How To Be a More Efficient Teacher Using TextExpander

The best way to become a more efficient teacher is to use TextExpander—at least according to the teachers on Twitter who are TextExpander users. Here are some of the things they’re saying about TextExpander:

“If you’re a teacher and you haven’t learned to use TextExpander, you’re wasting time every week.”

“How did I ever do electronic grading without TextExpander?”

“God, I don’t even know how I EXISTED without TextExpander.”

Those are strong statements, but TextExpander users will understand.

TextExpander can save you hundreds of hours—and if you’re a teacher, it can help you become much more efficient at grading, emailing, and giving feedback.

Inger Mewburn, director of researcher development at The Australian National University (and creator of The Thesis Whisperer, a website for PhD students who need help completing their dissertation), says TextExpander saves her approximately one week a year.

(She’s such a big fan of TextExpander as a productivity tool for teachers that she co-wrote a TextExpander guide to academics.)

So what is TextExpander, how does it work, and how can it help you become a more efficient teacher? In this post, we’ll answer all of these questions.

We’ll also show you the basics of how to use TextExpander and share tips for getting started.

Ready? Let’s begin!

What is TextExpander?

TextExpander is a tool that helps you write faster by using shortcuts that expand into larger fragments of text.

You can save any type of text into TextExpander—codes, URLs, email addresses, and entire messages.

For each text fragment you save, you assign it a keyboard shortcut or abbreviation. From then on, whenever you want to insert the saved text, all you have to do is type the abbreviation.

Building a snippet library—a repository of text fragments you can summon up using shortcuts—helps you type much more quickly. With the right snippets, you can blaze through online forms and craft an entire email in seconds.

Because I find similar stumbles are repeated by many students, I have a set of text snippets that I can drop right into any editing window using an abbreviation I make up using TextExpander software.
— The A&P Professor (@theAPprofessor) April 4, 2020

TextExpander helps The A&P professor be a more efficient teacher.

How can TextExpander make you a more efficient teacher?

Here are some ways teachers use TextExpander to increase their efficiency at work:

Paul Blankenship, M. Ed, has snippets for his personal details so he can be more efficient when filling out online forms.

Professor Coralie English has snippets for colleagues’ email addresses and links to frequently-cited papers. That way, she doesn’t have to go searching for scattered information when she’s writing.

Math professor Robert Talbert turned repetitive responses into snippets to create entire emails with only four keystrokes.

Composer and educator James Humberstone turned APA style tips into snippets to save time on thesis marking.

Shane Landrum, PhD created a snippet for teaching students how to write better emails.

Professor Inger Mewburn’s TextExpander snippets. Source: Twitter

How to use TextExpander to be a more efficient teacher

Ready to become a more efficient teacher with the help of TextExpander? Here’s how to get started.

Step 1. Sign up for a free trial (no credit card required!)

To sign up for a 30-day free trial of TextExpander, head over to our education page, then click the “Try It Free” button.

Note: Signing up via this page ensures you get our 30% discount for teachers if you subscribe!

To create your account, you’ll need to enter your first name, last name, email address, and password. That’s it; we don’t ask for your credit card details at this point.

In addition to creating an account on TextExpander.com, you’ll need to download the TextExpander app. (TextExpander is available for Mac, Windows, Chrome, and iOS.)

(If you need more details on how set up TextExpander, visit our Learning Center or contact support.)

Step 2. Subscribe to Public Groups

Public Groups contain snippet packs created by us and the community for public use. Subscribe to a Public Group to automatically add the snippets from that group to your personal library.

To see the public snippets available, visit the Public Groups page—we have at least a few that can help you be a more efficient teacher.

For step-by-step instructions on how to subscribe to Public Groups (and how to make your own snippet packs public), see TextExpander Public Groups 101.

Step 2. Create your own snippets

Public Groups will help get you off to a good start, but if to use TextExpander to become a more efficient teacher, you’ll need to create your own snippets.

Kerry Provenzano recommends creating TextExpander snippets for:

Your personal details, such as your name, the subject you teach, your short bio etc.

Responses to frequently-asked questions (FAQs)

Useful links

Frequently-sent reminders, requests, and instructions

To create snippets for grading, she suggests making a note of the comments you repeatedly make on assignments as well as looking through your Sent folder to identify frequently-used phrases and repetitive responses.

Don’t know how to create a snippet? Watch the video tutorial below:

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