NOTE! Focus Room will be available in Trelson for all customers on February 3, 2025.
What is required to use Focus Rooms?
- You have students using Chromebooks as their devices.
- The Trelson Browser Lockdown extension is installed through your Google Workspace domain on the student Chromebooks.
What is a Focus Room?
A Focus Room in Trelson can be described as a virtual space with four digital walls that block distractions—where you, as a teacher, control which websites students can access on their Chromebooks. One major advantage of Focus Room is that students can work with tools such as Google Docs, Classroom, or Slides while in a locked mode.
How to use Focus Room in Trelson
Before following the steps to create a Focus Room, please note: To make the Focus Room visible to your students, you must click 'Open for students' after creating it. You'll find this option in the top right corner above the digital whiteboard, as shown below. You can open and close the Focus Room at your convenience, giving you full control over student access.
Step 1: Create your first Focus Room
Follow these steps to create your first Focus Room in Trelson:
- Click the "Create" button in the left menu.
- Select "Focus Room".
- Choose the Google Classroom you want to link to the Focus Room (optional).
- Adjust any additional settings.
- Click "Create".
Good to know:
- You can change settings anytime by clicking the gear icon in the top right corner after creating the Focus Room.
- Students in your selected Classroom are automatically added to the Focus Room.
Step 2: Rename the Focus Room (optional)
If you linked a Classroom to a Focus Room, the Focus Room will automatically inherit the Classroom's name.
However, you can rename the Focus Room at any time.
How to rename the Focus Room:
- Click the box under "Name".
- Enter the new name and click anywhere on the background to save the name change for both you and your students.
Step 3: Link an Assignment from Classroom to the Focus Room
You can add a Google Classroom assignment as a resource in the focus room – or, if you prefer, grant access to the entire Google Classroom.
How to do it:
- In the focus room, scroll down and click on the right tab "Resources" and then on "+".
- Click on Google services and select Google Classroom.
- A dialog box will open where you can choose to grant access to the entire Google Classroom or a specific assignment.
- Click "Save".
Good to Know:
- If you choose a specific assignment, any attached tools (e.g., Google Slides) will automatically be available in the focus room.
Step 4: Add More Resources and Use the Digital Whiteboard
If you want, you can allow students to use additional resources, such as a website or a YouTube video.
How to add resources:
- Tab "Resources": Go to the "Resources" tab and click on "Add Resource".
- Select resource type: Choose from available resource types depending on security settings.
- Text-to-speech support: Upload a document with text-to-speech support.
- Assign resources to selected students: Assign resources to specific students by clicking on the settings icon.
How to use the digital whiteboard:
The digital whiteboard is available in every focus room and is visible to students.
Features on the digital whiteboard:
- Text box
- Draw (freehand)
- Standard timer
- Visual timer (like TimeTimer)
- Upload images or YouTube videos
- Randomize student groups
- Change background color
How to enter full-screen mode:
- Click the green button with a square icon in the top right corner.
- Click the same icon to exit full-screen mode.
Other Questions and Answers
What is the difference between an assignment in Trelson and a Focus Room?
Focus Room can only be used by teachers with students on Chromebooks. The tool is primarily designed to minimize digital distractions during regular lessons and should not be used for exams. Below is a comparison between Assignments and Focus Room in Trelson.
| Assignment | Focus room | |
| How students log in | Through the app library in logged out mode on Chromebook | Via the browser in logged in mode on Chromebook (app.trelson.com), or directly via Google Classroom |
| How the device is locked | Trelson's Kiosk app | Trelson Browser Lockdown (Chrome extension) |
| How students create/write | In Trelson’s built-in writing space or form | The teacher decides freely, such as Google Docs or Google Sheets |
| Owner of student submission/material | Teacher. After submit, the student can't access their submission | It depends on what the teacher chooses for the students to work on. If Classroom and other Google tools are used, the student can access their work even outside of the Focus Room. |
| Resources that can be allowed by the teacher |
|
|
| Security (risk of cheating) | Extremely secure, students cannot cheat when taking exams in the Trelsons Kiosk app for Chromebooks | Less secure, students are primarily prevented from being distracted by their Chromebook. If students are working with Google's tools, they can access their work even outside of the Focus room |
| When appropriate to use | During exams and tasks that need to be assessed | During regular lessons where Chromebooks should be used. It should preferably not be used for assessment tasks |
| Integration with Google Classroom | Yes, partially | Yes, full integration |
| Possibility for monitoring the student |
|
|
| Digital whiteboard | No | Yes, that the teacher controls. The whiteboard updates in real-time and is visible on the students' devices, but can also be shared on a large screen in the classroom |
| Real-time update of resources (by the teacher) | No | Yes. The teacher can update what is allowed in the Focus Room at any time, and the changes take effect for the student instantly |