Game Changer Ways Teachers Can Use AI in the Classroom (2025)

Are you a teacher wondering how you can use AI to speed up some of your work processes in the classroom? Look no further.

I’m a teacher, turned full-time blogger. This means that I am passionate about education and teacher wellbeing, but also deeply involved in the tech world, and am familiar with different AI tools; what they can and can’t do, and what they’re good at.

As a content creator, parent and teacher, I am skeptical of the greater implications of AI and overusing it. However, I also believe that using AI for certain tasks allows you to have more time for other aspects of your job that require reflection and human input.

I’ve used AI tools to automate many processes, mainly for my tutoring business and in the classroom. I believe that streamlining some of your tasks with AI can be a huge time-saver for you, and frees up more time for tasks that only you can do.

Using AI in the ways that I will show you doesn’t mean that you’re not still the brains behind the teaching operation, or putting thoughtful effort into your teaching practice.

In fact, using AI in the examples that I’ll show you below will:

• free up more time for reflection and the creative thought process, so that you can do what you’re best at
• improve your work-life balance by saving you time on menial tasks.
• improves your performance in other areas of work as you have more time for the thoughtful process on them
• put you at a lower risk of teacher burnout without being so swamped by all the monotonous tasks
• allow for more time for your family, hobbies and interests outside of work

So, let’s jump in – using AI in the classroom!

How Can Teachers Use AI in the Classroom?

Here are 9 ways that teachers can use AI in the classroom. These options and tools will save you time, and allow more room for the teaching aspects that really matter

1. Creation of rubrics

Writing rubrics is one of the most tedious time-wasters in education. (Yes, they are useful in providing feedback to the student, and I’m not trying to say that they don’t hold value.)

But, if you’ve ever had to make a rubric from scratch then you know that writing them can take so much of your time; especially when you have to do it for multiple assignments!

How to Use AI to Generate Rubrics

• You could still make the actual rubric with the columns, and simply have a language model AI write what goes into the columns. Give Chat GBT an example of what your highest achieving rubric column would say, and then ask it to re-write ones for lower-achieving levels. You could even ask it to tailor the same rubric base to different assignments and subjects. This is a game-changer.
• The free version of an AI tool called Easy Grader can generate simple rubrics for assignments. If you pay $20/month, it can greater more in-depth ones

3. Generate quizzes

Don’t reinvent the wheel – AI tools can create quizzes and save you hours of time. You can specifically ask it to create some multiple choice, some short answer, some paragraph or matching questions.

How to Use AI tools to Generate Quizzes

• You can use Magic School AI, or Chat GBT to write quizzes.
• You could provide it with the questions, and have it turn those questions into multiple choice, short answer, and long answer

4. Rewrite assignments or tests in a simpler language level

Differentiation is a big thing in education right now. Teachers are expected to differentiate many aspects of their teaching to different levels and abilities within the same class – with no support or extra time.

I’m not here to debate whether teachers have adequate support in all that’s expected of them, but I’m going to tell you how to make differentiated instruction much easier and faster with AI.

You could ask AI tools for:

• simpler ESL versions of assignments or tests you’ve already written
• making your tasks more challenging with richer vocabulary for your gifted students
• making the questions (not the language but the actual material) easier for students on IEPs with lower grade-level expectations

How to Use AI to Differentiate Instruction

• You can get AI to rewrite tests, stories, math problems or articles for different levels.
• You could write the master one (that most students receive), copy and paste it into Chat GBT and ask it to generate different versions of it.

2. Write skits and dialogues, or simple stories

As a language tutor, I often write dialogues, paragraphs and stories to use with my students to use as reading activities.

In order to use AI for this purpose, you should have an idea of what you’re looking for and be able to make edits, in case it generates something that is about their level. (Even when I ask for an easy level, I still find it comes up with some phrases or words that aren’t easy.)

Tweak it as you may, but it can certainly write all simple stories, skits and dialogues. Since you’re not publishing these, it’s to use the AI to generate an activity that is only going to be used temporarily, as a learning activity.

How to Use AI to Generate Short Stories and Dialogues

• Qeleo AI can do this, but so can Chat GBT. Regardless of which you use, be sure to give it all the prompts (which are the ‘must haves’) for what you’re look for
• For example, I tell Chat GBT that I’m looking for

5. Report Card Comment Writing

I do believe that report cards should have an element of personal touch in them (as a parent and as a teacher.) The personal touch is meaningful to parents, as well as your students. I still remember some of the things teachers wrote about me in report cards and am still touched.

However, there are many parts of the report card that you’re mandated to write that are very tedious and take hours; which in my opinion, only takes away from the time you could spend thoughtfully personalizing it.

How to Use AI to Generate Report Card Comments

• You can use Chat GBT to easily generate different variations of comments for different achievement levels. For example, for math comments – you generally need one for high achievers and other variations of the comment for mid and lower achievers. You could input one base comment and ask AI to generate it to fit different achievement levels.
• Almanack is an AI tool specifically catering to Canadian teachers writing report cards. There’s also ReportCards.ai

6. Generate images for writing prompts

If you can’t find an image that fits what you want to show your class, you could generate one using prompts given to AI to generate something (hopefully) close to what you’re envisioning.

It can also edit and or make the changes you want to existing images.

How to Use AI to Generate Images

• Canva has a free AI image generator. I don’t love the images it creates, but when used for a simple small activity, I think they are fine.

Pro Tip: If you don’t already have Canva, be sure to sign up as an educator to be able to use the service for free. Canva regularly costs around $150 per year, but is offered free to teachers who can prove that they are a teacher (they will ask for photo ID, and other proof.)

