A teacher workflow on a Mac: class timer, notes and camera check

For a teacher, NotchStar offers a quiet timer, a scratchpad, a camera check and a screenshot tray. These help in a physical classroom and in an online lesson. They do not take attendance, grade or manage a class.

Time an activity

1. Open Timers, Timer mode, choose the length between 5 and 60 minutes and the finish sound.
2. Press play as the activity begins. The countdown keeps running when the notch is closed, and you hover over the notch to read the time left.
3. At zero, the sound plays and the timer resets to the same length, ready for the next activity.

For a lesson with set parts, such as ten minutes of starter, twenty of teaching and ten of review, start a new timer at each change. For a stopwatch that counts up, use Stopwatch. Choose a gentle sound, or No Sound, and test it at classroom volume. If you project your screen, the notch area may show on it, because NotchStar does not hide itself.

Jot in the moment

Open Quick Note and type a name, a question to follow up or a page to revisit. It saves as you type, holds one plain text note and does not sync. Move it to your planner after the lesson and clear it.

Before an online lesson

Open Mirror to see your camera preview. Check the framing and the light, and that there is nothing in the background you do not want shown. Then use your lesson app’s own preview to confirm which camera and microphone it uses. Mirror has no camera picker and does not test sound. Details are in the camera check guide.

Share what is on screen

When you want students to have an image of a slide or a worked example, take a screenshot with the macOS shortcut and drag its thumbnail from the Screenshot Tray into the class chat or your learning platform. The tray holds 12, for five minutes each, and never captures anything itself. Check the thumbnail for names and other private details before you send.

What to check about privacy

Your school may have rules about recording, student data and screenshots. NotchStar keeps your note and clipboard on your Mac, does not upload them, and has no account. It does not make a lesson compliant with anything, so follow your school’s policy.

Limits

• Timers reset when NotchStar quits.
• The alert is a sound only.
• One note, plain text.
• The clipboard history clears on quit.

See the Timers page and Mirror page for the full lists.