#EdTechTeacherChallenge August 2020: Bitmoji Classroom, Day 7

 

Today is Day 7 of our #EdTechTeacherChallenge August 2020 - Bitmoji Classroom. Yesterday, you set up the templates for your virtual classroom. Today, you are going to add a background.

We are going to start with the normal virtual classroom (not the banner version). Open up the template document you made in Drawings. Click on Insert -> Image -> Search the Web. This will open a side box that will say "Google Images" if you have not searched for images before. At the top of that side box, where it says "Search the Web", click and type "wall and floor background". This will pull a vast treasure trove of backgrounds you can choose from for your classroom. Choose the one you like the best and then click and drag it over to your checkered workspace. It will not be set to the corner and it probably will not fill the space completely. To fix this, click and drag the image to the top left corner. Then click and drag the little blue square at the bottom and right side until the image fills the space. I do not recommend resizing the image from the corner, because the images have a tendency to extend beyond the workspace and you run the risk of having elements being cut off if you follow the image dimensions and not the workspace dimensions.

Alternatively, you can search for wall and floor options separately. You way get more options this way. just be sure to choose a floor background that is angled properly to give your room that three-dimensional illusion effect. If you choose this option, you will want the wall background to take up the top 3/4th of your workspace and the floor to take up the bottom 1/4th of your workspace.

Here is the one I chose. I altered it slightly by trimming the image to take out a plant. Not because I didn't like the plant. I just wasn't sure that is the location I wanted a plant. I like my rooms to be completely blank canvases before I start placing the other elements I would like in the room.

Virtual Classroom with wall & floor background

Next, we will open the banner template and do the same thing. The only difference is that we are not going to resize the entire image to fit the workspace. Search for "wall and floor backgrounds", choose your image and then click and drag it into your workspace. Click and drag the image so that it is in the upper left corner of the workspace. Click and drag the blue box at the bottom of the image only to fill to the bottom of the workspace. To fill the rest of the workspace, you are going to want to copy (command+c on a Mac) and paste (command+v on a Mac) your image several times to fill the space. You may have to trim the last piece. to do that, double click on the image and move the black border on the right until it is just inside the workspace. Once you have the space filled, you might want to use the "Flip Horizontally" feature found by clicking Arrange -> Rotate -> Flip Horizontally.  This depends on the type of floor you chose. For mine, the images did look better when I did the "Flip Horizontally" on every other image starting with the first. Here's how it turned out:

Virtual Classroom Banner with wall & floor background

After adding the wall and floor background to your banner template, you may decide to choose a different one. That is perfectly acceptable and encouraged. Play with the background of your templates until you have something you are happy with. 

Once your background is set, though, you will want to group them together on the Banner Template. To do this, hold down shift and click on each background section. Then click on Arrange -> Group. This eliminates the risk of accidentally moving one of the sections and not being to move it easily back because of all the stuff you have in front of it. 

Tomorrow, we add your interactive whiteboard and desk which may want to consider when choosing your background.

Have fun and show off what you chose for your wall and floor. Be sure to comment below or tag me @mrsmathmagician on social media. Also be sure to use the hashtag #EdTechTeacherChallenge.

Peace, Love and Happiness Always!