Backgrounds for Teachers
We are all having to go virtual, and it might just be time to get educational and creative — or educreative — with this really fun and creative feature!
When I was teaching history, I used to show up in costumes to set the scene. Backgrounds are the 2020 quarantine way of doing this same creative teaching.
As of this post, backgrounds are only available in Microsoft Teams and Zoom (and custom backgrounds for Teams will be rolled out soon). The recent update in Zoom has made this safer and has almost completely stopped unwanted “Zoomboming.”
Better yet, let’s allow students to get creative with this feature and learn to express their best learning in backgrounds!
In this post, we will look at how to:
- Make an inexpensive Green Screen studio (so the backgrounds work better)
- How to find and/or make Teams and Zoom backgrounds
- Ideas for how to get educreative with them
Creating An Inexpensive Green Screen Studio on the Cheap
It’s possible to use video call backgrounds in Teams and Zoom without a green screen. They look OK. But if you want them to look their best, you might want to use a green screen. A green screen background helps the video call software determine what’s you and what’s the background.
Thankfully, adding a green screen background in your workspace can be done pretty quickly and easily! So, I have done a little hacking in my office to give myself a quick and easy green screen studio without having to paint my walls green or go too crazy with expensive kits. Here is how I did it.
Find some chroma green fabric. You can get this from several sources:
- I ordered from Amazon.
- Or consider a fabric store (order online) here is an example store)
- I ordered special wall hooks from Amazon.
- Even a green disposable tablecloth from a party store can work here
In total, my green screen studio was $24.99.
Here is a VIDEO of how I have done it.
You can also find collapsible chroma green backgrounds that set up easily and fold up or roll up for storage – but those can run you a bit more money.
Creating or Finding Backgrounds
- Both Canva and Adobe Spark have pre-made templates for this. I have included a student friendly tutorial HERE.
- Educator Jesse Lubinsky co-author of Reality Bytes made this FOLDER of pop culture backgrounds. I used one from Central Perk — the coffee shop from the TV show “Friends” — two days ago and loved it.
- You can also head to UnSplash.com to find professional-looking backgrounds that are free to use and share.
Adobe Spark Post on Backgrounds with some Templates and mobile versions too!.
When Picking Virtual Backgrounds – Remember these important factors:
- Contrast – You want to stand out from the background. If you have blonde hair like me, consider a darker background or vice versa. Wear something darker or lighter than your background to stand out more.
- Lighting – If you can, position your studio or camera near a window or good lighting.
- Busy Backgrounds Are Bad – Don’t make your virtual background too busy. It can be distracting.
Ideas for Using Backgrounds for Class Virtual Meetings:
TIP: You can even have several backgrounds ready to go to take students on a semi-tour or to change the theme of discussion..
Science: Teaching about the cells? Bring in the plant and animal cells into your background. Do the same for anything like the heart example.
History: Show up with the Roman Colosseum in the background or at a Civil War battle or French Revolution scene. The possibilities are near limitless.
Math: “Would You Rather” questions with graphic
Source: https://www.wouldyourathermath.com/category/6to8/
Art: Place yourself inside of Musee d’Orsay or The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to talk about how the museum itself is the part of the art. Or go to Google Arts and Culture to find amazing graphics of actual paintings.
Music: place yourself in Carnegie Hall or in front of an orchestra like the Boston Pops.
Foreign Language: Stage a conversation or tell a story using your background as the setting. Or put verb conjugations or target vocabulary on a custom background so they’re always ready for students.Language Arts: Bring in a quote from a book you are reading. Have the students bring in their favorite quotes, too! Or make the background match the setting of the story you’re studying or the prompt you’re writing about.
Metacognition: With almost any background, when students choose one, ask them to justify their decision. They can do this in the video call itself or in a separate assignment.
Language Arts – All students choose their favorite quote from a book and show up with that as their background.
Preview Set: Preview some idea or give hints about the content to come to activate curiosity with a background.
Or simply use a theme to make learning more fun!
Whatever you do, just have fun! Here are some really fun ideas:
- You could show up sitting on the throne of Game of Thrones or hanging out at Central Perk.
- Show up with the Troll whose music you like best.
- Or Elsie will be a crowd favorite no matter what grade level.
The possibilities are limitless. Have fun and let your educreative self enjoy some entertainment.
Using Microsoft Teams? Check out The Microsoft Infused Classroom