5 Ways to Use AI in the Classroom to Transform Teaching & Learning

So, what is exactly is AI and how does in translate to teaching and education? AI refers to technology that can perform tasks typically requiring human intelligence. What began as simple automation, like basic grading tools, has now evolved into advanced systems that can analyze student data, provide instant feedback, and adapt lessons to individual needs. According to McKinsey, AI could save teachers up to 13 hours a week which then translates to teachers working less overtime, improving their work-life balance and increasing their job satisfaction, as noted by the Department of Education. With this extra time, educators can focus more on building meaningful connections with their students and enriching their learning experience.

Behind the scenes, AI is identifying at-risk students early through predictive analytics, allowing for timely interventions. It also handles routine tasks like attendance, scheduling, and even powers chatbots to answer student questions, reducing administrative load. This not only lightens the burden for teachers but also helps schools allocate resources more effectively. With the global AI education market expected to surpass $32 billion by 2030, it’s clear this technology is here to stay.

5 Practical Ways to Use AI in the Classroom

Now that we’ve covered the rise of AI in Education, let’s explore the ways in you can use AI in the classroom to make a real, positive impact on teaching and learning.

1. AI for Lesson Planning: A New Teaching Assistant

Designing lessons that cater to diverse learning styles, engage students, and hit curriculum targets is no small feat—it can take hours of time. But generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft CoPilot, Gemini, and Claude can drastically cut down that time, helping teachers to create lessons in minutes.

With a few simple inputs—such as lesson objectives or key topics—these AI platforms can rapidly generate tailored suggestions for activities, assessments, multimedia resources, and reading materials. AI can even be fine-tuned to address specific needs. For example, with ChatGPT, you can build a custom GPT by feeding it details like class size, student age, learning preferences, and even past exam papers for more consistency in your lesson planning.

For example:

• Pick a lesson objective—say, “Explore the water cycle and its stages.”
• Plug your prompt into an AI platform, including specifics like lesson duration, grade level, and ideas for warm-ups or interactive activities.
• Compare the AI-generated lesson to your own. Do you notice any time savings or new ideas?

This can be taken even further with the addition of AI-powered interactive learning platforms. Interactive learning software, such as ClassSwift, can offer insights into class performance after each lesson, along with suggestions for quizzes and materials to use in your next class. This makes for more efficient lesson planning that’s highly personalized to your students’ needs.

2. AI for Personalized Learning: Tailor Education to Each Student

Once the lesson is planned, delivering it in a way that engages every student can be a challenge. This is where AI really shines. Traditional classrooms often follow a one-size-fits-all model, but AI-powered adaptive learning platforms can tweak lesson resources in real-time based on each student’s progress. Whether a student needs extra support or craves a harder challenge, using AI in the classroom can adjust the content to meet their needs.

Here’s how it works with the water cycle lesson from earlier:

• Student A struggles with understanding condensation, so the platform offers simpler practice activities until the concept finally clicks.
• Student B already has a strong grasp of the water cycle, so the AI challenges them with more in-depth questions and tasks that explore the impact of the water cycle on climate.

This dynamic approach to personalized learning keeps students engaged, making sure they stay challenged without feeling overwhelmed. Students are able to learn at their own pace with materials that actually speak to their strengths and gaps.

3. AI Textbooks: Transform Static Pages into Interactive Learning

AI textbooks are transforming traditional textbook-based learning with static information into an interactive learning experience. These digital books integrate with AI-powered interactive learning platforms like the aforementioned ClassSwift, letting teachers activate interactive features with just a click. For example, if you’re using a science textbook, you can rapidly generate questions directly related to the textbook content and send them to your students’ devices. Suddenly, textbook learning isn’t one-sided anymore—it’s a dynamic, two-way experience!

What’s more, these AI platforms pull from textbook publishers and national curricula, ensuring the questions they generate match the style and difficulty of national exams. This saves educators from having to create practice questions from scratch, while grading becomes automatic, with student scores tracked for post-class review. Even better, using AI in the classroom gives teachers real-time insights into how students are doing, so they can quickly adjust lessons when students stuck on tricky concepts. Teachers also have the ability to tweak the difficulty of the AI-generated questions, making sure every student is challenged at the right level until those concepts fully click.

4. AI for Responsive Teaching: Real-Time Feedback

Keeping track of whether students are grasping lesson material in real-time is key to staying on course, but with everyone learning at their own pace, it can be tough to know exactly where each student stands. With the right AI platform, teachers get instant insights into students’ quiz and assignment results, so they can switch up their strategy and zero in on tricky concepts. Best of all, students get immediate feedback, keeping them motivated and on the right path.

