Teaching from home isn’t easy, but these must-haves for distance learning can make it a little more manageable. It’s been a learning curve for all of us – teachers, students, and parents alike. Below you’ll find some products that I’ve found to make teaching remotely a little easier.
1. Mini Tripod
This mini tripod (which doubles as a selfie stick – ha!) is great for recording read alouds. In the spring, I would use it to record a few chapters at a time of our current novel. It is adjustable in many directions, so it’s also great for recording instructional videos using your phone.
It’s small, folds up nicely, and therefore is really easy to store, pack, and carry around.
2. Mini Ring Light
If you’re using your phone to record videos, you might like this clip-on ring light. It clips onto your phone easily to provide better lighting for those read alouds. It can clip on to your laptop, too, if you have a front-facing camera on it that you use for recording lessons or video calls!
I will say that it’s super bright and makes me see rings after looking at it for a while, so I prefer to use it for videos (or pictures) that I’m not in. (Again – read alouds!)
3. Ring Light
If you’re teaching mostly asynchronously and are recording lots of video lessons for your students, you might want a full-sized ring light.
I spent most of August recording math minilessons to share with the teachers that I work with. This ring light improved the lighting in my videos a lot – we all know the fluorescent lighting in classrooms just isn’t that flattering.
This particular ring light has various settings and has a spot to hold your phone, if you are recording on your phone. It’s not overly bright so it doesn’t bother me to look at it for long periods of time. The height has a wide range, so you can use it while sitting or standing. It does need to be plugged in, but it goes right into any USB port, which is easily accessible.
4. Laptop Stand
All of our meetings are virtual nowadays. This laptop stand improves my posture during video calls by allowing me to look straight ahead at the screen, instead of looking down all day long. Plus, the angle is simply more flattering when you’re on camera. My stand has definitely become one of my must-haves for distance learning.
I like this laptop stand (pictured above) because it’s sturdy, and you can adjust it to pretty much however you’d like. It’s not super easy to adjust, but that means it stays put whenever you set it up just how you like it. The cutouts on the stand are to allow your laptop to stay cool instead of blocking the fan.
5. Wireless Mouse
Last but certainly not least, I highly recommend a wireless mouse. I have this one, but you can’t really go wrong. I’m a big fan of eliminating items from my desk, whenever possible, and having a wireless mouse is an easy solution.
Most wireless mice are very affordable and work via Bluetooth by plugging a small piece in to a USB drive.
On My Wish List…
I try really hard not to spend a ton of personal money on my classroom. Sometimes I choose to if it makes me a happier teacher. I’m also lucky to have stipends that I can spend on supplies.
My next purchase will likely be an iPad stand, like this one.
Even when we are face-to-face, I have a virtual group that I teach remotely every day. I like using my iPad as a second screen so I can still see my kids on video while sharing my laptop screen. Right now, I’m propping my iPad up on a heavy ceramic cup of Sharpies, but I’d like something easier and more reliable – ha!
What Did I Miss?
Did I forget to mention one of your must-haves for distance learning? Let me know in a comment, because I’m always looking for new tips!
Want more distance learning tips?
Check out these blog posts:
- Making Video Lessons for Students: FAQ
- How to Use PDF Resources Digitally
- Using Choice Boards During Remote Learning
Find all of my Amazon recommendations right here.
Please note that this post contains affiliate links. Purchasing through these links comes at no extra cost to you, but I do get a small percentage back that I use for the upkeep of this blog and other School and the City communications.
