Forest Stay Focused

Taylor LaFrance

Forest saves you from internet addiction. You plant a seed in the forest and within 30 minutes your seed grows into a tree. If you begin to search the web and browse different websites, your tree will wither away. This allows users to stay motivated and have no distractions.

Step by step:

Step 1:

Add the forest stay focused to your google chrome or download it to your mobile device.

Step 2:

Open up the extension and set how long you want the the session to last.

Step 3:

Touch the "plant" button, and a countdown timer will start clicking.

Step 4:

Avoid checking the timer and checking other websites and at the end of the timed session, your seed will grow into a tree.

Screencast on how to use forest stay focused

Benefits in the classroom

  • Makes sure students stay on task
  • You can add certain websites to the blacklist so students can't access them
  • Sets times for the students to complete their work
  • Motivates the students to complete their work so they can add a tree to their forest

Additional Info

  • Stay off phone to allow seed to grow
  • If you go onto a different website, the seed will die
  • You can check the metrics to see if your self control is improving

Classroom Activity 1

The students will be assigned a story to read found on the computer and will set their forest timer for 25 minutes. When the timer goes off, if the students tree has grow, they will get a prize.

Classroom Activity 2

During the students morning center time, they will be allowed to use the computer for the educational game sites. The students will set their timer to 30 minutes and they must stay on task for that period of time.

Pros and Cons:

Pros:

  • Stays on task
  • Set boundaries
  • Certain time

Cons:

  • You may need a website that is on blacklist
  • Takes extra time to create blacklist and whitelist

FAQ's and answers:

What happens if I have to open an app or send a message as part of my work? They’ve thought of that. Go into the Settings menu, and add any apps (including built-in apps, like maps or email) that don’t count as “distractions” to a whitelist. You can then access these without killing your tree. You can also schedule short breaks within your allotted growing time.

Will it steal all my data? I tested out the free version on Iphone, and I loved the fact I didn’t have to link to Facebook or give away lots of personal data to sign up.