Times are changing and so are the ways we are being taught. We now live in a world where we can teach English online and essentially any other useful skill.
Technology and the internet have been evolving at such a fast pace that sometimes it’s hard to even keep up with it.
Luckily I have found my perfect little niche online in teaching English as I was doing it remotely from my laptop for almost three years!
So I thought I would share with you all 11 awesome teaching props for online English teachers!
I started with basically no teaching experience and once I had finished taking the TEFL course in Prague I realized the amazing opportunity that teaching English from home had – and I fell in love with it.
Almost instantly I realized how it was very easy to get started in the online world and make a real living with it while living abroad.
If you’re new to teaching online (or even if you have been doing it for a while) I have created a list of a bunch of amazing teaching props that I recommend having.
Both to make your and your students’ experiences more enjoyable in the classroom.
After doing it for over two years I have figured out the props that are absolutely necessary and some that just make the whole experience of teaching online a lot better.
11 awesome teaching props for online English teachers
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#1 Desk ring light
If you end up travelling and teaching wherever you go, sometimes the lighting can be one of the biggest factors in making your workspace look teacher friendly.
I’ve taught in my van (during our US road trip) and some Airbnbs where the lighting was really poor and it just negatively affects the class. Obviously we don’t want that to happen.
So to make sure that never happens to you, so you don’t have to worry about insufficient lighting, then grab yourself one of these desk ring lights.
Certain times of the day you may not even need to use your house lights and rely just on the desk ring light to make your environment bright and stand out.
It’s done wonders for me since and really lets me teach wherever I want. Especially since we travel quite often and end up in unpredictable teaching situations from time to time, haha.
#2 Laptop stand
I’ve only had my laptop stand since Christmas but since then it’s easily become one of the best additions to my online classroom.
Having a laptop stand enables you to stand up for classes or adjust it to the perfect angle that works for you while you’re sitting.
It makes classrooms super easy to adjust especially if you’re always teaching somewhere different. It makes a world of a difference to be able to quickly adjust it between classes!
All I can say is if you feel like you have back problems from slouching while you’re teaching then invest in a laptop stand.
You’ll feel the benefits almost right away. Even just from standing for half my lessons, I feel so much stronger and it enables me to focus on my posture more as well.
#3 Airpod headphones
At first, I thought they were just this expensive luxury until I started using them.
Of course, you can get other cordless headphones which are cheaper. But since I use Apple products it made sense to get some Airpods because I knew I would use them all the time and they have been wonderful.
Having cordless headphones makes you so much more mobile while teaching and gives you so much more freedom to move around.
Having Airpods has honestly made teaching more enjoyable and I can’t see myself ever going back to regular headphones. On top of that I wear them for personal use as well so I really get my money’s worth.
#4 White noise machine
A white noise machine is great if you’re living with other people and need some background noise while you teach crazy hours during the night.
It really helps knowing other people are at ease and able to sleep while you’re chatting with your students.
It’s also great to have while you’re travelling and not know where you’ll end up teaching. It’s a great extra prop to have for all you travelling teachers, myself included.
#5 Office chair
Again this may seem like a slightly expensive investment – and it applies more to those of you who have a permanent base.
But if you plan to teach 4-8 hours daily then I think it’s worth sitting on something comfortable that will also help support your back.
I love the adjustable chairs where you can recline them and also lift them up and down. That way you can find the money spot where you feel extremely comfortable while working from home.
You may not see the short term side effects from sitting at a computer all day – but long term it can cause lots of problems.
So why not try and eliminate those by getting a solid comfy office chair that will help with all that?
#6 Stuffed animal
No matter how old you are or how old the students that you’re teaching are, you need your sidekick.
Obviously it’s a lot more useful with some of the younger students but you’ll be surprised how many students love a good ol’ stuffed animal!
I make sure I have “Snow”, my trusty monkey wherever I go. You have no idea how many times he’s come in handy.
Kids will instantly feel more comfortable when they can also bring their little stuffed plushy and have fun in the class.
Sometimes it will help the student come out of their shell and you will think it’s a completely new kid.
#7 Portable charger
If you have a laptop and it’s an older model (I used my 2011 Macbook Pro for 10 years) you probably know the battery doesn’t last too long.
So it doesn’t hurt to have a backup charger in case the power goes out or you just can’t find an outlet.
There’s been a few times during our US road trip where I didn’t have access to an outlet and my portable charger absolutely saved the day.
It gives my laptop a complete charge or an iPhone about 5-6 full charges. So you can see how useful it can be. We ended up buying two of these but one charger should be enough as a backup.
#8 Backdrop
If you want to make your classroom a little bit more presentable then look at getting a backdrop. This way you don’t have to worry about putting decorations on your wall and destroying it.
Having a backdrop is an easy way to add some little stickers and themed props to your class.
For teachers working from home who don’t have to move around so much a backdrop is an awesome addition to your classroom.
Since we travel all the time I can’t really bring one with me but whenever we’re staying put for a while then I’ll make sure I have one!
#9 Kid books
Hopefully, you have some kid books lying around your house somewhere. Either from when you were a child or if you have children of your own then maybe you can borrow them while you teach.
There’s two main scenarios where books come in handy. The first being when a student finishes a lesson very quickly then you can expand the lesson with one of your books.
The second being getting a student’s attention, sometimes the lesson just doesn’t grasp their attention and they need something else like a good book to get them to focus.
#10 Flashcards
Flashcards are another awesome tool for online teachers who either want to grasp their students’ attention or just want to try something new in the classroom.
Most kids absolutely love flashcards for ABC’s and simple words. But you can even use them with more advanced students as well to memorize harder words.
You can find all sorts of flashcards on the internet or even make your own.
On top of that, if you have a student who would love some extra homework, you could get them to make their own flashcards related to a specific theme like (animals, fruits, Harry Potter, or anything else you can think of).
Then you can discuss the flashcards in the following class or whenever you finish a lesson a few minutes early.
#11 Dry erase board and marker
Sometimes certain lessons or topics can be hard for a student to understand. I mean every student learns differently and sometimes explaining it on a dry erase board can help the student.
Some students are more visual learners and if you can draw it out for them or explain it a different way it will do wonders.
A dry erase board can also be used to play games like tic-tac-toe, hangman, etc. If you buy a small enough one you can easily pack it with you while you travel too.
You may also like…
- VIP KID – Teach English Online
- What are the hours like with VIP KID
- How to Teach ESL Online
- The Best Way For Teachers to Make Extra Money
- How Taking a Tefl Course Changed My Life
Summary of the best teaching props
New and old teachers, we hope that some of these teaching props can help improve your classroom and make teaching from home comfortable, fun, and easy.
These are by no means necessary to have while teaching from home but are great additions.
Everything I have mentioned I have found super useful during my time teaching from home and while travelling. In some way, each prop has made my whole experience better and will hopefully help you as well.
Enjoy your time working from home or if you’re a digital nomad like us then best of luck to you wherever you are around this beautiful world.
If you’re interested in teaching with the company I work for there here is everything you need to know about VIPKID and it’s pay structure!
Anything else fee free to comment or email us and we will get back to you as soon as we can!
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This is a great article! A lot of my friends who are in the Auxiliares de Conversacion program in Spain are switching to virtual learning, as well as teaching online through the various online organizations for supplemental income. I’m going to share this with them.
Hey Lauren,
That’s great to hear! It definitely doesn’t hurt to even do it part time and make a little bit of extra money! Thanks for sharing =)
-Dom