Improvised Lockdown Educator Space

You've just been told that you have to get 2+ months of teaching supplies and experiments for distance learning. Except there's two of you, teaching two different types of science content of two different grade levels for over 200 students. Your space is extremely limited. Your fellow teachers have Pinterest-worthy homes and craft rooms to do their teaching in, but you don't. You have this.

Objective 1: Keep the students focused on their work and not the mess (or the other grade level)

Objective 2: Don't let your friends and parents know how messy your house really is.

Supplies

EXPO Neon Dry Erase Markers (you can substitute chalk markers - they work well, too)

Digital Camera/Smartphone and Tripod

Smooth-surfaced table (black seems to work best for the Neon Dry Erase)

Whatever science experiments and supplies you need for that particular lesson

Step 1: First Things First...

There's no way around it, one of the tables is going to have to be cleaned off. Dig out your precious Clorox Wipes and give the table a nice scrub - remember to let the surface air dry instead of being wiped dry in order to actually kill bacteria and viruses.

Once it's dry, it becomes your educational canvas - your reverse whiteboard. Make sure you have your markers and you're ready to go.

Step 2: Focus on the Work

Here's the kicker - set up the tripod and camera to focus on the work itself. If they can't see the mess outside the frame, it doesn't exist as far as they know. The students will be able to hear you just fine, as long as you speak up. They don't need to see your face - trust me, they remember it from when they were still in school.

It is important to make sure that the entire experiment will fit in the frame.

Step 3: The Nitty Gritty

Be sure to enunciate, whether you're recording a video for later or doing a live demo/presentation.

Remember that while you won't have to write as large as you would if you were at the front of the classroom on your regular board, you can't write like you're signing a check. When in doubt, record a little bit, watch it, and see if _you_ can read it from your screen.

Keep your videos right around ten minutes, though this depends on you, your content, and your student level. Let's face it, kids trying to do distance learning have an even shorter attention span than normal. But they sure like pretty, shiny things.

Step 4: Clean-up

Make sure you leave the space as you found it (well, better than you found it).

That Clorox wipe you used to initially wipe the table? Odds are it'll still work for wiping off your words of wisdom to your students.

And now your space is ready for the next lesson!