Five Tech Tips for the New Year: Kickstart 2025 with these simple tech tips

The start of a new year with a fresh slate of blank calendar pages is a natural time to consider making changes in your life. Common themes are focusing on improving our health or simplifying some aspect of our life. Consider using the beginning of 2025 as an opportunity to simplify and secure your digital life. Below are a few suggestions for tuning up your tech in the new year.

Update your passwords

If you’ve been using the same password for a while, it’s time to change it up. Your passwords should be unique, hard to guess, at least eight characters long, and should include a blend of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters. Employ a password manager to help generate and store your secure passwords. For extra security, consider enabling multi-factor authentication for any particularly sensitive accounts.

Declutter email

If your email inbox is overflowing, you’re not alone. According to Venngage, the average adult receives 121 emails a day. This number could be considerably higher for educators.

Taking some time to purge your old emails can be satisfying. Depending on your schedule and personal preference, you can choose to tackle your inbox in large chunks of time or just do a little bit every day. Some people find it easier to sort their inbox by sender when deleting emails, rather than by the date the emails were received.

As you’re cleaning out your inbox, you might also consider unsubscribing to any email lists you’re no longer interested in so that your inbox stays manageable.

Clear out old apps

Take a few minutes to sort through the apps you have on your devices. Chances are that you’ll find apps you no longer use collecting digital dust. Deleting those unused apps frees up storage while also cutting down on visual clutter.

Create a "maybe" folder

If decision-making slows down your tech clean-up process, consider creating a "maybe" folder for apps and documents you don’t use regularly but aren’t quite ready to delete. Set a calendar alert to remind you to go through your maybe file again in the spring.

Backup your data

Have you backed up your data lately? It’s easy to overlook this crucial part of technology management, but anyone who’s ever lost an important file or drive can tell you how important this step is. The 3-2-1 backup process is often hailed as a best-practice in making sure your data can survive anything from a severe weather event to a ransomware attack. This process suggests you:

• Make three copies of your data

• Store copies of your data on two different devices

• Store at least one copy of your data offsite, for instance on the cloud

Starting the new year off by taking these small steps to simplify and protect your tech might not be a flashy resolution, but it’s one that you’re likely to reap the benefits of on a daily basis. We’re wishing you a happy, simple and secure 2025!

Back to School Icebreakers for 2020

Whether in person, online, or a hybrid model, school is sure to look different this year. For teachers and for students, it’s crucial that routines and expectations remain as normal as possible. Some of that normalcy includes the importance of back-to-school rituals; among them is building rapport between students and teachers. Icebreakers are fun games and activities that are intended to create a comfortable environment for everyone.

Regardless of the educational model, there are plenty of creative ways to engage and get to know your students.

In-Person:

The Number Game: In a small group, or as a whole class, sit in a large circle. The goal is the count to ten aloud, and that each number is spoken by a different student. Anyone is able to call out a number, but if more than one person speaks at the same time, the game starts over. Repeat as many times as is necessary to reach 10, and then try for a larger number.

“What Am I?” Game: Provide students with sticky notes with names of every day items, famous people, books, or movies. They’ll team up with a partner, and then the partner will give clues about their mystery item. If the guesser correctly identifies the object, they get a point. Take turns with different notes.

Letter to Yourself: Have students compose a letter to their future selves. Prompt them to talk about their interests, strengths, and hopes for the year. Keep the letters in a special location and give them back on the last day of school.

Virtual:

Show and Tell 2.0: Get creative with video conferencing! Students can be instructed to share their favorite object in their room, give a room tour, or even introduce a pet to their classmates. 

Desert Island Share-Out: Project a picture of a desert island, and then ask students to identify (and share) two items that they would want to bring. The items can be for survival, or even just for fun. Either way, this is a entertaining and creative way to get to know students.

Head and Shoulders: For this game, all students should be visible on individual screens. Prepare trivia questions beforehand (ones that have a clear yes or no answer). For “yes”, have students put their hands on their heads, and for “no”, students will place hands on shoulders. Observe the movement and enjoy the laughter that will ensue!

In-Person or Virtual:

Names Word Search: Help kids learn each other’s names with this non-intimidating activity. Using Puzzlemaker, create a custom word search filled with names of classmates.

About Me Backpack: Using this awesome resource from Teachers Pay Teachers, have students fill a “backpack” with small items that best represent themselves. Have them take turns sharing their objects in small groups, partners, or with the whole class.

For educators or students looking to upgrade their technology this year, HP has released the Chromebook 11A G8 EE. Built specifically for educational purposes, the G8 is durable, convenient, and affordable. With its spill-resistant keyboard and battery life of over 13 hours, this machine is perfect for the demands of the school year, no matter the circumstances.