In today’s edtech landscape, schools and districts have no shortage of options for instructional content and resources to make learning more engaging. At the same time, increasing distractions from technology and the outside world have made it more challenging for students to stay focused in the classroom, directly impacting their learning progress.
The one thing that is disappearing in this explosion of “more?” Attention.
As any educator knows, attention is a premium – and hard to recapture once you’ve lost it.
Artificial intelligence is the tech world’s exciting new opportunity, which means AI features and tools are popping up all around you. But are they helpful? Do they add to the growing list of distractions? Or will they help you get to the holy grail of teaching – a fully engaged classroom? It can be hard to tell.
Let’s take a closer look at this question.
To focus on the problem leading to the solution, and not the other way around, let’s examine three issues that erode classroom attention and then identify how Merlyn’s AI – built specifically for education – can help address them.
Challenge #1: Tech stress is real – and distracting
Resource pileup, tech triage, and administrative tasks can all take from the already-limited classroom instructional time. Teachers aren’t superhuman – but often the expectations of them are.
In the early days of developing Merlyn, we spent a lot of time observing teachers in their classrooms. And while these teachers had eagerly adopted technology to enhance their instruction, something struck us: They spent a lot of time going back and forth to their computers, accessing a deep mix of apps. They needed to switch ports. They had to stop teaching to find and play videos, roll carts around the room, and advance presentations.
Every moment teachers spent manipulating technology was a moment where student attention began to slip.
We've all seen it – the frustrated teacher, eyes glued to a screen, trying to troubleshoot a tech issue while a class of students starts checking their phones or talking to friends. After a few minutes when the tech problem is solved, the teacher now has to spend more time regaining classroom attention to pick up where they left off. It's a stark reminder of the tech stress that causes educators to resist adopting new tools that can help them achieve their goals.
When teachers are bogged down by tech, it directly impacts student learning. Technical hurdles can disrupt the instructional flow and cause students to mentally check out. This often leads to a frustrated educator abandoning the tool altogether – and potentially other helpful tools as well.
But there’s no need to toss the tech! Merlyn – a voice AI assistant – was created specifically to work in a classroom with classroom tools.
How Merlyn helps reduce tech stress
Merlyn helps teachers maintain student engagement and attention by making it easy to move through a lesson. Merlyn integrates seamlessly with the tech that teachers know and love, from interactive panels to Google Workspace for Education.
Simple voice commands to Merlyn enable teachers to use their existing devices and applications to:
Open and progress through lesson plans and materials.
Find a short educational movie about the day’s topic.
Set a timer for any length of time.
Display an illustration to reinforce a concept.
(Bonus: As a result, teachers feel more comfortable with their tech stack and districts get more out of their existing investments.)
Acting as a natural extension of teaching that keeps tech in the background, Merlyn creates a learning environment where teachers can focus on live interactions, allowing for instant responsiveness to student cues and dynamic, in-person engagement that sustains student attention.
From anywhere in the room, you can switch applications, set timers, search for lessons, and so much more.
A third-party research study, led by University of California, Irvine’s Creativity Labs in partnership with the nonprofit Digital Promise, found 61% of Merlyn users reported an overall reduction in tech-related stress after just 7 weeks of use. On top of the reduction in technostress, the researchers found that teachers using Merlyn felt significantly less afraid of being replaced by new technologies.
“[Merlyn] is great,” said one teacher involved in the research. “We need it. Anything that takes away even two, three minutes of going and opening [applications] by hand for us, and instead to just speak to the machine … it's helpful.”
Challenge #2: Teachers are tethered to their devices
Teacher proximity – the physical closeness between teachers and students – plays a crucial role in shaping classroom dynamics and student outcomes. Physical proximity can deter disruptive behavior without verbal intervention, improve classroom participation and enthusiasm for learning, and contribute to stronger teacher-student relationships.
But many teachers feel confined to their desks, limiting direct interaction with students and reducing opportunities for personalized engagement across the classroom.
Merlyn gives teachers the freedom of mobility.
How Merlyn offers mobility to educators
Unlike other EdTech tools that keep teachers tethered to their desks, Merlyn empowers teachers to move freely around the classroom and engage with students directly. This mobility keeps students focused, allows teachers to manage devices and interactions seamlessly, and creates a more dynamic learning environment – from anywhere in the room. Research tells us that when teachers are using Merlyn to manage their classrooms effectively, they are present and engaged with students, and can maintain a proximity of control within the classroom. And that benefits everyone.
