7 Gifts for the Ed Tech Teacher

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      With Christmas fast approaching, I thought it would be interesting to look at some Ed Tech gifts for teachers. While subscriptions are outstanding, we will primarily focus on hardware because many subscription services are school-based purchases. I want this to be things spouses, kids, and other relatives can get.

The gifts: 

• Logitech Spotlight Advanced Remote
  • $89​
  • I love this remote, and every teacher needs a good presentation to stay mobile in the classroom. This remote is simple, has excellent highlighting features, and, best of all, charges via USB-C. It’s also incredibly well made as it feels like a piece of metal rather than the plastic pieces you see in so many other places.
• Pluggable Dock
  • Prices vary based on model​
  • We will leave this a little more general as Pluggable has many desktop docks for different needs. The key to this is that it gives me various ports to easily plug-in peripherals. Just on this one doc, I have two monitors, speakers, a webcam, a stream deck, a microphone, a hard drive, and a ring light. The best part is I only have to plug in one cord, and it works both on my Mac and my wife’s Yoga Book.
• Stream Deck
  • Prices vary based on number of keys​
  • Steam Deck is meant more for Streamers, but I find it invaluable in my duties. It’s a panel of programmable shortcut buttons but can become invaluable when I am in an online presentation. I could see teachers using this as an avenue to demo all the online resources they need effortlessly and seamlessly.
• Anker Mobile Docks
  • Prices vary based on features
  • If you live in multiple classrooms or travel to do any presentations, this becomes invaluable. Again, it’s about being able to plug in my needs, and with computers having just a handful of ports these days, this is a way to increase that value.
• Anker Multi-Port Chargers
  • Prices vary based on number of ports
  • You also need to charge all the devices in your classroom. Some teachers have also taken the initiative to create device spas, so students aren’t on their phones the whole time. Having good chargers makes this all happen, and the Anker brand is an easy way to get there.
• A second monitor.
  • Prices vary on deal
  • There are a thousand ways to accomplish this, but the beauty of it is you can get one very cheaply by thrifting or using eBay. Check your local Goodwill, and be willing to take one with a slight defect. You can fill that need for less than $100
• Amazon Gift Cards
  • Is there a better way to fill a tech need than giving a gift certificate to the everything store? Let’s them get what they want!