12 Edumaps Tricks That Save Every Teacher an Hour a Week
Edumaps Tutorials EdumapsTable of Contents
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- ⚡ One Box per Student in Seconds
- 📚 Ready-Made Templates Instead of a Blank Map
- 📱 Put the Map on the Board via QR Code
- ✍️ Participation Without Student Accounts
- 🗳️ Quick Voting with Poll Boxes
- ✅ Checklists for Self-Directed Learning Phases
- 🔁 Duplicate a Map for Parallel Classes
- 🤖 AI Analysis for a Better Overview
- 🧭 Choose the Right Format
- ⏱️ Countdown Box for Work Phases
- 📂 Drag and Drop Files Directly into the Map
- 📅 Material appears automatically: the display date
Tip 1
⚡ One Box per Student in Seconds
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Quick start with AI: Instead of creating each box individually, the AI module instantly creates a complete structure for the class.
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Prompt to copy:
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“Create a separate empty box for each of the following names, using the name as the heading: Anna, Ben, Clara, David, Emil, Finja, ...”
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Suitable for:
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- group work
- feedback rounds
- weekly plans
- portfolio work
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Benefit:
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- All students immediately receive their own workspace.
- The map is prepared in just a few seconds.
- Especially practical with many names or frequently changing groups.
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Key takeaway: A good prompt saves several minutes of clicking and creates order right away.
Tip 2
📚 Ready-Made Templates Instead of a Blank Map
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Don’t start from scratch: The template catalog offers more than 200 ready-made maps for teaching, organization, and projects.
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How to use templates effectively:
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- choose a suitable template
- import it
- adapt the content
- use it directly
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Typical advantages:
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- the structure is already there
- the design does not need to be rebuilt
- ideas for your own map layouts develop faster
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Especially helpful when:
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- preparation time is short
- trying new teaching formats
- dealing with recurring routines
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Key takeaway: Templates not only save time when creating maps, they also help make maps clearer and more organized.
Tip 3
📱 Put the Map on the Board via QR Code
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A fast start to the lesson: Every map has a QR code. When it is projected on the board, students can join immediately with a phone or tablet.
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Everyday benefits:
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- no need to dictate a link
- fewer questions about long URLs
- access in just a few seconds
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Especially useful for:
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- the start of a lesson
- spontaneous work phases
- substitute lessons
- open learning settings
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Process at a glance:
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Step Action Benefit 1 Display QR code everyone sees the access point immediately 2 Students scan quick start 3 Map opens working time begins right away -
Key takeaway: The QR code shortens the start and gets the class to the map without detours.
Tip 4
✍️ Participation Without Student Accounts
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Simply work with a write code: Students can contribute to a map without registering and without logging in.
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This is ideal for:
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- spontaneous collection phases
- brainstorming
- short lesson impulses
- substitute lessons
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Why this saves time:
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- no account creation required
- no password problems
- immediate access for the whole learning group
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Important in class:
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- the entry barrier is low
- even younger classes can manage it quickly
- technical hurdles are greatly reduced
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Brief conclusion: If things need to move quickly, the write code is often the most practical solution for direct participation in class.
Tip 5
🗳️ Quick Voting with Poll Boxes
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Collect live opinions: Poll boxes make it possible to capture the class’s mood in a short time.
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Examples of polls:
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- next presentation topic
- date of the class test
- project selection
- feedback on the lesson
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Strengths of the feature:
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- results are visible immediately
- everyone can participate easily
- decisions become transparent
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Practical benefit:
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Use Question Benefit Planning Which topic first? quick decision Feedback What is still unclear? direct feedback Organization Which date works? better overview -
Key takeaway: Poll boxes save discussion time, structure decisions, and make participation visible in class.
Tip 6
✅ Checklists for Self-Directed Learning Phases
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Make progress visible: In checklist boxes, students tick off completed tasks themselves. This makes progress immediately visible without constant checking.