“We're seeing a huge loss and turnover of teachers right now … having an AI assistant that is doing the things that you want done in the classroom I think is going to be hugely helpful." – Dr. Kylie Peppler, University of California, Irvine
Challenge #3: Flexing instruction to meet students in the moment
Let’s imagine a teacher is walking through the classroom, discussing a presentation about tree frogs. As they move through the desks, a student asks an interesting question about frog life cycles not covered in the lesson. It’s one of those moments that fuel a teacher’s passion – students are engaged in the material, curious, and asking for more!
In that moment, without having to move to their laptop, the teacher asks Merlyn to pull up a video to demonstrate the answer. Score! Being able to meet spontaneous student inquiry with images, videos, or additional resources is now driving higher levels of authentic engagement in this classroom.
Educators know rewarding student curiosity drives engagement and fosters higher-order thinking, but it’s often hard to achieve when there’s so much to cover in one class period and distractions pose a risk.
How Merlyn helps teachers reward curiosity
Merlyn’s approach is key – in those moments of student curiosity, the right resource can capitalize on that spark, but the wrong resource can send the whole class’s attention off-course.
Besides Merlyn's ability to navigate a browser, it also offers relevant generative AI responses that are aligned with specific learning objectives and curriculum standards, all passed through our two-way appropriateness filter.
Curious how Merlyn’s capabilities align with your goals? The Merlyn Logic Model outlines the classroom activities, outputs, and evidence-based outcomes that informed Merlyn’s design.
Designing AI to meet real-world classroom challenges
In a world filled with flashy tech solutions that promise to revolutionize education, it's easy to get lost in the hype. But regardless of what classroom tools you choose, none of it means anything if you don’t have attention.
We intentionally created Merlyn to be more than just an AI tool – we created an assistant that gives teachers the space to teach and to make learning engaging. By uniquely blending technology and teaching, Merlyn helps reduce classroom distractions, offers mobility and flexibility, and allows educators to meet students in the moment, all while ensuring a safe and secure environment.
Ready to see how Merlyn can transform classrooms in your school or district? Sign up for a demo at merlyn.org/#contact.
In today’s edtech landscape, schools and districts have no shortage of options for instructional content and resources to make learning more engaging. At the same time, increasing distractions from technology and the outside world have made it more challenging for students to stay focused in the classroom, directly impacting their learning progress.
The one thing that is disappearing in this explosion of “more?” Attention.
As any educator knows, attention is a premium – and hard to recapture once you’ve lost it.
Artificial intelligence is the tech world’s exciting new opportunity, which means AI features and tools are popping up all around you. But are they helpful? Do they add to the growing list of distractions? Or will they help you get to the holy grail of teaching – a fully engaged classroom? It can be hard to tell.
Let’s take a closer look at this question.
To focus on the problem leading to the solution, and not the other way around, let’s examine three issues that erode classroom attention and then identify how Merlyn’s AI – built specifically for education – can help address them.
Challenge #1: Tech stress is real – and distracting
Resource pileup, tech triage, and administrative tasks can all take from the already-limited classroom instructional time. Teachers aren’t superhuman – but often the expectations of them are.
In the early days of developing Merlyn, we spent a lot of time observing teachers in their classrooms. And while these teachers had eagerly adopted technology to enhance their instruction, something struck us: They spent a lot of time going back and forth to their computers, accessing a deep mix of apps. They needed to switch ports. They had to stop teaching to find and play videos, roll carts around the room, and advance presentations.
Every moment teachers spent manipulating technology was a moment where student attention began to slip.
We've all seen it – the frustrated teacher, eyes glued to a screen, trying to troubleshoot a tech issue while a class of students starts checking their phones or talking to friends. After a few minutes when the tech problem is solved, the teacher now has to spend more time regaining classroom attention to pick up where they left off. It's a stark reminder of the tech stress that causes educators to resist adopting new tools that can help them achieve their goals.
When teachers are bogged down by tech, it directly impacts student learning. Technical hurdles can disrupt the instructional flow and cause students to mentally check out. This often leads to a frustrated educator abandoning the tool altogether – and potentially other helpful tools as well.
But there’s no need to toss the tech! Merlyn – a voice AI assistant – was created specifically to work in a classroom with classroom tools.
How Merlyn helps reduce tech stress
Merlyn helps teachers maintain student engagement and attention by making it easy to move through a lesson. Merlyn integrates seamlessly with the tech that teachers know and love, from interactive panels to Google Workspace for Education.
