AI in Education: Tools for Teachers and Students, and the Pros and Cons
AI can save teachers hours and give students a patient tutor at any hour. It can also make cheating trivially easy and get facts wrong. Here are the tools worth knowing, the honest pros and cons, and how to handle AI in a class fairly.
AI tools for teachers
- Khanmigo for Teachers: Khan Academy's AI teaching assistant for lesson plans, rubrics, and differentiated materials. It's free for US teachers thanks to a partnership with Microsoft (Khan Academy).
- MagicSchool: an AI platform built for educators, with tools for lesson planning, rewriting texts at different reading levels, and drafting assessments.
- Brisk Teaching: a Chrome extension that helps give feedback and adapt materials inside Google Docs and other tools teachers already use.
- NotebookLM: Google's tool that turns your own sources, like readings or notes, into summaries, study guides, and audio overviews.
- General assistants: ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are good for drafting emails to parents, generating example problems, and brainstorming activities.
AI tools for students
- A tutor, not a ghostwriter: ask an AI assistant to explain a concept a different way, quiz you, or check your reasoning, rather than do the work.
- Khanmigo for learners: Khan Academy's AI tutor, designed to guide students toward answers instead of giving them away.
- NotebookLM: upload your own notes and readings and ask questions about them, or turn them into a study guide.
- Feedback on writing: ask for comments on clarity and structure, then revise it yourself.
- Listening to texts: the free text to speech tool reads any text aloud, which helps with long readings and proofreading.
Whatever the tool, a good prompt matters. The free AI prompt builder helps you ask for exactly the help you need.
The pros and cons of AI in education
| Pros | Cons | |
|---|---|---|
| Learning | Personal explanations and practice at any hour | Easy to skip the thinking that learning needs |
| Teachers | Hours saved on planning, feedback, and admin | Output still needs checking and adapting |
| Accuracy | Quick answers and examples | AI can state wrong facts confidently |
| Access | Help for students who can’t get a tutor | Better tools often cost money |
| Privacy | School-approved tools can protect student data | Consumer tools may store what students type |
AI detectors aren't the answer
Tools that claim to detect AI writing are unreliable. OpenAI shut down its own AI text classifier in 2023 because of its low accuracy: it identified only 26% of AI-written text and wrongly flagged human writing 9% of the time (Search Engine Land). Accusing a student on a detector score alone risks punishing honest work.
Handling AI in class fairly
- Set a clear policy per assignment: AI not allowed, allowed for brainstorming, or allowed with disclosure.
- Grade the process: outlines, drafts, and short conversations about the work show real understanding.
- Do more in class: writing and problem-solving in the room is the simplest check.
- Teach good use: how to prompt, how to fact-check, and when not to use AI at all.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best free AI tools for teachers?
Khanmigo for Teachers is free for US teachers, and NotebookLM and the free versions of ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are useful for planning and materials. Check your school’s rules on which tools are approved.
Can students use AI for homework?
It depends on the class policy. Used as a tutor, to explain concepts or check reasoning, AI can help learning. Having AI do the work usually counts as cheating and skips the learning.
Are AI detectors accurate?
Not reliably. OpenAI shut down its own AI text classifier in 2023 because of low accuracy, and false accusations are a real risk.
What are the pros and cons of AI in education?
Pros include personalized help, time saved for teachers, and wider access to tutoring. Cons include easier cheating, confident mistakes, privacy concerns, and unequal access to the best tools.
Is AI safe for students’ data?
School-approved education tools usually have stronger data protections than consumer apps. Students should avoid entering personal information into tools the school hasn’t approved.
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