Reply To: Lock InDesign Palettes

Hey, Heidi.
For me, everything I do when I teach is on the verge of embarrassing, but in your case I think there is a solution.
What about setting up keyboard shortcuts to open and close palettes? (File > Keyboard shortcuts, then choose Window Menu from Product area drop down)
I use about 8 or 10 of them for the palettes I use most often.
I even set up a keyboard shortcut to open my keyboard shortcuts.