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7 classroom and IT tips for better focus in the 2022 academic year

24 January 2022

Spring term is in full swing and everyone is back together in the classroom. Nonetheless, teachers work from home more often than they used to, and students occasionally still have to learn from home. With these tips, you’re sure to make the most out of your hybrid and in-person lessons. Do you have questions about IT at your school or are you curious how virtual classroom assistant COOL can support you this school year? Then keep reading!

Tips to help your students thrive

 

1. Use a planner to get organised

A clear and well-planned schedule makes it so much easier to get things done. Do you use Google Calendar or Outlook? Both are excellent tools that allow you to create, organise and check off tasks. Tasks created in other programs, such as Spreadsheets, automatically appear in your Google Calendar as well. This way, your students can keep track of their tasks and complete them more easily. The same goes for you, of course! 

To learn how to create a task…

    • click here to learn how to create and view tasks in Google Calendar
    • and here for creating tasks and to-dos in Outlook

 

2. Stay off your phone!

They’ve heard it a million times. But it’s worth (re)setting an intention at the beginning of each term: we put smartphones away during lessons or homework. Discuss the benefits of an “information diet” with your students and let them come up with their own ideas and rules to help them stay focused. Once students are aware of the impact of the constant stream of news and notifications and are intentional about how they deal with it, they won’t be as easily distracted.

Whatever the smartphone policy at your school, it’s definitely helpful to have a clear agreement in place. And remember: smartphones don’t always have to get in the way of learning. In fact, they can be a valuable part of your digital toolbox! For tips on how to use smartphones to deliver exciting and meaningful lessons, check out this blog by history teacher Rhett Oldham.

 

3. Keep moving

Exercise is healthy, both mentally and physically. Now that we spend more time using devices, we don’t move around as much. And that can have a negative effect on our circulation. So keep moving! Because if you’re working hard, you should also take time to relax, right? With light exercises you can get active in the classroom in between tasks. Have a go at these 5 minute moves for kids or try this fun exercise that will provide both strength and smiles. It’s fun and good for concentration, too. Enjoy!

 

4. Get a good night’s sleep

Many people, but especially kids and teenagers, tend to have trouble getting to bed on time. Yet a few nights of sound sleep can work wonders. It’s okay to remind your students of this every now and then. After all, when they hop into bed on time, they start the morning early and fresh, which helps them be more productive and bring energy and joy to the classroom. You can find helpful sleep tips to share with your students here.

Do you have trouble falling asleep yourself? We did a little sleep survey among our colleagues and asked for their favourite apps to unwind. The COOL team recommends:

  • Headspace
  • Sleep Sounds
  • Sleep with me (podcast)

 

Tips to help you thrive

 

5. Get more out of your favourite apps

Do you have a question about the COOL Platform, your Workspace apps or one of the COOL Modules? We have all the answers ready for you in our easy step-by-step user guides! Why not dive in right away? Access our free Google and COOL user guides right here:

 

COOL & Google guides

 

6. Discuss your IT needs

Are you an IT administrator or school leader with new plans for using IT this academic year? Our COOL & Google-certified experts will be happy to assist you with a free one-on-one consultation. We will discuss your ideas with you, help you flesh out your IT vision and show you how our virtual teaching assistant COOL can support successful implementation of educational innovation at your school.

 

Get advice

 

7. Get inspired by COOL EdTech tips and news

Our social channels are always packed with useful webinars, tips and tricks about working in the cloud and using IT for better education. We also keep you up to date on (new) features in COOL, Google Workspace for Education and Microsoft 365, as well as global EdTech events. For a weekly dose of education inspiration, follow us on:

 

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