Educators are the ultimate innovators. They constantly adapt to the needs of their students, find creative solutions to challenges, and create relevant learning experiences for their students. This is why AI is so exciting for education. AI is not here to replace educators; it is here to amplify their innovation. AI in education can be harnessed in so many ways, and in the hands of creative educators it will transform learning in ways that we can only begin to imagine. I would know–I’ve had the pleasure of working with incredible educators in UnconstrainED’s courses that reimagine the way that AI can help them innovate the work they do with students.

Today, AI is a powerful tool that has shifted how educators streamline their workflows, plan their lessons, and give feedback. However, I believe that AI is truly the creative amplifier in the classroom that educators have been waiting for. Educators can ultimately go beyond using AI for efficiency. As we have been able to automate so many of the routine tasks that we do every day, we can now focus on using AI as a tool to reimagine lessons, redesign classroom environments, and create more relevant learning experiences. Though we may not yet know exactly how AI will evolve in the future of education, one thing is certain: it’s here to stay. Let’s take a closer look at how educators can begin innovating right now with AI, by using it’s full potential to change the classroom in purposeful ways. 

Innovate your lessons with Brisk Boost 

Brisk is an incredible tool for educators. Their most recent updated feature, “Brisk Boost,” is a real game changer for creating innovative lessons for students. The new feature allows you to upload resources. You can create different student-facing tools like an interactive “character chat” based on their reading. Additionally, it enables the creation of “real world math” off of any resource. I love that you can edit the resource and preview the student-facing view of the resource. 

Use Case: I plugged in an article on global warming. I chose an inquiry activity and Brisk created a boost activity for students to discover the history and importance of the 2-degree warming limit and think critically about why this limit was chosen regarding climate policy. I loved that AI was integrated to guide the student through the resource. 

Innovating Learning Space with AI 

Innovation with AI is not just for course materials-you can use it to help you innovate learning spaces as well. Maybe you’re considering adding flexible seating but are unsure of what that might look like or where to start looking for items to add to your classroom. Just upload an image of your current setup into ChatGPT and ask for specific feedback and options based on your vision. 

Example Prompt: I want you to act as an innovative interior designer who specializes in creating collaborative and functional spaces for schools. I have a 900-square-foot classroom and a $500 department budget to help with the re-design. I would love to have more flexible seating spaces for my students. I would also like a dedicated space where students can work in groups on bean bags. Analyze the image of my current space and give me suggestions on how I could go about my re-design, including links to any items that I might consider purchasing that are within the overall budget. 

Cross-Disciplinary Innovation

AI tools can revolutionize the way that we co-plan for cross-disciplinary units or lessons. I’ve always loved collaborating with my colleagues from other disciplines. We always had at least one unit each year where multidisciplinary lessons were happening. We usually ended these units talking about how much we would love to collaborate more often. However, time constraints and a lack of prep time would get in the way. AI tools like Eduaide can significantly lessen the planning time and allow teachers to add an additional thought-partner to elevate their innovative ideas. 

Use Case: I used the Unit Planning tool in Eduaide to generate science and social studies cross-disciplinary unit on climate change for 8th grade students. Eduaide created a 4-week unit that was aligned with the specific objectives that I gave, which I could edit as I saw fit. Just having the overall unit was fantastic as I could then use the other tools  that help with innovation in lessons on Eduaide. Eduaide offers cooperative learning tools including STEM Projects, project based learning and even film project ideas which make generating innovative lessons so much easier. It’s a great resource to at least get the cross-disciplinary process started if you and your team are stuck. 

These use cases and tools exemplify just a small fraction of how AI can assist the innovation that educators are bringing to the table each day. Consider how you might use an LLM or AI tool to innovate, rather than automate or streamline your classroom workflow this week. The possibilities are endless–happy innovating!