5 Reasons why teachers love the Bitmoji Classroom (Featuring the Founder of Facebook group “Bitmoji Craze for Educators”, Dr. Allatesha Cain)
The Bitmoji. They are personalised emojis that look like you. Bitmojis have been around for a while, yet, recently in the teaching community, the Bitmoji craze has absolutely blown up!
Teachers love Bitmoji! Some teachers even pay out of pocket for Bitmoji stickers to reward their students! Teachers from around the world are using Bitmoji and sharing their creative uses with others online.
In recent news, Facebook released their own Bitmoji-like avatars in the US!
What is the Bitmoji Classroom?
The Bitmoji Classroom is a virtual classroom space created on Google Slides using cartoon avatars from the Bitmoji app to enhance the teaching and learning experience. Teachers are using Bitmoji to make virtual classrooms, Google Classroom banners and even animated 2D & 3D Bitmoji creations!
We are just seeing the beginning!
My Virtual Bitmoji Classroom
Click on the Bitmoji Classroom to dive into my virtual classroom!
Watch this video to learn how to make your own Bitmoji Classroom. The video also briefly reviews how you can make a Google Classroom banner and animation.
Bitmoji Classroom Tutorial
5 Reasons why teachers love the Bitmoji Classroom
#1 Well-being
Currently, teachers are being put through a great amount of stress to ensure that students don’t slip through the cracks during distance learning. Creating a Bitmoji Classroom is a surprisingly therapeutic and enjoyable experience for many teachers. Maybe its the personal touches and limitless customisations that you can do!
#2 Promotes a supportive learning environment
Students and teachers (as well as parents) have been abruptly thrown into the deep end with distance learning. Many of us are feeling anxious during this time of school closures. It is comforting for students to see their teachers (even in animated form!). Some teachers have even recreated their actual classroom into a virtual Bitmoji classroom! (Chairs, tables, boards, banners… The lot!) This helps students feel a sense of normalcy, in an otherwise quite rapidly changing learning environment.
#3 Engagement
Teachers know just how important it is to engage their students. Teachers recognise that using many short activities (as opposed to one large activity) can help to engage students in their learning. The Bitmoji Classroom allows teachers to organise activities in a creative and fun way. For example, some teachers use the cover page of a book which when clicked leads to an audiobook for students to listen to. Students love to see, discover and find the treasures that their teachers has hidden for them!
#4 Visually appealing
We are all visual beings! The Bitmoji Classroom can be as colourful and visually aesthetic as you want it to be. This helps with student engagement, which is one of the biggest challenges of distance education.
#5 Sharing with the online teacher community
There has been a huge amount of online engagement with teachers sharing their Bitmoji ideas on Facebook, Youtube and Instagram. With more time spent at home, teachers are able to reflect on their professional craft and learn new skills. Teachers are turning to social media for learning and sharing ideas. Each new idea inspires the next!
Take the Facebook group, The Bitmoji Craze for Educators for example.
The group grew to an astonishing 45K members in 3 weeks!
Dr. Allatesha Cain
Founder of Facebook group, The Bitmoji Craze for Educators
Join one of the fastest growing Bitmoji teaching communities
There is a rapidly growing Facebook group called The Bitmoji Craze for Educators founded by Dr. Allatesha Cain. She had paid close attention to Instructional Technology and Distance Education during her doctorate program. Thank you to Dr. Allatesha Cain for sharing her thoughts with us about the Bitmoji teacher phenomenon.
Q1. What has the Bitmoji Educator Craze been like?
I’m proud to be the founder of Bitmoji Craze for Educators, however, our page belongs to all educators. Professionals from all over the world, with varying technological skills, collaborate to showcase and share ideas on how to create virtual classrooms that are appealing and engaging for students. The group grew to an astonishing 45K members in 3 weeks! I would not be able to handle a group of this magnitude without our amazing team, Tairia Denson, Jillian Graham, Lisa Mazariego, Carissa Stewart and Gin Peterson.
Q2. Why do you think educators love it so much?
I think educators love Bitmoji Craze for Educators because we find joy in creating colourful and engaging virtual atmospheres for our students. We want to make their online learning experiences as fun and educational as possible. Some educators shared that our page is a pleasant distraction from the global pandemic… it brings them joy to create their virtual classrooms.
Q3. What are your favourite and most creative things you’ve seen educators do?
It’s hard to pick! All of the creations are OUTSTANDING!
Share your Bitmoji ideas
Some Bitmoji Ideas shared on The Bitmoji Craze for Educators this past week:
- A parent who created a Bitmoji classroom as an appreciation gift for his son’s teacher
- Featuring students in your Bitmoji Classroom
- Class photos & Staff photos
- “Where’s Wally” digital poster using staff members
- School Graduation walk (requires animation)
The creation ideas are limited to the imagination! If you haven’t started your Bitmoji adventure, click here to learn how to make a Bimoji Classroom. Share your Bitmoji ideas & continue to learn with all the wonderful teachers around the world.
Best of luck & stay safe!
