Window Tint to Reduce Glare on Board

Teaching is so much more than mastering lesson design: Sometimes it involves making low level changes to the composition of the room that you were originally given.  As the year progresses, you notice certain things that can take away from your lessons, like too much glare from the sun on your Smartboard.  Although I usually love natural light, the sunlight from the windows makes the material I project difficult to see.  I ordered some blackout tint from Amazon, enlisted the help of my children, and got to work.  

You need a few tools to get started: Scissors, a box cutter razor, tape measure, straight edge, water bottle, baby shampoo, and squeegee.  Once you have all your tools, you'll prepare a mixture of baby shampoo and water in the water bottle (the tint will have the directions regarding the ratio of shampoo to water).  

Cut the tint to fit your window leaving about an extra inch or two on each side.  Hopefully, you can employ the help of some munchkins, like I did to hold the tint while you peel plastic film off the sticky side. Be careful not to drop it (like I did more than once) because it will get ruined.  After peeling the film, you'll spray the sticky side with the shampoo-water mixture.  Then spray the window with the same mixture and place the film on the window.  Use the squeegee working your way from the center towards the edges to eliminate any water bubbles and smooth out the film.  Next, you'll get your plastic straight-edge and line it up against the frame of the window.  Use your sharp box cutter razor to cut the film along the straight edge.  After you're finished trimming the edges, use the squeegee to smooth out any remaining bubbles, working from the center to the edges.

Stay tuned for my next practical blog post when I show how to set-up surround sound in your classroom:) 

#tintyourclassroom #windowtint #classroomimprovement #reduceglare