Using AI in the classroom can also be used to lighten the grading load. AI-enhanced tools like Gradescope can cut grading time from hours to minutes, whether  dealing with digital or paper-based exams, homework, or coding projects. With the time saved, educators can shift theirr focus to more meaningful tasks, like offering personalized feedback and connecting with students—without drowning in a pile of papers to grade.

5. AI for Proactive Classroom Management: Long-Term Insights

Real-time feedback is great for quick classroom adjustments, but tracking long-term performance trends is key to catching bigger issues before they escalate. However, the challenge at hand is between lesson planning, grading, and admin tasks, it’s tough to catch the early signs of a struggling student. In fact, according to the World Economic Forum, teachers spend less than half their time directly engaging with students. This is where AI tools can help. AI-enhanced platforms can monitor students’ daily performance and long-term engagement, making it easier to spot patterns—like a student consistently missing assignments or participating less. This way, teachers can step in early with targeted support, such as one-on-one help or adjusted lessons, preventing small issues from turning into bigger problems.

A great example is Project Student Success, which uses AI and predictive analytics to identify students at risk of falling behind. Since 2016, the project has helped over 34,700 struggling students pass their exams, making it clear how AI insights can drive early interventions that make a real difference!

Getting Started with AI in the Classroom

When you’re ready to bring AI in the classroom, it all begins with choosing the right platform. But with so many options to choose from, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. The key is for educators to focus on their classroom’s unique/specific needs and gradually introduce AI tools overtime, prioritizing first the ones that address the biggest challenges.

Here’s a simple guide to follow when you’re ready to bring AI into the classroom:

1. Choose a Classroom Task to Automate: Start by asking yourself what you need most. Is lesson planning eating up your time? Or are you looking to personalize learning for each student? Do you need a better way to track student progress? Pinpointing your main challenge will help you choose the right tool.

2. Select a Tool: If lesson planning is your main challenge, try out ChatGPT or Claude. If personalized learning is a priority, check out ClassSwift. It’s important when choosing your tool(s) that they offer flexibility, easy integration, and of course security. A good AI platform should adapt to your teaching style and your students’ pace. Can you adjust lessons or assessments on the fly? Flexibility is key, especially when students are learning at different speeds. Additionally, using AI in the classroom is all about making your life easier, not more complex. Look for a secure AI platform that’s compliant with data protection standards and fits smoothly with your current tech setup and teaching methods, so you can focus on teaching—not troubleshooting.

3. Test the Waters: Start out small with just one class or just one assignment to see how using AI in the classroom works best for you.

4. Measure the Results: Once you’ve chosen your AI platform, make sure you continue to track how it’s working for you. Are you saving time? Are students more involved in their learning?

5. Expand AI to Other Areas of Teaching: By reflecting on these changes, you can adjust and expand how you use AI in the classroom to continue to make the biggest impact.

As AI becomes a bigger part of education, safeguarding student data is more crucial than ever. The good news is that concerns about AI privacy are easing as more teachers get comfortable using these tools. In 2023, Pearson found that within just six months, teachers’ worries about ChatGPT dropped by 14%, with over half of teachers feeling confident using it in the classroom. This growing comfort shows that as familiarity with AI grows, any concerns may start to fade, too. That said, transparency is essential. It’s important for teachers to always openly communicate with parents and students about the AI tools that are being utilized in class, how student data will be protected, and for teachers to always get parental consent before sharing any student information.

Summing It All Up

AI is undoubtedly transforming the classroom, but it’s not here to replace the vital role that teachers play in the classroom. AI cannot replace the way teachers are able to connect with students, understand their emotions, and meet their individual needs, but it can take on routine tasks like grading, lesson planning, and data analysis. By taking those tasks off of the teacher’s plate, they’re then free to focus on what truly matters—creating lessons that inspire creativity and critical thinking, and giving students the timely feedback they need to stay motivated and on track.

One AI platform that checks all of the boxes when it comes to evaluating tools is ClassSwift. This GDPR-compliant interactive learning platform enhances engagement by turning any lesson materials or AI-powered textbooks into interactive quizzes sent straight to students’ devices. Teachers can even tailor questions to individual students or groups based on their comprehension, with real-time grading to track progress instantly. Plus, ClassSwift’s AI will suggest personalized materials and questions to help support each student’s learning journey.

Ready to embrace AI in your classroom?  Why not start by exploring ClassSwift today. Schedule a demo with us to see how ClassSwift can create a more engaging, personalized learning environment for students.

(From the editor: Parts of this article were originally published on ViewSonic Library.)