VIPKID: Teaching on the Road

You may have seen that I had a last minute to trip to Quebec crop up and wondered how I was going to handle it since I'd probably already committed to my teaching schedule for that period. Simply... I set up a classroom in my hotel! 

To be fair I did have to cancel two classes due to the time change not working but the classes I had scheduled were weekend classes so I was able to work it out with my coworker who is also on this trip that I would come into the plant about 90 minutes after he did just for those two days. I'm thankful to him for working with me. I don't think many other people will run into similar problems with the time shift and last minute travel but since you may want to work a couple of mornings/evenings while on your summer or winter break while traveling I thought a walk-through of my 'teaching on the road' kit was in order. It is essentially a paired down version of my classroom and its working great. Have a wanted a couple specialty items during class time? Yes. Have I needed them to do the job? No. And that, right there, is all that matters. So... here we go

I didn't think to take photos until I had already packed (oops) so I quickly pulled everything out on the ironing board across from my suitcase for a few quick snaps.

First I have a plastic zipper bag that has my pronouns/conjugation chart in it as well as a few decor pieces I haven't actually used in my normal classroom yet that I got in case I wanted to change it up. I've also got some white board markers and my WOW eraser to go with the white board I packed, my rewards charts and my tigers (I use these two plushies the most as we can do so many different concepts with them). In the next photo you can see that I brought all of my popsicle stick bags, some flashcards, the laminated Dino from my classroom wall and my headset. Here's what it looked like packed and ready for my suitcase.

It didn't take up much space at all which was the goal. I originally had a few more odds and ends but they didn't make the cut when packing for this rather long trip. 

Your next question is probably something along the lines of "How did you set up a classroom in your hotel room?"  Pictures to the rescue again! I actually have two different set ups that I tried. The first would have worked great had the lighting been a little better and the desk been able to be moved over about two feet. ​

It didn't take up much space at all which was the goal. I originally had a few more odds and ends but they didn't make the cut when packing for this rather long trip. 

Your next question is probably something along the lines of "How did you set up a classroom in your hotel room?"  Pictures to the rescue again! I actually have two different set ups that I tried. The first would have worked great had the lighting been a little better and the desk been able to be moved over about two feet. ​

So there you have it. My classroom in a bag. Quick to assemble and teaching has worked great so far. I've taught 8 classes while here with minimal issues so far. In the future I think that I will look into a small ring light or other portable light source that I can travel with to avoid the light situation at the desk. I may also look more into creating/gathering digital props so that I can pack even less but that is still a topic that I am looking into myself so I won't be recommending going that route until I've fully explored it and used it in quite a few classes and levels so that I can give a good picture of the pros and cons of digital props. 

​Until next time!

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