5 Teacher Tools Every Teacher Deserves

I am a firm believer in investing in the tools you use in your trade. When I began my online master’s program I needed to upgrade my laptop to something more accommodating to the research and work I was performing. I financed an iMac. My experience with my iMac has made me realize what a difference the tools used can make on motivation, efficiency, and even quality of work. I look back to at performing the same tasks on a smaller screen and with different software tools with the thought "I will never go back to that."

As we head into a new way of teaching, one way to take care of ourselves is to invest in the tools needed to stay motivated, excited, efficient, and effective. The most important reason for investing is new tools is the increased ability to produce high quality work in our new virtual world. Here are the 5 teacher tools I recommend for the upcoming school year:

iMac

I am a bargain shopper and a cheapskate. I am an eat at home, pack a lunch, and make my own coffee kind of person. I am also an iMac person. With the price on these computers it seems like a contradiction to who I am. The cost is enough to keep me from purchasing my dream 27-in iMac before my current 21.5-in stops working, but an iMac is totally worth the investment.

Not only does the iMac deliver a great reliable product it is super easy to use. The Apple programs are so much far superior to use and better for make stunning design work. I use pages for all of my planning and prep. I can export to PDF and JPEP with the tools on my computer. When I need to put together something quickly at work on Google Docs or Word I am immediately frustrated by the lack of functionality and control over the document, especially when it comes to photos. The difference is noticeable and the preference will become irreversible.

Even though I plan to upgrade to a 27-in iMac, the 21.5-in is big enough to offer a major benefit. The large screen allow a user to open two tabs without minimizing them to the point they are unrecognizable and unusable. Being able to have two tabs open aids in all kinds of tasks. You can copy information from one tab to write on the other. I do this when I input grades from my spreadsheet tracker into Genesis or when I copy parent phone calls into Google Voice. I also snap screenshots of my notes and use the photos as slides in Nearpod. The big screen is a time saver and emotional energy saver. It’s worth the price.

Shop Apple on Amazon.

Stand Up Desk

Transitioning from walking around the classroom to sitting at my desk was a difficult transition. My back was killing me and my activity level plummeted. I waited so long to get a stand up desk. I am hesitant to spend money, see cheapskate notes above. Waiting so long is my only regret. I actually purchased a desk converter that sits on top of my desk. It was a big decision with space and money being a factor. Here is what I settled on:

I love the converter. It is easy to use, stable, and feeds my need to stand and move around a bit. I was very worried about putting my iMac on it, but soon realized there was nothing to worry about. I cashed in a teacher appreciation gift card, Ibotta money, and a gift card to supplement the cost, but I would pay full price knowing what I know now. I was reluctant to purchase it because I was not sure if we would teach virtual again in the fall. That does not matter. I stand at my desk in the summer during planning, writing, and posting. I will use the stand up desk for all of my work needs.

You can shop all sorts of stand up desks on Amazon.

Desk Chair

Buy yourself a nice desk chair. I made the mistake of buying a cute one, but replaced it when I purchased my stand up desk. You can even consider purchasing a tall chair so that you can go from standing to sitting without any adjustments to the desk of your choice. The chair I bought is no longer available, but you can find some highly rated chairs on Amazon. Shop 4 star and above desk chairs on Amazon.

Accessories

Wrist Rest and Mouse Pad

Wrist rests are essential to your physical health. We have all heard of carpal tunnel, so let’s not all get it while we spend more time on the computer. I ordered a basic set for my mouse and keyboard:

Ordering the wrist rest set allowed me more flexibility in choosing a mouse pad that would make me smile while I work. However, you may want to consider a mouse pad with a wrist rest if you think you may be bothered that the mouse wrist rest moves. I do have to readjust it sometimes. Shop cute 4 star Prime mouse pads on Amazon. Or shop dog mouse pads.

Drawing Tablet

I used a school provided bluetooth drawing tablet while teaching in the physical class. The bluetooth connectivity allowed me to move around the room as I taught. I could control the front screen from anywhere in the room as the writing tablet worked as the mouse. I use Nearpod to deliver my lessons and could write on the screen from the back of the room allowing me to keep an eye on students as they worked.

Once I transitioned to virtual learning I still needed a tool for writing on screen. Since I would be sitting at my desk I did not need to pay for the bluetooth connectivity. I opted for this simpler wired writing tablet:

If you do decide to purchase a writing tablet and think you would use it in class. I highly recommend a bluetooth set up. It will not lock you to your desk. You can shop more XP-Pen writing tablets on Amazon.

“As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”