At EdTech Nerds, we blend mindfulness with practical tech solutions to help teachers streamline their workload without sacrificing their well-being. Our goal is to help educators reclaim their time, avoid burnout, and build a more balanced, fulfilling teaching life.
🤓 NerdSquad Notes 26.03: March Engagement Reboot
The March Engagement RebootMarch has a particular flavor. It tastes like half-charged Chromebooks and motivational speeches that nobody ordered. The shine of January goal-setting has worn off. Spring break is looming like a mirage. Students are restless, teachers are tired, and everyone is quietly calculating how many instructional minutes stand between them and summer. The March Engagement Reboot is not about turning your classroom into a circus or adding twelve new strategies to your already overstuffed plate. It is about working smarter with the energy that is actually in the room. Engagement does not have to mean louder, flashier, or more complicated. Often it means clearer purpose, tighter structures, and giving students just enough ownership to wake their brains up without blowing up your planning time. This month we are focusing on small shifts that protect your sanity while nudging student thinking back into active mode. You deserve to finish strong without crawling there. ✨ Hot Tips, Calm Brains1. Use Figjam for a collaborative breakdown of the lessonFigJam transforms your lesson into a shared thinking wall where every student contributes in real time. As students map ideas and make connections together, their thinking becomes visible, giving you instant formative feedback. The result is deeper understanding through collaborative analysis, without adding to your grading load. The best part? Figjam is FREE for educators. 2. Use AI as a Thought PartnerCreate a Gemini Gem that acts as a built-in thinking coach for your classroom. Instead of giving students answers, the Gem can generate prompts, counterarguments, hints, and reflection questions that push them to analyze and improve their own work. The learning outcome shifts from completion to reasoning, as students critique, revise, and defend ideas using evidence. You get instant engagement structures on demand, and students get an AI partner that strengthens thinking rather than replacing it. Not quite ready to create your own? Check out Eric Curts' EduGems page with ready-to-use pre-made Gemini Gems. We're particularly fond of the Mindfulness Break Gem created by Destiny Wagner and adapted by Eric Curts to help you quickly manage stress, anxiety, and fatigue by providing immediate, evidence-based "micro-doses" of mindfulness. 3. Is It Better? Why or Why Not?Have students use an AI tool to suggest revisions to their work, then require them to decide which edits to accept or reject and explain why. The AI becomes a feedback generator, not the author, and students stay in charge of the thinking. This simple shift builds evaluation skills, strengthens metacognition, and reinforces content understanding because students must justify their choices with evidence and intent. Engagement rises when revision becomes an active decision-making process instead of a passive correction session. Mindful Moment: The Energy Check ResetWhen the room feels heavy, pause and name it. Have students rate their energy from 1 to 5 with their fingers, no commentary. Then ask them to take one slow breath and set a simple intention: “For the next ten minutes, I will focus on ____.” Keep it short and specific. This quick reset builds awareness and choice. Instead of dragging through the slog, students consciously shift into a focused sprint. Engagement improves because they are not waiting to feel motivated. They are practicing creating it. Ten intentional minutes often turn into real momentum. 🧩 Featured Tools: Lifelines Aromatherapy PensIf your teacher brain is running on low battery by 2nd period, Lifelines aromatherapy pens are a surprisingly helpful little reset button. They are pens designed to diffuse essential-oil blends as you write, turning grading, planning, or note-taking into a quick sensory cue for focus or calm, which can make it easier to stay present and engaged in your own work instead of powering through on fumes. Keep one at your desk, take 10 seconds before a tough email or a long stack of papers, and let the scent-and-writing combo signal “we are here, we are doing the thing.” Recommended by Erika Burkhardt (@erika.burkhardt_8) at a recent #CoffeeEDU meeting, these are an easy add-on for teachers who want more steady energy and less frazzled autopilot.
Upcoming EdTech Nerds Events📢🤓 Announcements:Get a peek into our membership and jump in on our NERDSquad+ Monthly Coaching Call for free on Wednesday, March 25th at 6pm CST. We'll be taking questions and talking about student engagement and the tools you can use to reconnect with your own creativity. 🔗: https://meet.google.com/ong-yijh-ezh 🪄 Need a quick win (and maybe your Sunday back)?Check out the EdTech Nerds Digital Shop, packed with ready-to-roll lessons and digital goodies that do the heavy lifting for you. 💡 Nerd Hack: Join NERDSquad+ and score shop discounts and early access to every shiny new product we cook up. You get to test-drive the goods for free before they hit the shelves because real nerds get the good stuff first.
📣 Bring EdTech Nerds to Your School or District!Want a fun, high-energy PL session that leaves your staff feeling energized and equipped? We offer custom workshops on everything from mindful tech use to creative classroom tools, and we’d love to support your team. Let’s make PL feel like less of a chore and more like a collaborative recharge.
“That was the first PD where I left with actual tools I could use the next day - and I didn’t feel overwhelmed!” — Instructional Coach, Texas
👨💻 Know anyone who might find this newsletter helpful?Forward them this newsletter and have them click here to sign up. New subscribers also get free access to our Calm+Focus Starter Kit. Keep shining! We’re so grateful for teachers like you. Until next time, Note: EdTech Nerds shares product recommendations based on personal experience and professional insights. We are not affiliated with nor compensated by the companies or creators of these products. Our goal is simply to provide valuable resources for mindful educators. Find out more about us | Book us for trainings | Read our blog posts | See our latest products Join our free private Facebook group, Calm Teachers Use Tech (c) 2024, EdTech Nerds, LLC, All Rights Reserved |
EdTech Nerds
At EdTech Nerds, we blend mindfulness with practical tech solutions to help teachers streamline their workload without sacrificing their well-being. Our goal is to help educators reclaim their time, avoid burnout, and build a more balanced, fulfilling teaching life.
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