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By the OER Project Team
We have had a blast peeking into your virtual and in-person classrooms—what an inspiring collection of workspaces! Thanks to all of you who shared your classrooms and corners, your tips on how to get the most out of an adjusted setup, your best Zoom backgrounds and costumes, and your sanitizing stations.
Check out some of the highlights below: we’ve chosen a couple of winners in some unusual categories!
Most creative use of zoom backgrounds goes to… Zachary Cain!
Nothing like a little zombie apocalypse action first thing in the morning to grab students’ attention.
With the cleanest classroom, we have Andrea Wong! Your sanitizing station and clutter-free classroom makes us feel calm and serene just looking at it.
Most unfortunate classroom mascot goes to Kim Lochner! We hope those ceiling rats (not pictured) find a new home by the time the next school year starts up.
Most inspiring classroom addition goes to Jason Manning. We love your “Book Love Initiative.” What a wonderful way to share a love of reading with students, by bringing in your own personal library.
And finally, we’re surprising Eric Schulz with some new supplies to boost his virtual-teaching setup: a new monitor and keyboard!
Here are some of Eric’s tips for setting up the best workspace for virtual learning.
Q: Do you have any words of wisdom around setting up a workspace during these crazy times?
A: Know where the mute button is at all times.
Q: What’s been your favorite way to relax and decompress since the move to virtual instruction?
A: I take a lap down the hall between classes and I do the NY Times mini-crossword every morning. I try to finish it in 30 seconds, that rarely happens. If I thought I could get away with it I'd bring my dog Herbie to school to keep me company.
Q: What are the top three (virtual or in-person) classroom items you can’t live without?
A: Three items I cannot live without: mask, sweatshirt, Diet Mountain Dew mixed with Grape G2. And my three favorite teaching tools: a map shower curtain I got from the Iowa Geographic Alliance, a miniature terracotta soldier set from my trip to Xian, China with NCTA (National Consortium for Teaching about Asia), and the restroom passes I bought at the 100 yen store in Japan from my trip with the Keizai-Koho Foundation.
Thanks for your insight Eric! Teaching in 2020 is no joke, but the OER Project community is bursting with solutions, tips, and tricks from teachers that are going though these challenges right along with you. Join us at https://community.oerproject.com/.
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