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Every teacher wants their children to have the best experience possible in their classroom. Many people may not realize the amount of time and money that most teachers spend decorating their rooms. Even before the school year begins, teachers are busy in their classrooms making sure they are an optimal environment for students success. One way to engage students and increase student success is by installing decorative light covers as elementary classroom decorations.

It’s All About the Students

Teachers know that everything they do, every aspect of their career, should ultimately be for the benefit of their students. These tireless heros spend early mornings and late nights perfecting lesson plans, grading papers, and creating engaging learning experiences. With a focus on students, teachers are driven to succeed.

Making sure students have the absolute best educational outcomes isn’t easy. Teachers have to worry about curriculum standards set by all levels of bureaucracy and government. They also have to work around more and more standardized testing. Sometimes it feels like genuine classroom learning time is at a premium. So teachers need to find ways to maximize their time with their students. Lesson planning is obviously a big part of this, but it is not the only concern.

Creating a warm, welcoming, safe environment in the classroom is integral to student success. Students who don’t feel welcome or engaged in their learning spaces may have difficulty staying on topic and engaging in the learning going on. So it is up to teachers, among all their other duties, to create a space that enhances, not inhibits, student learning.

One way that teachers enhance their classrooms is with all manner of decoration. Depending on the age of the students, walls may be decorated with bright friendly colors or covered with interesting charts and posters. Walls can serve as extra canvases for learning, too. Posters, diagrams, and interactive wall art can aid in student learning. But often teachers miss out on one important aspect of their classrooms: the lighting.

Controlling Classroom Lighting

Lighting in a classroom is a major feature of how students and teachers perceive the space. Like any room, how it is lit affects everyone in the room. As a result, poor lighting can make everything else about the room seem less appealing. It can even make the room difficult or unpleasant to be in.

Unfortunately, most schools were built with plain fluorescent lighting in the classrooms. And that is really the worst type of lighting you could have. Significant research indicates a number of negative outcomes of spending too much time under fluorescent lights.

Generally, fluorescent lights come in two subtle hues, pink and blue. Both of these hues give off a light that actually makes it more difficult to see. Although you may not notice it, trying to see in the off color and often slightly dim light of a fluorescent fixture takes its toll. Fluorescent light is linked to eye strain and headaches. The constant low level stress of just trying to see can be tiring. Without you noticing it, your body is constantly struggling to see, but all you notice is how fatigued you are.

Negative Effects of Fluorescent Lighting

Other negative effects of fluorescent lighting are more overt. Many schools use older fluorescent lighting that has slower flicker rates. Even if you don’t notice it visually, the brain picks up on this unpleasant stimulation. In some people this can even cause migraines. Unlike regular headaches, migraines can completely keep a person from functioning. They are also hard to treat. If a student or teacher is experiencing migraine like symptoms in a classroom, one culprit could be the lighting.

There are also more subtle changes that go on under fluorescent lighting. Recently, more research has been done of the effects of fluorescent lighting on student performance. While the exact mechanism is not fully understood, there were some significant findings. Students who spend their school days under fluorescent lighting had lower levels of academic performance. They also had a higher incidence of behavioral and mood problems. This alone should give pause to any teacher or school administrator whose students are exposed to constant fluorescent lighting.

Solving the Problems of Fluorescent Lighting

Some research into the negative effects of fluorescent lighting compared students who were exposed to constant fluorescent lighting to those who have completely different lighting sources. The differences were sometimes dramatic. However, schools are often forced to work with ever smaller budgets. Simply replacing the entire school’s lighting system is completely out of the question for most schools. But there is another option that is cheap, easy, and even has added benefits.

Decorative fluorescent light covers are a great way to not only reduce harm but enhance the benefits of classroom lighting. There are two main features of decorative fluorescent light covers. The first benefit is the reduction of the harm caused by fluorescent light. Fluorescent light covers filter and even out the light from a fluorescent fixture. This goes a long way toward eliminating the side effects of too much time under fluorescent lights. Many Octo Lights customers report amazing health benefits, including less tired eyes and no headaches.

Beyond Fixing Fluorescent Lighting

The main feature that sets decorative light covers apart from any other type of lighting is the decorative part. The beautiful images on the light covers go beyond simple lighting and create a whole new focal point and ambiance to a room. This can be especially powerful in a classroom. For a classroom, creating an environment that is conducive to learning is an important consideration. This step is one of the first things a teacher has to do, even before lesson planning.

At Octo Lights, we are proud of the fact that our satisfied customers include many teachers at all levels. These teachers report a great response from students. For example, one kindergarten teacher told us that “[the] students LOVE these lights.” The teacher goes on to share how peaceful and calming the light covers are, and how the students love to pretend they are learning outside. Another teacher said that “my students enjoy just standing under [the light covers]. They swear it brightens their day.”

This kind of positive energy in a classroom can brighten a students day and put them in a relaxed mood that it optimal for serious and effective learning. Many studies have shown that students who are happy and relaxed learn and retain more information. Discover stunning classroom décor like our lady bug & flower panels.

Customizing Your Classroom

Octo Lights offers a wide variety of premade decorative light covers. These create the opportunity for custom applications in different classrooms. This is especially relevant for upper school teachers who may specialize in a single subject. For instance, if a teacher is focused on science, math, or physics, they might consider astronomy themed decorative light covers. These light covers have beautiful images of starry nights, planets, galaxies, and far away nebulae. And they are all printed in stunning color and high resolution detail. A biology teacher might prefer animal themed light covers. These undersea decorative light covers transport the students to an underwater wonderland. They feature stunning photos of beautiful ocean wildlife.

If you don’t find the perfect fluorescent light cover for your classroom, there’s no need to worry. Our custom light covers allow you to upload your own high resolution image. With this option, your possibilities are truly limitless. Your only limit is your imagination.

Ordering is Easy

Once you’ve found you perfect light cover, or uploaded your own image, ordering is easy. In just a few clicks you can load up your cart, enter your payment and shipping info, and be done with it. We ship orders within 1-2 business days via FedEx Ground. FedEx is committed to delivery within 1 to 5 business days throughout the 48 states. So if you order today you could be enjoying your new light covers within days. Don’t wait, order today!