The Ultimate Online Teaching Tool-Kit: 5 Game Changing Tools
There it was facing me…
In front of my screen on Zoom…
Eight stuffed animals moving rapidly across the screen. I guess that’s what I get for having Show and Tell while teaching kindergarten online.
Turns out, stuffed animals were the least of my worries.
In March when teachers were suddenly faced with teaching their class online from home, I quickly realized I needed fun and engaging ways to keep my kindergartners attention.
I learned there wasn’t a “How to Teach Online” manual, so I leaned heavily on my online teaching from the college class I teach and my tutoring business.
Teaching online from home took a slight adjustment, but I quickly got my bearings and discovered what worked well and what didn’t.
Digital resources quickly became my friend and I started to appreciate the art of making my own resources.
In an effort to help fellow teachers embrace teaching virtually this year, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite tools for online teaching. This list can also help parents who are trying to wrap their minds around teaching their children from home or virtually.
Top 5 Tools for Teaching Online
This tool was one of my favorites for in seat learning. Turns out, the doc cam is my best friend for teaching online. It easily plugs into a USB port. All you have to do is pull up the camera of your laptop or desktop and the document camera will project whatever you are teaching. I find this tool especially useful while teaching reading. Click here to watch my YouTube video on how to teach guided reading on Zoom. I highlight the importance of a document camera!
Headphones with a microphone are a must have for great sound. Relying on your computer speaker is not advisable in my opinion. After four years of teaching college online, I’ve streamlined my requirements for class and ask that students wear headphones so we can hear each other more clearly. This also minimizes the background noises like a cat meowing or a baby crying. The great news is, if you own an old iPhone, you likely have the perfect pair with the microphone attached. The plug matches the port for your computer and voila, you have a microphone.
Dry erase boards are a simple and inexpensive way to display something quickly for your students. Your school might require this for distance learning while also providing white boards to students. Elementary students love white board time. Pro tip: give the kids 1-2 minutes of “doodle time” before you start the lesson with white boards. This helps cut down on behavior issues. I’m telling you, it’s worth the time. I also incentivise the kids by saying if we can get through the whole lesson, they can have 1-2 more minutes of doodle time at the end.
Digital resources are KEY for teaching online from home. I started getting really excited about using digital resources this summer while tutoring kids online. I think teachers feel nervous about teaching online because it’s so unknown. Digital resources can bridge the gap between school and home. One of my favorite things to do with tutoring clients is make digital interactive books together or practice sight words using this editable sight word game. If you need some more ideas, I’d love to help. You can email me at molly@literacyfundamentals.net and type digital resources in the subject line.
5. iPad Pencil
I saved this one for last because it’s the most fun. It’s definitely not a requirement, but it makes writing anything on an iPad very clear and easy to read. You can use this plug to connect your iPad into your computer and project what’s on the iPad. With the help of the iPad Pencil, you can write, draw, show math problems, etc… It’s a larger ticket item, but well worth the money!
I hope this list of tools for teaching online helps you decide what you need for teaching this coming year.
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What are your favorite tools for teaching online? Tell me in the comments!
