It’s back to school season! And this school year, the Bitmoji classroom craze is spreading all across the nation. Creating an interactive virtual classroom has become one of the many ways educators are trying to create content for their online tutorials, videos, classrooms, and more. These classroom images are fun, easy to make, and they help students feel more connected even when they are learning from home. So if you want to learn more about what Bitmoji classrooms are, its benefits, and learn how to create your own, here is all you need to know.
What is a Bitmoji Virtual Classroom?
Bitmoji classrooms are catching on as teachers try to have fun and increase engagement in a virtual environment. So what is a Bitmoji classroom? A Bitmoji classroom is a friendly virtual space using Google Slides or Canva with hyperlinked images and objects that link to class information and resources. Creating your own classroom will provide familiarity if your students are in a remote learning situation.
Bonus: Designing your own Bitmoji classroom allows you to showcase your own personality. For instance, as a technology coach, my office space (above) has a 3D printer, tech tools I support teachers with around the border of the whiteboard, and a South Carolina State University pennant that represents me. There are also some hidden Easter eggs---for example, the bookshelf of books where African American boys are the protagonist, the frame of “The iTeach Podcast” that I host, and the picture of Kobe & Gigi Bryant.
Benefits of Using Bitmoji Classroom
Real-World Connections
Besides personalization, Bitmoji classrooms bring real-world connections and add an element of fun to learning. This can encourage communication with students and families and create a sense of “going to school” and getting into a learning mindset. Setting up a Bitmoji classroom helps students feel they are coming to school, choosing school, and engaging in activities. It is all about mindset and engagement, which leads to learning.
Engaging Learners
Bitmoji classrooms are a great engagement strategy for students. Teachers can link interactive assignments, lessons, readings, classroom resources, games, books, etc. for students to work on and it’s very user friendly for students. I have helped teachers use their Bitmoji classroom as a landing zone for all of the various links their students will need to access. It also fosters independence through familiar visual cues and encourages simple yet significant technological development with younger learners. I found that it encourages students to learn because of the graphics. Students are pushing buttons and discovering hidden links. These hidden links can also be a fun way to gamify their learning.
Organization/Manage Instructional Resources
Bitmoji classrooms also help you stay organized. They’re a great way to keep all your resources in one place. Through assisting teachers, I’ve learned that it’s a beneficial way to teach small groups or centers. I helped teachers prerecord or preplan lessons that could be linked in followed by fun activities, stories, or Youtube videos to help solidify the content. It’s also a visual organizer of resources for kindergarteners. Students see the bookshelf and look there for books. They see math bins and look there for math activities. The biggest thing is the ease of sharing something once and then being able to update it whenever you need and the original link automatically updates.
Here are some ideas on how use Bitmoji Classrooms in and out of the classroom:
- Use them to link information, lessons, videos, and activities for students that are absent
- Encourage older students to create their own as projects
- Add a new spin to newsletters
- Highlight student achievement through awards, student of the week/month, etc
- Create a virtual library - add links to book talks and read alouds
- Use as a Google meet or Zoom waiting screen
- Deliver announcements
- Kick-off a new unit
How to Get Started
So the first thing you need to do is create your Bitmoji if you haven’t already. A Bitmoji is your own personal emoji. It’s a cartoon avatar of yourself that can be used to express different moods and also used as stickers. You can do this via the Bitmoji app on your phone or desktop.
After you have created your Bitmoji, it’s time to head to your computer. For an easier workflow, add the Bitmoji Extension to your Chrome Browser. This will allow you to easily insert your Bitmoji into your virtual classroom.
There are a plethora of tutorials on Youtube that will help you get started on the design process in your virtual classroom. Here is one video from Tairia Twymon Denson that explains the process very well.
If you don’t want to start from scratch, you can browse through these fabulous Room Templates to help get you started. You will need to make a copy of the room you like by clicking on the slide>press File>Make a copy>Selected slides.
Final Thoughts
For more great ideas and inspiration, join the Bitmoji Craze for Educators group on Facebook. They have plenty of resources, templates, and support that will help you get through anything you may need. Ask questions. Post ideas and creations in progress.
Another great place for resources that you should check out is The iTeach Resource Hub. The iTeach Resource Hub is home to the professionally created and curated resource collections from the Instructional Technology experts at Kennesaw State University iTeach. Here you will find professionally created lessons, “how-to” videos, one-pagers, the iTeach blog and podcast, and so much more. And they’re all FREE!
Here is a bit more about Tairia, she is the creator of the tutorial above and one of the Admins ofthe Facebook group, Bitmoji Craze For Educators!Tairia Twymon Denson is a 3rd grade teacher at Munford Elementary School in Munford, Al. She has a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and Masters Degree in Elementary Education. She has a passion and love for teaching. With the sudden COVID Pandemic, she took her passion for teaching a step further after schools suddenly closed and became involved in running a Facebook group, Bitmoji Craze For Educators, that grew to over a half a million members in a few short months. The group was created to help educators learn a new route in creating bitmoji virtual classrooms for students, provide a safe space for collaboration, and support educators from all over the world. She has not only helped provide resourceful knowledge to educators world wide but also to her friends and co workers. Tairia lives in Munford, Al with her loving husband, 2 boys, and fur baby. In her free time, she dedicates time to her family, crafting, and creating YouTube videos for her channel to help provide guidance and step by step virtual classroom tips for educators.
