Bringing your Classroom Home
Cristina Conciatori, Albertus Magnus High School, New York
The way our schools are structured recently is very different than what we have seen before. Many schools were completely virtual in the spring and some have even stayed that way. Those that aren’t completely virtual are typically doing a hybrid model. It can be a big struggle to teach from home, especially if you don’t have the materials that you typically have in the classroom. While you can bring home many of your supplies, your whiteboard isn’t something that can travel home with you.
Giving Yourself Some Grace
While it can be nice to teach through zoom or another video conferencing platform because you don’t need to worry about the transition time between classes, that time is often needed to set up for the next class. Having a Wipebook flipchart allows you to set things up ahead of time. You can write your Do Now, Agenda, and Homework right on the flipchart just as you would on the board at school. Setting these things up beforehand can really save you some stress between class periods.
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Allowing for Demonstrations on the Fly
No matter how well you plan, a student will always ask you a question that you weren’t prepared for. At home, it can be difficult to find a service to write on so that the students can not only see what you are doing, but you actually have room to write on. I have found having a Wipebook flipchart handy has made it very easy for me as I have the space, while at home, to write out something for the students to see.
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Plans for the future
My favourite thing is that once we go back to having school in person I can use this in my classroom. There are so many times that I use chartpaper and now my Wipebook flipchart will replace it. It also makes me happy that it is more environmentally friendly than disposable chart paper. If your school is anything like mine, paper doesn’t always get recycled (even if you put it in the recycling bin). I am excited to have a sustainable replacement to chart paper.
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