#EdTechTeacherChallenge August 2020: Bitmoji Classroom, Day 8

 

Welcome to Day 8 #EdTechTeacherChallenge August 2020 - Bitmoji Classroom. Today, your virtual classroom starts to look like an actual classroom by adding an interactive whiteboard and a desk.

Some of you may be asking "What's an interactive whiteboard?" For many of you, that would be the SMARTBoard you have in the front of your room and you do all your teaching off of. Some of you might have Promethean Boards or Jamboards. These are all generically known as interactive whiteboards (or IWBs).

Some of you might also be asking "Why bother adding an IWB or desk?" No reason other than we want to give a real sense that this is a classroom. IWBs and desks are things most students associate with being in the classroom. I use my IWB for my 'Morning Message' or other greeting to my students. My desk is an extended expression of my personality. Students love to get a glimpse of the real person behind the teacher curtain. We give them these details in the little things we put around our actual classrooms and on our real teacher desks. Why not carry that into the virtual realm? This way, when students do come back into classrooms, they already have a sense like they know something about you, something familiar to ease the transition back to school.

Adding your IWB and desk are done almost exactly like we added your background yesterday. First, open up your Virtual Classroom Template. Click on Insert -> Image -> Search the Web. At the top of the side box that opens, type in 'desk transparent'. The addition of the word 'transparent' limits your search results, but almost guarantees that you won't get a solid background to the image which would break the realism of your virtual classroom and make it look strange. Here's an example of what I mean with a desk:

Desk without a transparent background

Here you clearly see the white background around the deck. Even if I were to trim the image to be as close to the desk as possible, the white in the desk space would look funny in when viewed against the background of the rest of the classroom. A transparent image will allow whatever is behind the image to show through like the desk example below.

Desk with transparent boarder

Notice the blue box around the desk image. This box is the boarder of the image. Since the background of the image is transparent, the background of the workspace shows through. If it was not transparent, it would show up white like the first image shown above.

Once you have chosen the desk you like. Click and drag it into your workspace. If the image background is not transparent, you will need to choose another desk. Once the image is in your workspace, you will more than likely need to crop and resize it.

If you watch any Bitmoji Classroom tutorial videos, most will not have you crop the image. I have found, however, that cropping out the blank space as close to the actual image as possible makes it easier to reposition the image, especially after you have a bunch of layered images on the screen. 

To crop the image, double click to get the black crop box. Move the black boarders until they are as close to the actual image as possible. You will notice that the blue box is still there. This will always be the original border of the image and will show up every time you double click. Once you click off the image, the blue borders should change to be your cropped boarders. Here's my example:

Image with black cropping boarder

Cropped image

To resize the image, click on any of the blue squares and drag it until you get a size you are happy with. For this resize, you are going to want to click on the corner blue squares and you are going to want to hold down the shift key as you resize. This helps to preserve the dimensions of the image and you won't run the risk of anything looking exaggerated and out of proportion. Once your desk is sized to your liking, click and drag it to where you would like it to be placed in your classroom.

Desk resized and repositioned

You are going to do the same thing for your IWB. Search 'interactive whiteboard transparent'. Choose the IWB you like. Click and drag it to your workspace. Crop, resize and reposition to your liking.

Virtual Classroom with desk and interactive whiteboard

Voila! Your virtual classroom is now starting to look like an actual classroom. You will duplicate this process with your Virtual Banner Template. 

Over the next couple of days we will be putting in singular elements to enhance the look and personality of your classroom. I encourage you to play with your classroom though. You don't have to wait to add your other elements. If you feel you are ready to put the rest of your classroom together, please do so. For those that need the step-by-step, tune in tomorrow when we add a bookshelf to your classroom. 

As always, let me know how you did in the comments below or by tagging me @mrsmathmagician on social media. Be sure to use the hashtag #EdTechTeacherChallenge. I look forward to seeing your progress and creativity. 

Peace, Love and Happiness Always!