The New World of Being Remote
I recently began teaching again. My yoga studio looks vastly different!
Teaching remotely has taught me so much. I was someone that worked remotely in the hospitality industry for years, thought I was comfortable with technology and being on camera. However, I quickly figured out I had to chuck all of that comfort out that window. I wanted this, I wanted to teach, I wanted to work and yet I was faced with not doing my best work, not by a long shot. After several classes and tears I was able to make small adjustments to continue to improve and do the best I could for that day, for that class.
My first set up was just my Microsoft Surface on the back of a chair. The lighting was terrible, the sound was echoing, I could not see the students on my surface screen, so I was saying “looks great” but did it, did they need better alignment cues. The students are all in the same room together so I find myself easily distracted by what was happening in the room I could not see. The frame does not allow for me to see all the students in the room and I was not connecting to the students as well as I wanted to like if I was in person. I was losing confidence quickly. This was not my best work.
After each class I would breakdown what I could do better.
Lesson one:
I moved to another room with better lighting, had more space and did not echo. I also began wearing Bluetooth headphones. The headphones helped draw me in, cancel out any other noise around me and allowed me to feel like I was not yelling.
Lesson two:
I needed to see the room better. I attached an HDMI cord to my Surface and gingerly propped it onto my TV. Allowing the camera to be at a better angle and allowing me to see the students much better.
Lesson three:
Prep, I did not always write my entire classes in detail prior to going remote. However, I found I could easily get distracted teaching remotely due to what is happening around me or what is happen in the student’s room. I had huge pads of paper I now write my sequence on. I also have a second pad that I write little nuggets of knowledge or quotes on so I am not using filler words all the time.
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The set up pictured is for a Yoga chair class, thus the chair. The angle of the camera also works for a mat class.
The Surface is just on the TV by its kickstand. My TV is just the right thickness to hold it and I have yet to have an accident. This may not work for everyone. I believe there are brackets out there that can assist with this.
The pads of paper are supported by a small foot stool that I begin my class sitting on to check-in and do the beginning meditation. I also end class here for the ending meditation and final check in. This is where the paper in front of the TV comes in. These are quotes, meditations and / or readings I think will be good for this particular class.
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I would love to hear about or see some of your set-ups. It does not have to be for a yoga or other fitness class. I am still working through my desk space. What do your home offices look like, what is your favorite type of equipment (microphone, camera, boxes to hold your computer)?