Don’t Get Burnt Out: Sustainable Digital Change

Digitisation for educators is a two-fold prospect. There’s using digital tools or concepts to support pedagogy in the classroom itself, and there’s using them behind the scenes to support your administrative systems and make your job easier.

In a busy modern world, it’s important that digital tools used in either of these categories don’t add to your burdens. Teachers are busy enough! We’ve put together some tips for digital change that will help you to avoid burnout, not push you closer to the edge.

Simplify your software options

There are so many options out there; digital tools for every little task or automation or storage solution. Each one comes with its own login details and instructions for use. It’s a lot to remember, and can lead to app overwhelm.

Less can definitely be more, and we are not afraid to recommend minimising the number of tools you use to reduce cognitive steps in your workload. There’s no requirement to keep up with the latest and greatest tech release. You may not have the capacity to be at the cutting edge.

Sticking to one system, even if it’s not the perfect solution, is a helpful way to avoid tech-related burnout. For example, if you’re in a Google school, then sticking to Google Keep for storage, Gemini for your AI tool, and of course Google Docs and Google Classroom for presentations and student management is the way to go. If you’re a Microsoft school, OneNote, CoPilot, and other tools within that ecosystem will work well. Fewer logins and better cohesion are often the priority.

Use your calendar

Truly one of the most helpful digital tools you have is whichever digital calendar you prefer to use. Here’s how you can get the most from it and use it to stay organised and on top of your game:

• Any time you commit to something, PUT IT IN THE CALENDAR. Make this a habit, and avoid stressful double-bookings and clashes.

• Book out time for your essential but flexible prep work rather than just appointments and meetings. It’s flexible, not optional! If something comes up that is higher-priority, don’t delete that prep time - move it to your next free block of time. Drag-and-drop makes this easy.

• Use calendar invites to firm up plans with colleagues. “Let’s chat about this sometime” becomes something more solid when followed up with an invite that puts it in their calendar!

Use AI - carefully

We wouldn’t suggest to anyone to use AI solely and broadly in lesson planning, report writing, or presentations. However, when used judiciously and in conjunction with your own critical thinking and practical expertise it can certainly speed things up!

You could have Gemini summarise your emails, or look at your calendar to help you prioritise tasks and projects. It can give you an outline of notes for your meeting, plan a newsletter, or help to design a slide deck. Actual content to be consumed should always be created or finalised by you, the human.

AI can be used to supplement human creativity, not to replace it! It can reduce the repetitive grunt work or aid you to organise ideas, speeding up processes and taking some of the load. Always fact check and verify sources.

For digital change leaders: remember balance

If you are, officially or unofficially, the leader that’s driving digital change in your school, it might seem like a lot of that advice is irrelevant. You have to be up-to-date with the latest tools and platforms, already know how to use your calendar to its full potential, and are the one educating your colleagues on AI best practice. You’re still too busy.

For you, our advice is to remember that balance is how you’ll avoid burning out. Your school might need you to push for modernisation and digital change, but they also need YOU, so that you can push for modernisation and digital change (on top of your actual job, in many cases). 

This means that it’s ok to:

• Set boundaries about when you are and are not available for tech help. Your calendar may come in clutch again here.

• Take a break when necessary, and make your mental health a consideration and a priority.

• Delegate training, demonstration, and set-up duties to others as they are able to take them on. Teaching others something is a great way to entrench it in their own minds, after all. It is also an opportunity for them to develop their leadership skills.

Above all, we would recommend that digital change leaders seek mentorship and community. Doing it alone is a weight that can become too heavy. This might look like asking for funding and time for mentorship or PD, joining or creating a network of those in similar positions in other local schools. It can be, as we mentioned above, creating new champions and team members within your staff. Having people to share the burden with, commiserate with, and gain inspiration from is crucial to sustainable leadership.

The Think e-Learning team helps educators with incorporating tech into their teaching and their systems in a way that’s sustainable, effective, and impactful. For digital leaders, we offer mentorship and CliftonStrengths coaching to support you to success. Get in touch!