10 Gifts for Under $50 That Tech-Savvy Teachers Will Appreciate

Stuck for ideas on how to show your kids’ teachers the depth of your gratitude? We’re in the midst of Teacher Appreciate Week, which is a great time to thank them for all their work this year—or at least get a jump on picking out an end-of-school-year gift. If your favorite teacher is tech-inclined, they will likely appreciate one of the gadgets on this list, all of which are under $50.

A mini thermal printer

Thermal printers have gotten smaller and smaller, and now they can fit in your pocket. Why a thermal printer? They can quickly produce stickers, notes, even temporary tattoos. I can think of 100 ways a teacher would use one of these printers. I like the Notebuddy for its compact shape and easy-to-replace sticker paper. You connect via Bluetooth from your phone or laptop. 

If you have a Kindle or TikTok habit, you know all too well the hand cramping that comes from having to hold and flip through with your thumb. There is a solution—the scrolling ring. Worn on your finger, you can press the forward, backward, or select button on your ring and control your phone or tablet remotely. You could even use it on whatever you are showing your class onscreen.  

A heated neck massager

For the last year, this neck massager has been all the rage on TikTok, but I didn’t think much of it until I was gifted one. Holy moly. What makes it work differently is that it’s shaped like a scarf you stretch around you, and put your arms through, so you can easily change the pressure based on how hard you stretch the massager. 

Super Mario Bros. brick lamp

I’ve been obsessed with this Super Mario Bros. question mark light up brick. It attaches to the wall or wherever else you’d like to stick it, and yes, you can actually punch it, and yes, it will make that deeply satisfying sound effect from the classic game. Imagine this in a classroom, where a swipe can serve as a reward.

Desk vacuum cleaner

My desk is where everything goes—mail, projects, books, gloves, my purse—so it often needs a cleaning. Can you even imagine what a teacher’s desk looks like at the end of the day? I love this cordless vacuum cleaner that I can keep nearby and grab as needed to vacuum my keyboard and mousepad if I need to, without needing to clear away pens and cords.

A projecting microscope

The Hue is a fascinating piece of tech: a small camera on a bendy, telescoping arm can project anything to your screen via USB. The macro lens can project a doc, picture, live handwriting, or an ant walking across a table, all at 720px.

Endless flowers for their desk

The allure of LEGO is forever. This flower bouquet set is a project for relaxing at home, or working on with students. In either case, the resulting bouquet is more interesting than fresh flowers, and will give any teacher instant credibility with kids.

Sunrise alarm clock

Waking up for another day of school with your little rays of light can be… a lot, but a sunrise alarm is the gentlest way someone can rise and shine. The alarm subtlety brings the level of light up in your room, timed to when you need to get up, mimicking the sunrise.

A wireless mic and speaker

Teachers use their voice constantly during the day, trying to be heard over students. A little amplification couldn’t hurt. A simple wireless microphone means less shouting, and many less sore throats.

A notebook that’s manual and digital

For some people, a tablet is too much tech, but a spiral notebook is too basic. Enter Rocketbook, which is the best of both. Write manually on the pages, and they’ll be scanned to the Rocketbook app.