Best AI Tools for Teachers To Enhance Productivity and Engagement

Teachers wear many hats — educator, counselor, planner, motivational speaker, and sometimes even tech support expert. With lesson plans to draft and feedback to deliver to students and superiors, it’s no wonder why teachers work long after the last bell rings. And balancing it all can be overwhelming.

Streamlining tasks doesn’t just lighten your load. It frees up energy to focus on class. That’s where generative AI tools can step in as a personalized teaching assistant. The best AI tools for teachers lend a hand in every aspect of teaching, from grading essays to brainstorming fresh lesson plans.

Here’s a guide to the ways educational AI tools can give teachers back precious free time while enhancing learning. 

4 ways AI can transform a teacher’s work

How can AI help teachers? Here are all the ways AI supports educators:

1. Productivity boost

Teachers dedicate their lives to nurturing young minds. But let’s face it — a mountain of administrative tasks often gets in the way of meaningful one-on-one moments with students. 

Whether it's grading quizzes, organizing lesson plans, or tracking progress, AI agents can lend a hand with never-ending to-do lists. Taking care of repetitive, low-priority tasks lets teachers focus their time and energy on what they do best: teaching and connecting with students. 

2. Personalized learning

No students are the same, and teachers understand that better than anyone. Unfortunately, teachers don’t always have time to build personalized learning strategies for everyone. 

AI-powered adaptive learning platforms and AI-powered tutoring give students exactly the support they need, from extra practice on a tricky topic to more challenging material. The best part? Many educational AI tools generate detailed progress reports, giving teachers valuable insights to support each student’s unique learning journey better. 

3. Streamlined feedback

Constructive feedback is essential to growth — young students included. AI tools can streamline the process by offering automated assessments and suggestions for improvement, allowing teachers to give pointed and meaningful feedback. It’s not a replacement for personal conversations, but a tool to enhance them.

4. Supercharge classroom engagement

Teachers often double as comedians, entertainers, and motivational speakers to keep their students engaged. It’s a tough crowd, but educational AI tools are here to lend a hand. 

From gamified lesson plans that add adventure to virtual assistants to create presentations, AI adds interactivity to the teaching toolkit. Teachers know better than anyone that when students have fun, they’re more likely to engage and focus.

9 AI tools for teachers 

The right tools can make a world of difference in a teacher’s day-to-day life. These AI-for-school solutions save time, engage students, and simplify your workload. 

1. Otter.ai

Ever lose a great idea that came to mind during classroom discussions? AI-powered transcribing tools like Otter capture every detail. 

Our AI-powered transcription tool captures every detail in real time, enhancing online classes and lectures so teachers can stay fully present. Beyond note-taking, Otter summarizes discussions, highlights key takeaways, and can create content based on recorded discussions, making it easier to review lessons and refine strategies. Use Otter AI Chat to create customized content based specifically on your lectures like study guides or summaries.  

2. Curipod

Curipod is an AI-powered online program that adds extra flair to your lesson plan. Teachers create interactive activities, from creative polls to word clouds. Similar to ChatGPT, Curipod’s machine-learning technology can whip up tailored lessons or activities based on prompts. 

Curipod stands out for its flexibility and imagination. While it’s best for younger students, you’d be surprised at how much older ones (even university-level) love using games to study.

3. MagicSchool 

MagicSchool AI equips teachers with tools to handle everything from lesson planning to brainstorming questions to accompany YouTube videos. It even helps craft Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and parent correspondence. 

MagicSchool is a versatile partner for any teacher aiming to streamline their workload and keep the focus on their student’s success. The best part is that it has a student-facing portal that educates students on AI safety and its impacts — an ideal feature for younger kids just learning about technology.

4. GradeScope

GradeScope is an AI tool that helps grade paper-based homework, multiple-choice quizzes, and digital tests. 

GradeScope’s built-in analytics track trends in student performance so teachers can adjust lesson plans and strategies accordingly. It also syncs with Turnitin, where students can submit assignments and check their work for plagiarism and AI.

5. SlidesAI 

Creating presentations from scratch is time-consuming, even for teachers comfortable with tech. SlidesAI is a presentation creation tool within the Google Worksuite. Teachers can transform dense text into visually engaging slides and save time on design. 

Whether summarizing a lesson or adding interactive elements, SlidesAI helps you focus more on content and less on trying to get that image and text to align just right. It works for any teacher, educator, or professor who uses slideshows often.

6. Adobe Firefly

Adobe Firefly is a generative AI tool designed to spark creativity with imagery. You can create customized images and videos, build visual templates, and animate texts. It’s a great way to create unique, lesson-specific images. For example, a math teacher could illustrate algebraic equations while English teachers turn text-to-image to improve writing prompts. 

7. Edpuzzle

With Edpuzzle, you can turn any video into an engaging learning experience. The web-based generative AI tool helps teachers enhance visual learning with questions and lesson assignments. 

For example, a sociology professor could insert questions during a historical documentary to check for comprehension and critical thinking. Plus, teachers can track progress in real time, collect data on responses, and create transitions from live lessons to independent work. 

8. Microsoft CoPilot

As part of the Microsoft family, CoPilot for Education is a productivity tool designed to transform teacher and educational staff workflow. CoPilot generates lesson plans, assignments, and presentations, making content creation easy and effective. It can also personalize student support with tailored study resources and handouts that cater to different student’s needs. And at the end of the curriculum, CoPilot analyzes student feedback and performance to improve lesson plans and teaching strategies. 

9. Twee

Twee is an AI-powered tool designed to make life easier for English-as-a-second-language teachers, focused on improving reading, writing, vocabulary, and speaking skills. 

Twee generates everything from reading passages and essay prompts to grammar exercises and comprehension questions. The platform allows teachers to customize difficulty levels and focus on specific language skills, tailoring lessons to individual student needs. 

Revolutionize your teaching with Otter

AI positively impacts student learning, streamlines the teaching experience, and results in better educational outcomes. And the best part is that you can start now with Otter.

Otter is committed to offering resources that make learning more accessible for everyone. Otter.ai for students writes real-time captions and notes for both in-person and virtual lectures, building a more accessible, positive learning experience that emphasizes understanding and discussion. Schedule a demo to see what we can do.