7 Interesting AI Tools Every K-12 Teacher Should Know About
As any K-12 teacher knows, the daily balancing act of lesson planning, grading, and providing meaningful feedback can feel like a never-ending challenge. But recent advances in educational technology offer some welcome relief. In this article, we'll explore several practical AI tools that can help streamline your teaching workflow while enhancing student learning. From text summarization tools like Extracto to interactive quiz builders like Quizizz, and from writing assistance platforms like Quill and Grammarly to automated grading systems like Gradescope, these resources can take some weight off your shoulders. We'll also look at how comprehensive platforms like Khan Academy are using AI to personalize learning – ultimately freeing up more of your time to do what you do best: building connections with your students.
extracto
A no-code web scraper that saves educators hours weekly.
Extracto.bot is a powerful but user-friendly AI web scraper that makes data collection simple for K-12 teachers. Its approach requires zero configuration which means you can begin scraping data right away. You just enter the fields you want as columns in Google Sheets go to the website and hit "extract." This saves teachers from mind-numbing copying and pasting of info. The tool works perfectly with Google Sheets using its familiar interface and all the handy features of Google Drive for organizing and sharing data. With the Chrome extension right there, gathering data becomes quick and smooth.
The platform has different pricing options starting with a free Starter plan that fits various needs and budgets. Think about easily collecting student data research for lesson plans or comparing prices for classroom materials. Extracto.bot can pull data from sites like LinkedIn (for professional connections), shopping websites and even real estate listings which shows how versatile it is beyond just classroom use. This gives K-12 educators a real advantage freeing up their time and energy for what matters most - teaching students.
Link: https://www.extracto.bot
Quill
AI-powered literacy tools for better student writing.
Quill.org is a free non-profit website that provides AI-powered literacy tools to help K-12 students improve their reading and writing abilities. The platform serves more than 10 million students with various activities like Quill Connect for sentence building, Quill Reading for Evidence to enhance comprehension and Quill Grammar for language practice. Teachers can smoothly incorporate Quill into their lessons through whole-class activities, diagnostic tools to spot student needs and personalized writing feedback. The system offers lots of activities across different subjects that align with Common Core standards and works great with Google Classroom. Teachers can easily monitor student progress through detailed reporting features.
The platform includes several tools for differentiated learning, with translations available in Spanish, Mandarin French and other languages for students learning English. Activities adapt based on how well students are doing, and teachers can use Quill Proofreader to help students develop editing skills through quick 10-minute exercises. With more than 100 concepts covering 50 hours of curriculum including things like parallel structure capitalization and comma usage, Quill serves as a flexible resource for literacy instruction at every grade level. Schools and districts can access advanced reporting and professional development support through Quill Premium.
Link: https://www.quill.org/
khanacademy
Free personalized learning platform for teachers and students worldwide.
Khan Academy helps teachers and students with tons of free education resources from Pre-K through high school. You'll find everything from basic math to advanced science, arts and humanities all aligned with current standards. Students can learn at their own speed, and teachers can easily spot where kids need extra help. The platform includes special "Get Ready" courses that help prepare students for their next grade level.
Teachers find it super useful because they can see exactly where students might be struggling and adjust their teaching style to match different learning needs. It's really helpful that everything is free, so all students can access quality education materials no matter what. The platform recently added Khanmigo which is pretty cool - it's an AI assistant powered by GPT-4 that acts like a tutor for students and helps teachers too. This makes Khan Academy even more valuable as a teaching tool since it combines traditional learning resources with modern AI technology to support both teaching and learning.
Link: https://www.khanacademy.org/
Gradescope
Efficient grading platform that saves teachers valuable time.
Gradescope makes grading easier and faster for K-12 teachers while providing useful insights about how students are learning. It works with lots of different assignment types including problem sets, projects and standard worksheets, quizzes and exams which makes it great for pretty much any subject like math science or coding. Teachers can upload both paper and digital assignments easily, grade them quickly with detailed comments and use scoring rubrics. The system also handles returning grades to students and manages regrade requests online which saves teachers tons of time.
The platform does more than just automating the grading process. It provides detailed stats for each question and rubric item so teachers can really see how their students are doing and spot where they might be getting confused. If you have the Institutional license, there's an AI feature that automatically groups similar answers together which makes grading go way faster. When you combine this with the ability to give detailed feedback and export grades easily, Gradescope becomes a really complete tool for making assessment more efficient and understanding exactly how students are performing.
Link: https://www.gradescope.com/
Grammarly
AI writing assistant that enhances teacher communication
Grammarly helps K-12 teachers improve their writing and streamline daily communication tasks. It works smoothly with tools like Google Docs and Microsoft Office, making it easy to integrate into your regular workflow. Teachers find it super helpful for writing better emails, creating clear lesson plans and maintaining professional communication with parents and other staff members. The tool checks your writing style, tone and clarity which helps produce more effective writing without spending too much time.
Beyond the basic spelling and grammar checks, Grammarly includes useful features like plagiarism detection, citation tools and AI content detection that benefit both teachers and students. Schools can get team plans to share Grammarly across different departments and grade levels. The platform takes data privacy seriously which is really important when working with student information. According to their website users save around 20 days per year, which can make a big difference for busy teachers.
What makes Grammarly especially valuable is how simple it is to use and that it works on pretty much any platform where you need to write. Teachers can access it through their browser extensions, desktop apps or mobile devices making it a practical tool that actually helps improve communication throughout the school day. The consistent support it provides helps educators maintain professional standards while saving valuable time.
Link: https://www.grammarly.com/
Quizizz
Interactive learning platform that makes assessment engaging and fun
Quizizz helps teachers create and deliver lessons that really work for their students. The platform uses AI to help adapt existing materials or build new ones from scratch making sure every student gets what they need. Teachers everywhere love how it helps kids grasp concepts and check their understanding with fun features like power-ups and instant feedback that keeps students excited to learn. It's no wonder that 90% of U.S. schools and teachers in over 150 countries rely on Quizizz.
You'll find teachers using it for everything from basic math practice in elementary classrooms to helping high schoolers prep for big tests. What makes it really useful is how it lets teachers see right away if students are getting it or struggling so they can adjust their teaching on the spot. The platform is super accessible too with features like text-to-speech that help all kinds of learners succeed. Teachers especially like that they can either make their own quizzes or use and modify ones that already exist which saves tons of time when they're busy. The whole system is straightforward to use and flexible enough to work for pretty much any subject or grade level making it a great tool for educators who want to make learning more effective.