We educators have a lot on our plates, from administrative tasks like analyzing data, creating rubrics and lesson plans, and drafting parent emails to creating instructional materials like study guides, student tutorials and differentiated texts. As artificial intelligence becomes more ubiquitous, many of us are choosing to use it as a tool to aid us in our work.

Below is a list of AI tools with tips on how to use them to create classroom resources. It’s important to remember that while AI may quickly offer results that appear to be finished products at first glance, you should always thoroughly review any AI-generated content before using it in your classroom. Check for any flaws or errors. And you can further customize results to match your style, lessons and the learning needs of your students.

NotebookLM

This Google tool works only from sources a teacher uploads or selects, so it provides custom content from the start. It can remix materials to create resources like study guides or classroom presentations, and it can even produce a podcast from the source you provide. NotebookLM aligns with Google Classroom and other Google Workspace tools so you can assign different materials to different students and integrate the results into your existing Google documents.

Microsoft Reading Coach

Powered by AI, this tool is available by logging in to Microsoft 365 with your city Department of Education credentials. You can create personalized literacy supports, such as leveled reading passages and small-group or intervention materials. It also has productivity tools for tracking student progress and organizing and planning targeted instruction.

Suno

With a few text prompts, Suno will create music and songs that can be used for routines, classroom transitions, mnemonics or aids to remember subject material like math formulas, book characters or historical timelines. Educators can set poems or speeches to a beat or soundtrack or introduce students to music of a specific era.

Gemini Storybook

This Google tool allows educators to create personalized, illustrated 10- to 12-page digital storybooks using text prompts. Teachers can use it to produce differentiated reading materials or stories tied to classroom themes, specific skills or topics. Read-aloud narration and multilanguage support make it an excellent tool for English language learners and students with disabilities.

Canvas within ChatGPT

Canvas is a writing workspace within ChatGPT for drafting, revising and organizing documents in a dedicated space rather than scrolling through a chat thread. Use it to create classroom resources such as rubrics, reading passages, discussion prompts, quizzes or project directions. You can adapt content for different grade or reading levels, add scaffolding or align materials to learning standards.

To explore tools like these and learn about ways to use AI effectively and ethically, see current workshops being offered by the AFT’s National Academy for AI Instruction, which are held both virtually and on site at UFT headquarters.