Simple voice commands to Merlyn enable teachers to use their existing devices and applications to:
Open and progress through lesson plans and materials.
Find a short educational movie about the day’s topic.
Set a timer for any length of time.
Display an illustration to reinforce a concept.
(Bonus: As a result, teachers feel more comfortable with their tech stack and districts get more out of their existing investments.)
Acting as a natural extension of teaching that keeps tech in the background, Merlyn creates a learning environment where teachers can focus on live interactions, allowing for instant responsiveness to student cues and dynamic, in-person engagement that sustains student attention.
From anywhere in the room, you can switch applications, set timers, search for lessons, and so much more.
A third-party research study, led by University of California, Irvine’s Creativity Labs in partnership with the nonprofit Digital Promise, found 61% of Merlyn users reported an overall reduction in tech-related stress after just 7 weeks of use. On top of the reduction in technostress, the researchers found that teachers using Merlyn felt significantly less afraid of being replaced by new technologies.
“[Merlyn] is great,” said one teacher involved in the research. “We need it. Anything that takes away even two, three minutes of going and opening [applications] by hand for us, and instead to just speak to the machine … it's helpful.”
Challenge #2: Teachers are tethered to their devices
Teacher proximity – the physical closeness between teachers and students – plays a crucial role in shaping classroom dynamics and student outcomes. Physical proximity can deter disruptive behavior without verbal intervention, improve classroom participation and enthusiasm for learning, and contribute to stronger teacher-student relationships.
But many teachers feel confined to their desks, limiting direct interaction with students and reducing opportunities for personalized engagement across the classroom.
Merlyn gives teachers the freedom of mobility.
How Merlyn offers mobility to educators
Unlike other EdTech tools that keep teachers tethered to their desks, Merlyn empowers teachers to move freely around the classroom and engage with students directly. This mobility keeps students focused, allows teachers to manage devices and interactions seamlessly, and creates a more dynamic learning environment – from anywhere in the room. Research tells us that when teachers are using Merlyn to manage their classrooms effectively, they are present and engaged with students, and can maintain a proximity of control within the classroom. And that benefits everyone.
“We're seeing a huge loss and turnover of teachers right now … having an AI assistant that is doing the things that you want done in the classroom I think is going to be hugely helpful." – Dr. Kylie Peppler, University of California, Irvine
Challenge #3: Flexing instruction to meet students in the moment
Let’s imagine a teacher is walking through the classroom, discussing a presentation about tree frogs. As they move through the desks, a student asks an interesting question about frog life cycles not covered in the lesson. It’s one of those moments that fuel a teacher’s passion – students are engaged in the material, curious, and asking for more!
In that moment, without having to move to their laptop, the teacher asks Merlyn to pull up a video to demonstrate the answer. Score! Being able to meet spontaneous student inquiry with images, videos, or additional resources is now driving higher levels of authentic engagement in this classroom.
Educators know rewarding student curiosity drives engagement and fosters higher-order thinking, but it’s often hard to achieve when there’s so much to cover in one class period and distractions pose a risk.
How Merlyn helps teachers reward curiosity
Merlyn’s approach is key – in those moments of student curiosity, the right resource can capitalize on that spark, but the wrong resource can send the whole class’s attention off-course.
Besides Merlyn's ability to navigate a browser, it also offers relevant generative AI responses that are aligned with specific learning objectives and curriculum standards, all passed through our two-way appropriateness filter.
Curious how Merlyn’s capabilities align with your goals? The Merlyn Logic Model outlines the classroom activities, outputs, and evidence-based outcomes that informed Merlyn’s design.
Designing AI to meet real-world classroom challenges
In a world filled with flashy tech solutions that promise to revolutionize education, it's easy to get lost in the hype. But regardless of what classroom tools you choose, none of it means anything if you don’t have attention.
We intentionally created Merlyn to be more than just an AI tool – we created an assistant that gives teachers the space to teach and to make learning engaging. By uniquely blending technology and teaching, Merlyn helps reduce classroom distractions, offers mobility and flexibility, and allows educators to meet students in the moment, all while ensuring a safe and secure environment.
Ready to see how Merlyn can transform classrooms in your school or district? Sign up for a demo at merlyn.org/#contact.
Schedule a free personalized demo to see our purpose-built solutions in action, and hear how innovative schools are leveraging the power of Merlyn in their classrooms.
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