Top 10 EdTech Life Hacks Every Teacher Needs

Teaching is an incredibly rewarding job but also a challenging one. Whether it's technology not working properly, difficulty measuring student performance, or finding quality classroom resources, teachers are constantly adapting to meet student needs.

With the rapid growth of educational technology tools, teachers now have access to innovative apps and platforms that help them overcome common obstacles in and out of the classroom. From interactive whiteboards to lesson planning software, tech can elevate your teaching game no matter the grade level.

Let’s explore 7 simple EdTech life hacks that will make your teaching more effective and engaging.

7 EdTech hacks to make you a more effective teacher

1. Use webites to teach and trigger discussions

Whatever lesson you teach, you can find great online resources to share with your students in class.

But will you simply show a webpage article and tell everyone to learn what’s on it? That would be the same as instructing them to learn whatever they get in the textbook. Your students won’t be inspired to learn.

You need a tool that helps you edit any web page, online article or blog post. You will need a tool that allows you to add instructional content and questions directly on the page.

EdTech hack:

InsertLearning is the tool that makes those things happen. You can edit any webpage and highlight sentences, ask questions about them and assign them to certain students. Add explanations to text on the webpage where needed and let your students share ideas while going through the webpage.

2. Collect educational content and share it with your students

What do you do when you want to share online resources with your students? Do you send a list of links to everyone’s email addresses? That’s boring, it takes a lot of time and it's not from this time. Better is to save those resources to one general page... or Wakelet. For a creative alternative, explore 30+ creative ways to use Padlet, a blog post packed with classroom ideas using this digital bulletin board.

EdTech hack:

This app allows you to collect and organize all useful educational resources in one place. Wakelet lets you save content from anywhere and arrange it into visual collections by topic. It’s similar to Pinterest, but designed for education and safe to use both in and outside the classroom.

3. Use technology to check papers

You can be objective when grading multiple-choice questions and tests that don’t require long answers. But when it comes to essays, your judgment is not 100% unaffected by your own points of view. If someone writes an essay on abortion and takes a stand you don’t agree with, you might give a lower grade because of that fact.

You need tools that help you check papers in the most objective way possible. Your judgment as a teacher is not excluded when checking papers. Tools such as the one below, however, make it much easier to give a fair grade. Plus, you can recommend these to your students, so they can improve their papers before handing them over.

EdTech hack:

Use Robot Don to check punctuation. It’s a very simple, but effective tool that will spot the mistakes that your eyes miss. By the way, Robot Don is an artifical intelligence creature. He has cut his teeth on essay checking and grading!

4. Get resources from other teachers

Many teachers find lesson planning to be one of the more time-consuming parts of the job. Even if you're comfortable creating lessons from scratch, it’s always helpful to use tools that simplify the process and save valuable time.

Almost every country has its own "lesson idea library" in which teachers share or sell their lesson plans. It's a good way to get inspired or just not to reinvent the light and use lessons that are made by other teachers. Of course, it goes the other way as well. You can share your lesson examples and materials too.

EdTech hack:

Teachers Pay Teachers is the the platform for teachers in the US, UK or other English speaking countries. You get access to over 3 million resources, such as worksheets, lesson plans, posters, printables, and activity guidelines that you can use as they are.

5. Type with your voice

Notes are important. When you present a lecture, you want your students to note down the crucial aspects. But if you have a class focused on writing instead of listening, you have a problem. Adding voice to your lecture documents is the solution. Let students focus on the listening, you'll do the talking. For more support in building students' writing skills, explore our post on How to teach students to be real writers – Tips and tools.

EdTech hack:

Did you know Google Docs has a voice typing feature? All you need to do is turn on your microphone and give it a command to start typing. Tell the tool when to type, so you’ll only have the most important elements of the lecture as notes. Then you’ll share them with the class. Super easy and super cool!

6. Watch documentaries in class for free

YouTube is a great tool for watching videos in class, but it’s not the best one. There are ads in the middle of videos, and the content is not always safe, so you have to watch before you let everyone else watch. There's something that's the right fit for your classroom when it comes to watching documantaries for free.

EdTech hack:

Use Top Documentary Films for informative and educational films. You get free access to full-length documentaries on various topics such as nature, psychology, health, drugs, economics, history, sexuality, media, sports, science, and so on.

7. Find great writing prompts online

As a teacher, you have a responsibility to engage your students with writing assignments. Many students perceive writing as challenging or uninspiring, which means it is essential to find ways to increase their motivation. Creating assignments that feel relevant, enjoyable, and accessible can make a significant difference in how students approach writing.

EdTech hack:

Need a little extra help planning your lessons or creating engaging classroom activities? AI tools like ChatGPT can be a real game-changer for teachers. With just a few prompts, you can generate creative ideas, build custom exercises, find educational resources, or even simplify complex topics for different student levels. It’s like having a teaching assistant at your fingertips—saving time, reducing workload, and helping you focus on what really matters: your students’ learning.

If you’re looking for inspiration, check out our blog post on using ChatGPT in education to help generate engaging writing and classroom activities.

8. Let AI create differentiated lessons for you

Instead of giving every student exactly the same task or worksheet, AI tools can help you quickly adapt texts, questions, and assignments to different learning levels and student needs. This makes differentiation much easier without increasing your workload.

EdTech hack: Use a tool like MagicSchool AI to automatically simplify or enrich texts and questions. Instead of creating everything from scratch, you get ready-to-use teaching materials that you can easily adapt to your classroom.

9. Create micro-lessons that students can replay anytime

One of the biggest challenges in teaching is that students don’t all learn at the same pace, and repeating explanations in class can take up a lot of valuable time. A simple but powerful solution is to turn your explanations into short “micro-lessons” that students can watch whenever they need them.

EdTech hack: Use Loom to record quick 2–5 minute videos where you explain one concept at a time. Instead of long lectures, you break your lesson into small, focused chunks that students can easily understand and revisit. Instead of giving every student the same task, AI can instantly adapt content to different levels.

10. Turn your lesson into a collaborative digital whiteboard

Instead of only explaining content on the board, you can make your lesson interactive by letting students contribute in real time on a shared digital canvas.

EdTech hack: Use Figjam to create a shared digital space where students can write, draw, and solve problems together during the lesson. It makes learning more interactive by letting everyone contribute at the same time, while you can guide ideas, organize answers, and build discussions live as a class.

Everyone benefits from the right EdTech tools

Whether you’re teaching first graders or college students, the right tools can make your job easier and more impactful. By integrating just a few of these EdTech life hacks, you'll save time, engage your students, and boost learning outcomes.

Want more tools and ideas? Head over to our blog filled with interactive teaching tips and check out these ready to use classroom activities and exercises created with BookWidgets.