be so simple to spruce up your space to make your classroom functional, clean and colorful.
Your Background
Your background will be the space behind you as you are teaching. You MUST have a wall set up as your background. Windows will present a lighting problem if they are behind you. Parents do not want to see your refrigerator or bathtub in the background. They want their child to have the sense that they are in an actual classroom environment.
VIPKid recommends having an “educational” background. What does this mean?
Some teachers choose to decorate their room in a way that it will be geared towards a certain group of students. For example, many of my students are Level 2 and Level 3 learners. They mainly fall in the “younger than 10” group. I have geared my background towards that group of students. That does not mean that I do not have classes booked with older students in Levels 4, 5 and 6. I do. But as an ex-kindergarten teacher, I knew that I was going to be happiest and most comfortable teaching the younger students. I wanted my classroom to be inviting to those younger learners.
Think about the age of students that you would like to attract most. Then think about what concepts that student might be practicing in classes. A younger child might have lessons practicing colors, identifying numbers or the alphabet. A slightly more advanced student might learn to identify verbs +nouns or basic math skills of addition/subtraction. The older and more capable students might be practicing telling time, reading timelines, learning about key figures in history.
Use your background to attract students! Your background is part of your first impression.
Some possible background ideas:
* Colorful, educational posters (go to Dollar Tree! $1 posters!)
* Have your name displayed somewhere- on a name tag, a name plate, a whiteboard, a letter board
* Display your reward system so that the child can see how they are doing throughout the lesson
Some teachers change their background seasonally, or they add just one small section to show the change in seasons (apple tree, pumpkins, snowmen, hearts, eggs, etc).
Desk Area
As a virtual teacher, technology will be a huge piece of your classroom.
You will need a reliable computer (desktop or laptop) or iPad to teach from, along with a stable Internet connection.
A huge perk of teaching with VIPKid is that it can be done from anywhere! Want to travel? Awesome! Bring along your computer/iPad and teach from the road. Just be sure that the Internet connection wherever you are, is strong enough to be consistent throughout the classes.
You will need noise-cancelling headphones with a microphone. Your students will need to hear you perfectly. They are English language learners. They must be able to hear your voice without other noises distracting them.
To piggyback on that- because your students are learning a new language- and they are doing it virtually- they not only need to hear you perfectly, but they need to see you perfectly.
Your lighting is very important in helping a student in focus during the class. Your student will be looking closely at your face when you speak. They need to hear AND see how your mouth moves when you say certain words or make certain sounds, especially the younger learners. Their attention should be called to how your mouth moves to make the /m/ sound vs. how it looks when you make the /n/ sound. Many kids confuse these sounds, but if they look at facial movements, it will help them to differentiate.
A simple way to improve lighting in your classroom, is to take the shade off of a lamp or two, place the lamps in front of your desk, and aim them towards your background. I use photography lamps because I teach in my basement where there is very minimal natural light.
I also use an external camera that I found improved my lighting and clarity exponentially.
Next up- PROPS!
Hopefully you already know all the reasons that prop usage will be helpful in the classroom. They can help improve student demeanor, elicit language in younger learners, and demonstrate new concepts.
You do not need a million props! I have accumulated props throughout my time teaching- both brick and mortar teaching and as a VIPKid teacher.
Right next to my desk, I have my easy-to-reach, frequently used props. These include various puppets (big and small), legos with letters, balls of various sizes and colors, a kite, my whiteboard and markers. These are items that I can easily grab in the middle of a lesson to use!
Make a basket of small items that might be used frequently- puppets, stuffed animals, balls, Legos, whiteboard and markerst the past year teaching. And to be honest, most of these drawers contain props related specifically to VIPKid and specifically to Level 1 learners. Level 1 learners visit different countries with Meg and Mike and therefore my props reflect food, activities, and games related to each country.
My Suggestion for New Teachers
Start small! Make your background colorful, clean and educational.
Go to www.speedtest.net to check your Internet speed
Play around with lighting options that you already have at home before going to buy any lighting items. I wish that I would have done this! Use “camera” mode on your computer to see what your classroom would look like at different times of day. Remember- if you are teaching at night and early in the morning, it is likely that there is no natural light.
Make a basket of small items that might be used frequently- puppets, stuffed animals, balls, legos, whiteboard and markers
Do not go overboard! You will collect as you continue teaching. There is no need to have an overwhelming amount of props at the start!
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