Here is a list of the top 10 things to get your teacher friends or loved ones. These are relatively new products that would be great in any teachers classroom. If you are a teacher leave a comment down below for something you would want for your classroom. Or if you are not a teacher leave a comment down below a different gift idea. I know you can find these products anywhere, I am listing all of these products from walmart.com they have been my go-to shopping a month out from the holidays and normally shift to Amazon when closer to the holidays. All of the walmart.com links go directly to the products.
1. Stikbot Studio Pro
Stikbot is the social-sharing easy to post figurine! It's stylish design allows for easy posing for photographs and stop-animation filming! Includes a free app for iPhone and Android which makes it super fast and simple to shoot stop animation videos of Stikbot and quickly share to social media sites! Includes tripod to quickly and securely set up your smartphone for filming stikbot!
This would be great idea in any high school classroom where lots of students have their own devices. Teachers could even use their device in middle or elementary school. It would be a different way for students to show what they know using stop animation.
2. Miracle Cube Timer
The Miracle Cube Timer is the world's simplest, yet most versatile timer: No more buttons, no more switches, no more dials, the Miracle Cube allows you to manage your time with simplicity and in style. The four sides of the cube simply state the minutes that you would like to start timing. Merely turn it on the side needed and it will immediately start timing. When the time is up, a loud, unmistakable alarm will ring. Simply turn it back to its upright position to silence it. Its that easy!
Timers are being used more and more in classrooms, especially non-traditional type classrooms where students are doing activities and projects and have short but timely deadlines. Great for any classroom.
3. Bluetooth Keyboards
Bluetooth keyboards are the perfect companion for your iPad and other Bluetooth enabled devices. This ultra-slim and stylish keyboard includes the new wireless technology that offers lower battery consumption, higher security encryption and 8x faster transmission speed than Bluetooth 2.0, with the same great wireless distance of 30 feet.
Teachers that are 1-1 with iPads or students can BYOD can easily connect and type using the keyboard.
4. Universal Mini Cell Phone Stand
Small stand for your phone that allows you to easily see your screen without having to have it in your hands the whole time. A different but similar product is called Mobile Handz works the same.
At the middle and high school grades it is impossible to to have students not look at their phones, using this it can be out on their desk and can easily use it (when it is appropriate). In my classroom I like to see students use their phones respectfully and knowing what is appropriate with their phones and when.
5. Cardboard VR Glasses
- Experience a truly stunning, engrossing VR experience with cinematic HD visuals from your smartphone's screen
- Compatible with Android 4.2.2 OS or newer and iOS 8.0 or newer with screen no larger than 5.1"
- Comes with a headband which can let you use with bare hands.
I have a set of VR glasses in my classroom and they are great ways to spark student curiosity. I can introduce different topics and work in a wide range different phones.
6. Bondic Plastic Welder
Bondic is the world's first liquid plastic welding tool! It's not a glue, so don't use it as one! It's the ONLY product that works where glue fails! It's a liquid plastic that never dries until you want it to! Simply squeeze out the desired amount and use the UV LED Light to cure it in 4 seconds and it's done, the world's fastest drying bond! You'll be amazed how fast it works!
I have personally never used it, but my wife the media specialist says that everyone should have one in their classroom. Things break all the time, now you can fix them. When the side of the projector remote breaks you can now quickly fix it.
7. Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty
Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty Heat Sensitive Hyper-color, Twilight, 3.2 oz Color: Hyper-color Twilight. Just as an evening sky melts into the dark of night, Twilight Thinking Putty's deep purple color disappears with a touch of heat to reveal a fluorescent blue complexion.
If your students have never used this thinking putty they are in for a treat. I use this silly putty in my classroom because students love the color and different effects that this brand has. Students can easily manipulate it and it isn't messy.
8. Post-it Big Pad
Hold meetings and presentations with the 3M Post-it Big Pads. They stick to nearly any surface and remove without damage or residue left behind. The bright-colored Post-it sheets grab attention to showcase your display in style, and the rigid backing is excellent for portability and capturing ideas wherever you go. This package includes 30 self-adhesive sheets that stick and stay on smooth vertical surfaces. The adhesive allows you to remove and re-apply them without damaging the surface. These durable and versatile 3M pads are suitable for school use and professional environments.
I love using big post-it notes in class. It helps foster student learning and students can collaborate. The number one reason I love big post it notes is that it helps get student work on the walls. I love when student work is up around classrooms using this is the best way.
9. Bluetooth Tracking Devices
Keep track of your important items with the Tzumi Tag It Discrete Bluetooth Tracking Device. This piece easily attaches to almost anything. The Bluetooth tracking tag, black, helps you to locate missing items. Just download the app and when you need to find something, press the button to see on a map where the item was last located and the distance between you and the tracker.
I had a Tile that did the same thing, but at $25 a pop it was expensive to get it replaced every year. With this tracking device you can find your keys, bag, or maybe a missing student assignment.
10. Arctic Trail Tumbler
Enjoy your favorite beverage on the go with this Ozark Trail 20-Oz, Double-Wall, Vacuum-Sealed Tumbler. It is ideal for a range of activities including hiking, camping, sporting events and commuting to or use at work. The durable high-grade, double-walled, stainless steel construction ensures that it can hold up to almost any task.
I have a Yeti and I love it, but I keep an Arctic Tumbler at school. Yeti performs a little better especially when outside temperatures differ from whats inside the cup. But at school it keeps ice just as long as my Yeti.
