Teachers are some of the most resourceful people on the planet. We can troubleshoot a projector, calm chaos, and eat lunch in seven minutes flat. But when it comes to everyday tech, we sometimes miss out on little features that could save us hours.
These aren’t fancy tools or new platforms; they’re simple tech tricks hiding in plain sight. Let’s fix that 👇
🎙 Voice Notes on Your Apple Watch
Raise your wrist and say:
“Hey Siri, record a voice memo.”
Boom - idea saved. 💡
Whether it’s a reminder for tomorrow’s lesson, a grocery list, or a spark of inspiration during bus duty, this is one of those underrated features that keeps your brain from buffering.
📱 Bonus: You can listen or organize your memos later in the Voice Memos app on your phone or Mac.
🕹 Version History in Google Docs
Stop making 87 copies of the same document labeled “FINAL,” “FINAL2,” and “FINAL-FINAL.” 😅
Go to File → Version History → See version history.
You can name each version, restore old ones, or see who changed what.
Perfect for:
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Group projects
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Collaborating on shared lesson plans
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Avoiding the “who deleted this section?” mystery
📌 Pinning Tabs in Chrome
Right-click any tab and select Pin.
Pinned tabs shrink down and stick to the left — perfect for keeping your gradebook, email, or LMS open all day without losing them in a sea of open windows.
Tiny trick, big sanity saver.
🌈 Chrome Tab Groups
If your Chrome window looks like a game of Tab Jenga, this one’s for you.
Right-click → Add Tab to New Group → give it a name + color.
You can group all your grading tools, PD resources, or student work links — and collapse the group when you don’t need it.
Pro tip: Create a “Morning Setup” group that opens your daily must-haves in one click.
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📋 OneTab Extension
This one deserves a teacher medal 🥇
When you’ve got 47 tabs open and your computer sounds like it’s about to lift off, click the OneTab icon.
It instantly collapses everything into a tidy, clickable list — saving memory and letting you focus again.
You can restore tabs one by one, or all at once. Perfect for the “end of day reset.”
📸 Quick Screenshot Shortcuts
Because sometimes you just need to capture what’s on your screen fast.
Mac: Shift + Command + 4 → select an area to screenshot.
PC: Windows + Shift + S → select an area to screenshot (it’ll copy to your clipboard).
Perfect for grabbing snippets of slides, online examples, or the one student answer that made your day.
⚡ Why These Simple Tips Matter
These tricks aren’t glamorous — but they work.
They’re the tiny resets that save you seconds that eventually add up to hours.
And the best part? You already have everything you need to start using them.
💬 Ready to Try One?
Start small:
👉 Pin your tabs.
👉 Group your Chrome links.
👉 Or just whisper “Hey Siri…” before you forget that idea.
Little tech wins = less chaos.
And that’s something every teacher deserves.
💡 More shortcuts coming soon! Sign up for the newsletter for weekly time-savers, classroom tech hacks, and real-life resets that actually stick.
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