4/2/2024

13 Teacher Tools That Combine Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has arrived in the classroom, and it’s here to stay. While tools like ChatGPT, beloved by students, might be one of the first to come to mind, AI can revolutionize how teachers teach while supporting student learning. AI-powered educational tools can offer personalized learning experiences and analyze data on student performance. They can also automate repetitive tasks, provide instant feedback, and do so much more—which has some teachers concerned about job security. 

AI and Education

According to a recent report from the McKinsey Global Institute, roughly half of today’s traditional work activities could be automated by 2055. This includes many tasks teachers perform in the classroom, like tracking student performance and differentiating instruction. So, with AI tools streamlining instruction, some teachers wonder what their jobs will look like in the future—and whether they’ll still be needed. 

Could AI Replace Teachers? 

AI capabilities are improving in real time, which could (and probably will) disrupt the way many industries function. Is education one of these fields? The short answer is yes, but likely not in the way you’d expect. 

Right now, the job of “teacher” encompasses far more than simply providing instruction to students. There’s lesson planning, grading, and data analysis. There’s differentiation and 1:1 lessons and identifying effective classroom resources. There are mandatory PLC and grade-level or content-area meetings. There’s lunch duty and coaching responsibilities and fundraising for field trips. There’s parent communication and social-emotional oversight. There’s connecting with students and the relationship building that goes into that connection. Each teacher could list at least five other tasks they regularly perform as part of their job.

AI can play a crucial role in supporting teachers with ancillary responsibilities, alleviating their workload and granting them more time to dedicate to the quintessential aspect of their profession—delivering effective instruction. However, it's essential to recognize that fostering a safe and inclusive environment where students feel seen, valued, and understood is equally vital in the realm of education. While AI can assist in various facets of teaching, it cannot replace the human element required to cultivate social-emotional awareness and address the fundamental needs of students. Teachers' capacity to create such a nurturing environment is intrinsic to their role and directly impacts the effectiveness of instruction. Thus, while AI can complement teachers' efforts, it cannot supplant the interpersonal connections and empathetic understanding they bring to the classroom.

How to Harness AI with HI 

According to a Forbes survey, 60% of teacher respondents have integrated artificial intelligence into their classrooms to improve and streamline their daily teaching responsibilities—and 55% said they’ve seen improved educational outcomes from these integrations. For anyone who hasn’t explored AI integration, here are a few steps to begin: 

1. Learn the basics. Before diving into the pool of AI tools available to teachers, research the different types of AI out there. Some tools can automate data-related tasks, generate worksheets or other written materials, notate, and take on many other responsibilities. Knowing what’s available can help narrow down the support you need. 

2. Identify your needs. Take a look at your regular tasks and responsibilities. Which takes the most time? Which rely on manual management? See which tasks you’d like to offload to focus on more important responsibilities. 

3. Explore tools. Take the research you performed on available AI tools and your task list, and see what matches. Identify different AI platforms you can try from there. 

4. Start small. From your master list, identify one tool you’d like to test. Start small so you can track the outcomes. 

5. Review the data. Set up regular check ins to ensure the AI you’ve selected is functioning how you want and is, in fact, saving you time. 

6. Scale your approach. Once you’ve mastered one tool, return to your original list and add another. Repeat this process until you’ve automated as much as possible, allowing the bandwidth to focus on those tasks that require your unique human intelligence. 

AI Tips and Resources

While teachers are testing AI tools to make their lives easier, students are doing the same. Explore the tips and resources below to ensure smooth AI integration for yourself and students in your classroom. 

• Incorporate digital literacy learning. Students are growing up with AI as a regular part of their lives and schooling. Ensure you’re teaching them the best and safest ways to interact with these tools. 

• Explore tools together. As a part of your digital literacy lessons, explore popular tools together. Explicitly share how you expect students to interact with these tools and any actions that might violate your personal or school’s or district's technology use policies. 

• Know how to identify plagiarism. As long as there have been essays and homework, there have been plagiarism concerns. Tools exist for teachers to scan student assignments and ensure they’re not AI-generated or taken from the internet. 

13 Teacher Tools to Explore

For teachers ready to expand their AI use in the classroom, here’s a list of some of the most useful AI tools for teachers. 

1. Lexia® Core5® Reading: Core5, a pre-K–5 program rooted in the science of reading, personalizes learning, empowers students with agency and a growth mindset, and is proven to accelerate literacy development for all abilities.

2. Lexia® PowerUp Literacy®: PowerUp accelerates literacy gains for students in grades 6–12 who are at risk of not meeting College- and Career-Ready Standards through a targeted and personalized experience that addresses individual skill gaps and impacts reading proficiency and academic success. 

3. Lexia English Language Development™: Lexia English is a K–6 Adaptive Blended Learning program that supports Emergent Bilingual students’ English language acquisition through academic conversations. The program integrates speaking, listening, and grammar in the subjects of math, science, social studies, general knowledge, and biographies.

4. Got Feedback: This tool gives feedback about student work in a variety of mediums, depending on the needs of the student, including written, verbal, and video. 

5. EdPuzzle: Allows teachers to make instructional and interactive videos for students. 

6. Twee: This resource offers teachers a range of support, including developing questions from texts, producing essay topics, creating vocabulary documents, transcribing videos, and more. 

7. Quizalize: Uses ChatGPT to create personalized and gamified quizzes on any subject. There’s also a bank of premade quizzes to start with. 

8. Conker: Another quiz tool, but this one boasts alignment with state standards, making it easy for teachers to ensure they’re creating high-quality, standards-aligned assessments. 

9. Brisk: This is a comprehensive AI teaching companion that can write lesson plans, provide feedback, change the reading level of a text, and more. It also aligns with state standards and has accommodation support.

10. Slidesgo: This resource provides a range of free templates for Google Slides and PowerPoint to save teachers time designing their own instructional decks. 

11. AudioPen: This tool converts speech into easy-to-understand text. Teachers can use this to take notes from each lesson, structure lesson plans, and more. 

12. Hello History: Allows students to “talk” to historical figures through AI. It’s a great way to make history interactive. 

13. Curipod: This resource creates interactive and engaging lessons for classroom instruction. 

Looking Ahead

While classrooms are filled with new technology every year, the importance of a knowledgeable teacher to harness the power of that technology and guide student growth will always be necessary. As Carl Hooker, educational speaker and consultant, said, “They [students] don’t remember the worksheets, they don’t remember the spelling tests. They don’t remember the math homework. They remember diving into passion-based projects and using technology to guide that.” Hear more from Hooker about the educational technology landscape in the “Districtwide Culture Change: Literacy Tech Tools and Teacher Support” episode of the All For Literacy™ podcast.