Are you a new online teacher looking to complete your online classroom? Or are you looking for holiday gifts to get the online teacher in your life? Our online teacher essentials from Amazon gift guide is here to help.
Whether you are looking for bare basics, online classroom upgrades, or splurge purchases, there’s something for every online teacher on our list.
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The Basics: Online Teacher Essentials
Just getting started with online teaching? Check out these must-have items to get your classroom virtual learning ready!
- Headset with microphone – make sure you can hear your students and they can hear you with this headset with an attached microphone!
- Lighting – depending on your setup, you may prefer to use a small ring light (which makes you look AMAZING) or a set of light-diffusing box lights. I personally have box lighting since I have a dedicated online classroom space, but a ring light is perfect if your set-up is in a corner or part of a room.
- Webcam – to make sure your classes look professional, I recommend investing in a webcam. You can get a good quality webcam for less than $50 or a great quality webcam for a little over $100.
- Background – keep your background tidy so your students can easily focus on you! There are lots of great options for backgrounds. Here are my favorites: map background, blackboard background, or decorate this “wood” background with your own items.
Online Classroom Upgrades: Online Teacher Essentials
So you have all the basics already, now what? These items will help make your teaching life easier and bring your lessons to life for your students.
- Mini-whiteboard – Show corrections, draw pictures, quiz your students on vocabulary and more with a handheld mini-whiteboard and dry erase markers. Big enough to show to the camera so your students can see when you write and small enough to store away easily.
- Props – depending on what you are teaching, you could invest in some fun props for your online classroom. My favorite props are flashcards, puppets, hats, glasses, posters, and costumes. You can also use props for reward systems.
- Standing microphone and soundbar – If you aren’t a fan of wearing a headset all day, then the next step is to get a standing microphone and soundbar.
- Cellphone holder so you can use your phone as a second camera – If you are teaching writing, drawing, cooking, etc. online, then you probably want one camera on your face and one camera to show your students what you are doing with your hands on a table. This camera/tablet holder allows you to use your cellphone as a second camera.
Online Classroom Splurges: Online Teacher Essentials
Fully committed to online teaching? These items will help put the finishing touches on your virtual classroom!
- A second monitor – a second monitor perfect for seeing all those smiling faces on one screen and your teaching material on the other!
- Document camera – a step up from using your phone as a second camera is to invest in a document camera. Perfect for teaching handwriting, drawing, cooking and more!
- Standing desk – keep your spine healthy with this standing desk that allows you to sit or stand to teach.
- Wireless keyboard and mouse – the fewer cords to tangle, the better! A wireless keyboard and mouse are a lifesaver.
- Massager – this is game-changing! After teaching and blogging all day, there’s nothing I love more than getting out knots in my shoulders, back, and hips with this massager. Makes a great gift for ANYONE!
Check out these other posts about teaching online:
Teach Online to Private Students
Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for videos on teaching online and teaching abroad
