Because you are not in a regular classroom where you may move and walk around, there is a good chance that you will be sitting down a great deal while teaching online. Furthermore, when streaming online lessons, you must remain in a position to avoid distractions and lousy stream quality. This prolonged sitting causes a slew of health problems for many online professors. As a result, getting a standing desk for online teaching is one of the smartest things you can do for yourself.
It's natural to believe that sitting is an excellent approach to teaching online. Yet, there are several benefits to standing when presenting to your class. Teachers should never have to deal with the highs and lows of using desks and podiums that aren't always the proper size. Instead, you might benefit from using a standing desk for lecturing online. There are numerous alternatives to match your teaching methods and requirements.
How Standing Desks Work With Teachers
A standing desk enables you to work, learn, or study while standing upright. You can rest easy conducting distance teaching or any online teaching while reducing the harmful effects of extended sitting on your general health by using a standing desk, together with other equipment to make things comfortable and ergonomically correct.
You may be used to giving lengthy lectures, particularly if you are a college professor. This implies you'll have to spend lots of time sitting in front of your computer. Sitting for long durations can lead to obesity and make you vulnerable to various health problems, such as back pain, diabetes, and heart problems. A standing desk, on the other hand, aids in the prevention of all health issues, keeping you healthier and more productive. Because there are no physical distractions in this form of teaching, you are more likely to give all lessons efficiently.
Standing up allows you to twist, jump, twirl, jog on the spot, and move around while chatting with your online learners, which makes you more fascinating and entertaining to educate with. Many online teachers who have switched from sitting to standing will confirm that it simply feels much better. There are several methods to set up a standing workstation for online teaching, but nothing beats the adaptability that standing desks provide for the professional online educator.
Types of Standing Desks Suitable for Teachers
There are various standing desks built to fit educators, whether in-person or distance teaching or a full day of education and lecturing.
Fixed Height Standing Desk
This type of standing desk is set at a certain height to allow the user to stand while working.
Height-Adjustable Standing Desk
A height-adjustable standing desk, often known as a sit-stand desk, may be adjusted to allow for both sitting and standing positions.
See the best height-adjustable standing desks here!
Standing Desk Converter
This sort of standing desk is installed on top of, or fastened to, a desk that allows you to stand while working if you want to keep working at your current workstation or don't have the space for a completely new desk.
See the best standing desk converters here!
Whether fixed height or height-adjustable, standing desks may or may not include the other features mentioned below.
Compact Standing Desk
Many classrooms or home workspaces are small, and specific standing desks will be inconvenient to accommodate in an already cramped space. Compact standing desks let you stand and work on a computer or documents while saving space.
Check Comhar Standing Desks by FlexiSpot here!
Benefits of Standing While Teaching
While standing to conduct online classes is an exception, it is more consistent with in-person teaching. Among the potential benefits of standing while teaching are:
Calorie Burn
Standing at your desk will improve your calorie burn rate by more than 1000 calories. It would help you avoid fat and unnecessary muscle injury from sitting for too long.
Better Posture
Sitting at a desk for lengthy periods causes eye strain and poor posture. A significant advantage of using a standing desk when teaching online or in-person is that it helps keep your computer over your resting eye level, so you have to look up a little to view it. This tends to protect your focus away from the screen's brightness far more than a standard sitting desk will. Standing also helps you build your core muscles, which improves your posture over time.
More Focus
Standing helps you gain energy, and you could be more focused on the subject and individuals in the class. Sitting down makes it easy to relax, which may affect your attention span during the lesson.
Pain-Free Back
According to CDC research, switching to a standing desk can relieve neck and upper back discomfort by more than 50% in just one month. This motivates those who spend too much time sitting like office workers, online teachers, and distance-learning students who like to modify their habits and obtain a sit-stand desk.
More Energy
It may be more challenging to show energy when standing since a chair causes you to remain slightly stiff.
Blood Glucose Control
If you are an online instructor with type 2 diabetes, research has already shown that working on a standing desk for up to 2 hours post-lunch can reduce blood glucose levels by up to 43 percent compared to sitting for the same amount of time.
Authority
Many signs of authority communicated during in-person education are compromised when moving to online classes. While in-person teaching can depend on seating arrangements to signify your influence over the class, some of these cues are diminished in the online situation – you have just the same frame as students in the room. Standing restores part of this power, bringing the scenario closer to that of in-person lecturing.
Final Thought
One of the significant advantages of online teaching is that there is no such thing as a bible as there is when teaching in person; you could alter your style and test out various ideas. You may discover that standing is among the smartest adjustment you can make to your teaching style, or you may find that sitting is more comfortable. You don't have to buy a brand-new standing desk right away if you want to try standing while working– put your monitor on top of a box or stack of books and see if you like the arrangement. You can explore what works best for you; everyone is going through their own learning experience with online education.