From Feedback to Flexibility: 5 AI Tools Teachers Should Try
As a fifth-grade teacher and AI School Champion in the St. Vrain Valley School District, I've seen firsthand how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming education — not by replacing teachers, but by enhancing our ability to personalize instruction, streamline tasks, and empower students in new ways.
Our district is all-in on exploring AI's potential. From "AI Pop-Up" events that showcase tools like ChatGPT, SchoolAI, and Adobe Firefly to year-round PD opportunities like Exploration AI (a choose-your-own-adventure style training), the message is clear: AI isn't the future — it's the now.
We also have a network of AI School Champions — one from every school — that meets monthly to share ideas, highlight tools, and design meaningful professional learning experiences related to AI. This culture of support has helped educators explore tools that save time, elevate instruction, and help students grow.
If you're wondering where to begin, here are five AI-enabled tools I've found especially powerful in my classroom and professional practice.
SchoolAI Spaces — A Writing Coach for Every Student
When it comes to writing, every student needs support — and they don't always want to wait for the teacher to get to them. SchoolAI Spaces lets you create a personalized AI assistant that helps students develop their writing. The Space can be customized to focus on specific writing skills, such as crafting introductions, improving detail, or adding evidence.
I recently used SchoolAI Spaces during a "Real Life Superheroes" essay assignment. As students wrote about historical figures, the Space helped guide them to improve their organization and elaboration. Many students were able to take their essays to the next level by responding to the AI's suggestions in real time — something that would be nearly impossible for me to do for 30 students at once.
AI Coach by Edthena — Reflecting on Teaching with AI Support
AI Coach by Edthena brings meaningful reflection into the professional growth process. Teachers upload a video of their lesson and have a coaching conversation with the AI-powered coach, which prompts self-reflection with targeted questions like, "How did you engage students during the first five minutes?" or "What might you do differently next time?"
I used AI Coach after a math lesson to reflect on how I introduced a multi-step problem-solving task. The computerized coach helped me think more intentionally about the way I set up student discourse — grouping strategies, norm-setting, and questioning. The suggestions helped me revise the lesson to better drive inquiry and deepen student understanding. It's like having a coach on demand.
Canva (Magic Design) — Visual Tools for Student Projects
While Canva isn't new, its AI-powered features are game changers. Using its Magic Design tools, you can generate presentation templates and visuals from a short prompt — saving time and making student work more visually engaging.
During a science unit on the solar system, I used Canva's AI to help students create custom presentations on celestial objects. It allowed students to focus more on content while still producing polished, creative final products. Canva's ease of use and built-in design guidance make it a powerful tool for both students and teachers.
SchoolAI Space Designer — Custom AI Learning Environments
The Space Designer feature in SchoolAI takes things one step further — it allows teachers to build entirely custom AI assistants for students. You simply input the objectives and how you want the AI to interact with students, and it creates a ready-to-use Space. Teachers can monitor every interaction, jump in to comment, pause conversations, and personalize the experience.
I used this during our Young Ameritowne financial literacy unit. Students who wanted to run for Mayor created campaign speeches with help from a "Speech Coach" Space. The AI helped them brainstorm, organize their thoughts, and rehearse their delivery. Not only did the speeches improve, but students felt more confident and prepared thanks to the consistent coaching.
Brisk Teaching — Instant Differentiation at Your Fingertips
Brisk is a Chrome extension that works across websites and documents. With just a few clicks, you can level a text, generate quizzes, or create student feedback. I often use it to build comprehension quizzes from online texts or YouTube videos that align with our curriculum. Brisk's AI can generate meaningful, standards-aligned questions to go along with any content.
Recently, I found a high-quality video that supported our Earth science unit. With Brisk, I quickly created a set of questions that helped my students engage with the content and deepen their understanding. It added rigor and accountability to an activity that might have otherwise been passive.
Reimagining What's Possible with AI
As educators, our time is precious. AI tools like the ones above don't just save time — they enhance our ability to connect with students, deliver meaningful feedback, and reflect on our own practice. Whether you're looking to reduce administrative load, support student writing, or design differentiated experiences, there's an AI solution that can help.
And the best part? You don't have to do it alone. Start small. Explore one tool. Find a community of educators — like we have in St. Vrain with our AI School Champions — who are experimenting and sharing what works.
AI in education isn't about replacing the teacher. It's about reimagining what's possible when every student and teacher gets just a little more support, right when they need it most.