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Especially suitable for:
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- weekly plans
- station work
- learning offices
- homework phases
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Advantages at a glance:
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- students work more independently
- teachers can see the status at a glance
- tasks appear clearer and more organized
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Typical checklist elements:
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- read the task
- complete the material
- check the result
- submit the work
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Key takeaway: Checklists reduce the teacher’s workload while also promoting responsibility and orientation during longer learning phases.
Tip 7
🔁 Duplicate a Map for Parallel Classes
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Prepare once, use multiple times: Instead of rebuilding the same structure again and again, a finished map can simply be duplicated.
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Typical use cases:
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- parallel classes
- follow-up course in the semester
- next school year
- similar project groups
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This specifically saves:
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- setup time
- design work
- repeated insertion of identical elements
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Useful before duplicating:
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- adjust names
- update dates
- check materials
- review writing permissions
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Key takeaway: Reusing good maps makes work more efficient and also ensures consistent processes across multiple learning groups.
Tip 8
🤖 AI Analysis for a Better Overview
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Evaluate many contributions quickly: After brainstorming or collection phases, AI can summarize a full map and identify the key points.
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This is especially helpful with:
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- many student contributions
- confusing collections of ideas
- preparing a plenary evaluation
- quick review sessions
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Possible AI results:
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- most important topics
- frequent arguments
- open questions
- useful clusters
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Comparison:
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Method Effort Result Read 25 boxes individually high slow AI summary low quick overview -
Key takeaway: AI does not replace pedagogical judgment, but it provides a strong basis for further classroom work in seconds.
Tip 9
🧭 Choose the Right Format
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Choosing the format saves restructuring work: If you use the right map format from the beginning, you work much more efficiently later on.
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Typical formats and uses:
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Format Suitable for Strength Pinboard idea collections flexible and open Timeline processes, history clear sequence Gallery visual results strong visual impact Journal reading texts, documentation linear and calm -
Why this matters:
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- content fits the presentation better
- students understand the structure faster
- later changes are smaller
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Key takeaway: Not every task needs the same view. The right format makes the map easier to understand and saves preparation time.
Tip 10
⏱️ Countdown Box for Work Phases
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A timer on the board instead of watching the clock
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A countdown box clearly shows the remaining working time for the whole class.
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Typical use cases:
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- silent work phases
- group work with fixed time
- station changes
- presentations with speaking time
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Benefits in class:
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- everyone sees the time without asking
- work phases end on time
- transitions become calmer and clearer
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Practical process:
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Step Action Benefit 1 Insert countdown into box time is set 2 Project the map on the board everyone sees the timer 3 Countdown runs out phase ends without discussion -
Key takeaway: A visible countdown structures the lesson almost by itself and saves constant reminders about time.
Tip 11
📂 Drag and Drop Files Directly into the Map
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The fastest way to get materials into the map: worksheets, images, or PDFs can be dragged directly from the computer into a box, without an upload dialog and without detours.
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This works with:
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- images and photos
- PDF documents
- worksheets
- audio files
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Why this saves time:
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- no clicking through menus
- multiple files at once are possible
- material is immediately available for the class
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Especially practical for:
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- lesson preparation the evening before
- spontaneous material needs during class
- building topic maps with many documents
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Key takeaway: Drag instead of click — drag and drop is the shortest route from the computer folder to the finished map.
Tip 12
📅 Material appears automatically: the display date
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Prepare once, deliver automatically: Every box can be given a display date. Until then, it remains invisible and then appears automatically, without any further action.
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Typical use cases:
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- Build the entire weekly plan on Sunday, and the daily tasks appear day by day
- Release solutions only after the working time is over
- Advent calendar doors and countdown activities
- Open the stations of a unit one after another
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Why this saves time:
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- Preparation is bundled into one session instead of requiring daily maintenance
- no more "Have I already released this?"
- the map keeps working, even if you are teaching, in a meeting, or out sick
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Process at a glance:
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Step Action Benefit 1 Create boxes for the entire week Everything prepared in one go 2 Set the display date for each box Order is fixed 3 Boxes appear automatically The map delivers them automatically -
Key takeaway: The display date turns a map into a schedule that runs itself – prepared once, delivered automatically.