7. Grade student work

I believe in being careful with this, because you would never want to students to think that you barely glance at their work and only have it auto-generated (nor am I suggesting that that’s the best thing to do.)

I do believe though that some processes of grading can very repetitive, and mind-numbing. I believe that the use of AI can cut down on some of those tedious parts of grading so that you can focus on the more thoughtful aspect of it.

How to Use AI to Help with Grading

• There’s a tool called CoGrader that connects with Google Classroom. You can migrate all submissions from Google Classroom, and it provides the ‘boring’ grading aspect of grading, such as grammar and spelling. Then, you look it over for review, and add more of your valuable, own feedback.

Thanks to the time saver from using AI, you’ll have more time and energy to put some meaningful thought and reflection into your feedback for students.

Pro Tip: GoGrader costs $150 per year for individual educators. This may be worth it if you have to mark a lot of essays or written work through Google Classroom.

8. Edit your writing

Writing is an important form of written communication, and I’m a big believer in generating my own written content. I own two blogs and have never published AI-generated content on either of them.

However, AI can come in really handy in a few different writing situations:

• You’re wondering if the word you’re using is the right one for the situation (especially helpful if you’re not a native speaker)
• You can’t remember a word, or you’re looking for a similar word with a slightly different meaning
• editing a text you wrote for grammar accuracy (might be useful for newsletters and emails home to parents)

Chat GBT and the free version of Grammarly (for the 3rd example) are great helps to these ideas.

9. Providing feedback to students and their parents

The feedback you provide to students should always be thoughtful and meaningful, and I’m not saying to completely skip the process of providing feedback by using AI for all of it.

But there are many tedious tasks associated with giving feedback that you could offload to your AI virtual assistant.

If you teach secondary or post-secondary, Turnitin Feedback Studio is a useful tool that can:

• check for plagiarism or AI-generated content
• provide simple feedback to students

In addition, you could use Chat GBT to write levelled comments that you use as a check box. This helps you give students an idea of how they’re doing, and communicate with parents.

10. (Bonus) Ensure that students didn’t use AI

So this sounds like a contradiction -we’re using AI, so why can’t they? The difference is that teachers are using AI for tedious tasks associated with their job, and presumably, we have the education and knowledge to know what we’re looking for, and can make the necessary adjustments.

Students on the other hand, are learning and are demonstrating that learning. Getting AI to generate answers for them isn’t doing the work associated with learning or with showing their learning.

Tools like Turn It in Feedback Studio, or Co-Grader have AI-checkers built into them that can scan student work to see they’ve submitted AI-generated content.

Best AI Tools to Use in the Classroom

• Chat GBT – this is the easiest and most accessible to use. It can be used for any of the tasks I outlined above.
• Almanack – an AI tool for report cards (Canada-focused)
• ReportCards.ai – Another report card writing tool
• Easy Grader – provides rubrics, grades essays, provides feedback and also has its own AI checker
• Canva for image generation
• Turnitin Feedback Studio – AI checker for student work,and provides simple feedback so that you can do the rest
• Co Grader – merges with Google Classroom, and does all of your baseline editing to save you time
• Magic School AI
• Gradescope can grade math and essays for higher education
• Quero AI – another AI tool focused specifically on classroom education; available in Portuguese and English, and works for all levels including pre-school up to higher education.

Pro Tip: Most of these AI tools for the classroom cost money, but can be purchased either by individual teachers or by schools. (It’s often cheaper to purchase them as an individual than what it would cost a school to buy it for their entire staff.) Many of these AI tools allow a free trial so can see if you like the tool. Quite of them also offer to schedule a Demo to show you to use the tool.

Teachers Using AI in the Classroom FAQ

Here are the most commonly asked questions about how teachers can use AI in the classroom to save time and get through some of the tedious tasks much quicker

What is the best AI tool for teachers?

There is no one ‘best’ AI tool for teachers – it purely depends on what grade and subject you teach, and what you want to use the AI tool for. Chat GBT can help with many aspects of teaching, but there are specific AI tools designed to fulfill specific purposes, such as writing report cards, generating quizzes, doing tedious grading, and even providing simple feedback.

How can teachers use AI to save time?

AI can save time for teachers by helping with the very repetitive tasks associated with their job, such as altering comments for different levels, re-writing tests or texts to be simpler for lower-grade level students, generating multiple choice questions and countless other ways.

How can tutors use AI?

Using AI can be very helpful with lesson planning for tutors. Tutors can use AI to generate simple texts and word questions or develop simple quizzes that can be used during the tutoring session. As a language tutor, I use AI often to generate dialogues, skits and reading passages that we can use during our lessons. I always look them over and make the tweaks that I want.

How can a teacher use AI in the classroom?

Teachers can use AI in the classroom to generate quizzes, and levelled comments, create short reading texts, and help with report card writing, and rubrics. There are endless monotonous tasks mandated in education that teachers can use AI to optimize their time so that it can be spent on the things that really need their care and attention.

Final Thoughts on Using AI in the Classroom as a Teacher

So, how can teachers use AI in the classroom? There are so many ways – AI can be used for the aspects of your job that aren’t really using your best talents, and isn’t where you time is best spent.

Of course, quizzes, rubrics, and report card comments are important. But we can waste so much time trying to write them ourselves and re-invent the wheel, when we can use an AI tool that can do it much quicker.

This frees up our time and makes our jobs much easier, and less stressful. It can also save you from burnout in the long run.

I am not someone who believes in outsourcing so many creative tasks to AI that we are not longer imagining and generating ideas on our own.

But I am a big fan of freeing up a teacher’s time for the more thoughtful tasks that only you can do. I hope that this article has been helpful to you, and shown you many ways to save time as an educator.