7 AI Tools for Teachers That Help Them Work More Efficiently

The launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT catapulted artificial intelligence into mainstream use. AI technology can now be found in every corner of the internet, and it has been injected into a broad range of applications, including education tools. While many educators, particularly those who already have strong technology skills, have embraced AI to help manage their classrooms and produce lesson materials, others may hesitate to use the new technology.

AI isn’t perfect, of course, and it cannot replace humans, despite what Hollywood sci-fi films tell us. Some teachers may have concerns about privacy issues and the ethics of using an algorithm to do their work, particularly since we discourage students from using AI to do their homework. These are valid concerns that deserve discussion, which is why educators should be aware of the capability of these tools, including their cons and their pros—such as the time-saving ability to handle daily tasks.

Here is a round-up of popular AI tools for teachers that are being used in today’s classrooms. Some are free, while others require a subscription, but they all can be viewed as digital assistants that inspire creativity and save time.

7 AI Tools for Teachers

1. Canva for Education Magic AI

For over a decade, Canva has been the go-to app for creating graphics. With an extensive library of templates and drag-and-drop capability, anyone can produce professional-looking designs. Canva has added AI tools and functions designed for educators. Teachers can create, edit, and animate engaging materials for their students. The Magic Write AI Text Generator streamlines writing tasks by producing rough drafts of lessons, worksheets, content, and emails based on user-created prompts.

2. Curipod

With Curipod, educators create standards-aligned, interactive lessons that students may join from their mobile or desktop devices. They become part of the lesson with Interactivities that include open questions, polls, and drawing activities. Teachers may use provided templates to get started or build their own lessons and view student answers before they are posted to the class discussion. Curipod also has a personalized AI-generated feedback function.

3. Quizizz

The Quizizz app enables educators to generate assessments in multiple formats—open-ended, multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, drag-and-drop, etc.—by entering a prompt and selecting grade level and other criteria. Quizzes may also be created from content by entering a URL or uploading a document. Assessments can be differentiated to meet individual students’ needs and designed to be teacher-paced (live) or student-paced (assigned as homework.) The app generates student- and class-level reports and integrates with many popular learning management systems.

4. MagicSchool AI

Developed by a former teacher and school administrator, the app includes more than sixty AI tools for teachers. MagicSchool AI generates lesson plans with resources based on educator-entered criteria that can include objectives and standards. Teachers can differentiate by entering IEP requirements and leveling text up or down to align with students’ reading levels. Other tools include a rubrics generator and an IEP writing tool, which produces draft IEPs.

5. Worksheets AI

This time-saver generates customizable text and visual worksheets. Educators select a grade level and difficulty level, then enter objectives, standards, and accommodations. Worksheets AI generates a worksheet based on a prompt or content from a URL or an uploaded document. The app also creates graphic organizers.

6. CoGrader

Reading and grading student essays is time-consuming, and many teachers give up their evenings and weekends grading essays so they may provide students with timely feedback. CoGrader is an AI tool that does a first-pass review, parsing each essay and identifying strengths and weaknesses as defined by teacher criteria. Educators can then review the generated feedback and adjust it to align with their own insights into the students’ work.

In addition to saving time by highlighting the main points in students’ essays, the AI tool generates feedback free from human bias. Regarding the ethics of using AI in the grading process, this is only a preliminary review that sorts out what a student is or isn't saying in their writing.

CoGrader integrates with Google Classroom, and developers plan to integrate with more systems in the future.

7. AI Content Genie

School leaders can use AI Content Genie to quickly create PD courses with content pulled from YouTube videos. Simply enter the URL of the video that you want to turn into a course or let Content Genie find the perfect one for you, and it will generate a rough draft ready for editing and enhancement with additional resources. AI Content Genie is a product of MobileMind, a professional learning hub that modernizes PD programs by consolidating all PD, synchronous and asynchronous learning, in one place.

Offer Effective AI Training with MobileMind

While most educators can teach themselves how to use these tools, districts should incorporate AI training into their PD programs to ensure that teachers maximize the benefits of AI and understand the privacy and ethical issues involved. Traditional PD programs with in-service days a few times a year are not the most effective way to offer this training. In any district, the range of skills and levels of proficiency vary from one educator to the next. A one-size-fits-all approach is inefficient, and with weeks or months between training sessions, much of the learning is lost or becomes outdated.

MobileMind gives school leaders the ability to offer their faculty continuous, personalized learning opportunities. Teachers can build their AI skills by accessing lessons and learning paths from a mobile device or browser extension and engage in PD at their own pace when and where it is convenient for them. As they progress in their learning, they will earn micro-credentials to mark achievements and encourage further learning.

Streamline PD Program Development and Implementation

Districts can create lessons to meet their schools' specific needs and offer educators learning opportunities from the MobileMind ReadyMade Marketplace, which offers pre-built micro-courses and learning paths created by educational technology experts. All PD activities are consolidated in the learning hub, which makes it easy for school leaders to set goals for their faculty and track the progress of individuals and groups.

Conclusion

The role that AI technology plays in society is rapidly evolving and promises to significantly change how teachers teach. Districts that fail to include AI training in their PD program risk ineffective use of AI tools by educators at best and violations of ethical and privacy conventions at worst. Teachers need continuous, readily available learning opportunities to understand what AI can do and to stay current with new advances in the field. With MobileMind, school leaders do not need to start from scratch or juggle multiple learning platforms to modernize their PD programs.

MobileMind offers personalized professional development with activity-based learning. All PD activities are brought together in one space to simplify reporting and tracking. The ReadyMade Marketplace makes it easy for school leaders to develop relevant, effective PD programs. With one click, you can get pre-built learning paths, micro-courses, and badges for EdTech training. Schedule a call to learn more.