Tools and Resources for Teachers
Tools and Resources for Teachers
🚨 CRITICAL DATA PRIVACY NOTICE (POPIA Compliance):
Never input student Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as names, grades, IEP/LSP details, student writing samples, or behavioral notes into any unapproved, third-party AI tool. Only Google Gemini where there is a formal data-privacy agreement with AISJ are cleared for sensitive data.
Gemini is like Chat GPT but is free for AISJ to use and is comparable to the paid-for version of Chat GPT. It also has the functionality to do text-to-image prompts. Gemini is also linked to the internet for more up-to-date news prompts.
Link: https://gemini.google.com/app
Access: Use your AISJ Google account
Video about Google Gemini
Google Notebook LM (Language Model) is a generative AI tool designed to assist users in summarizing, drafting, and generating text, code, or other content in a collaborative, notebook-style interface. It leverages Google's advanced language models to provide interactive and dynamic responses, making it ideal for brainstorming, research, content creation, and other productivity tasks. It supports contextual learning, integrates with Google's ecosystem, and offers capabilities like real-time editing, rich formatting, and structured organization of thoughts or projects.
Link: https://notebooklm.google/
Access: Use your AISJ Google account
Video about Notebook LM
Google Vids is an online video creation app that is included as part of the Google Workspace suite. It is designed to help users create informational videos for work-related purposes. The app uses Google’s Gemini technology to enable users to make video storyboards manually or with AI assistance using simple prompts. Features include uploading media, choosing stock videos, images, background music, and a voiceover feature with script generation using AI.
Link: https://vids.new/
Access: Use your AISJ Google account
Video about Google VIDS
Canva Magic Studio is an AI-powered suite of tools designed to enhance creativity and streamline content creation. It includes features like Magic Write for generating text, text-to-image conversion for unique visuals, and AI-powered editing for quick adjustments to designs. With intelligent suggestions for layouts, fonts, and colors, it simplifies the design process while enabling users to create high-quality content efficiently. Perfect for individuals and teams, Magic Studio is ideal for presentations, social media, marketing, and more, making professional design accessible to everyone.
Link: https://www.canva.com/
Access: Use your AISJ Google account
Video about how Canva AI tools work
Adobe has built an image generation AI tool that was trained exclusively on licensed or freely available image banks, so it does not suffer from the ethical issues that other image generators have. A suite of AI-based tools are built into the Adobe Experience Cloud. Features such as “generative fill” will soon appear in PhotoShop, Illustrator, Express, and other programs that are being heavily used by AISJ students.
Link: https://firefly.adobe.com/
Access: Use your AISJ Google account
Video About Adobe Firefly
Adobe Express is an all-in-one design, photo, and video tool developed by Adobe. It enables users to easily create a variety of content, including graphics, videos, flyers, and animations. The platform offers customizable templates and quick actions for tasks like image and video editing, making it accessible for beginners and professionals. Additionally, Adobe Express integrates AI-powered features from Adobe Firefly, allowing for generating unique artwork and text effects.
Link: https://firefly.adobe.com/
Access: Use your AISJ Google account
Video about Adobe Express
This is the most well-known large language model chatbot. It is available for free to people over 13 years of age. The more powerful paid-for version is expensive and requires a credit card. Signing up the first time, even for the free version, may require using a mobile phone number. One advantage of using ChatGPT is that the full text of the conversations can be shared with a link, much like sharing a Google Doc. This allows students to cite their sources by sharing the link to their chat transcript so that the teacher can follow along and evaluate their thinking and interaction with the AI.
OpenAI created a resource on how students can use ChatGPT in school
Link: https://chat.openai.com/
Access: Register for an account using your AISJ Google account
Video on how to get started
Perplexity is an AI research assistant for people 13 and up. It has a conversational interface, contextual awareness and personalization to learn your interests and preferences over time. Their goal is to make searching for information online with Perplexity feel like you have a knowledgeable assistant guiding you. Perplexity is web-based and also has a mobile app with voice dictation. When a user asks Perplexity a question, it searches the internet, consolidates the responses, and provides links to the original sources. The conversations (called Threads) can be shared with a link, so students can do research and then easily share the entire conversation for transparency or peer-based fact-checking and review. It’s free to use with the option of a paid upgrade for access to more powerful AI and additional features.
Link: https://www.perplexity.ai/
Access: Register an account using your AISJ Google account
Video on how Perplixty works
MagicSchool is an AI-powered platform designed to assist educators by streamlining various teaching tasks. It offers over 50 specialized tools that aid in lesson planning, content creation, student assessments, and classroom management. These tools include a Lesson Plan Generator, Rubric Generator, and Classroom Management solutions, all aimed at enhancing teaching efficiency and effectiveness. By integrating AI into educational workflows, MagicSchool enables teachers to focus more on student engagement and personalized instruction.
Link: https://www.magicschool.ai/.
Access: Register for an account using your AISJ Google account
Poe.com, developed by Quora, is a platform for chatting with AI models like GPT-4 and Claude 3. Available on multiple devices, it offers instant answers, dialogue, and custom bot creation. Users can explore AI tools for learning, productivity, or entertainment.
Link: https://poe.com/Iudia
Access: Register for an account using your AISJ Google Account
Video about Poe
Rule: Tools and extensions used only by specific groups under strict supervision. Because browser extensions can "read" your screen and potentially access student data (PII) across different tabs, no AI browser extensions may be installed or used without explicit Tech Department approval.
These tools provide writing assistance, grading aides, and on-page summarizing.
Data Privacy Status: High Risk. Extensions can read screen data (like student names and grades in Google Classroom) and must be individually vetted for POPIA compliance.
Approved Audience: Restricted (IT Approval Required)
Access: Login varies by extension.
Used for accessibility, reading support, and speech generation to accommodate specific learning needs.
Data Privacy Status: Varies by platform. Must be vetted by IT.
Approved Audience: Learning Support / ELL Students
Access: Register with Google Account
These are powerful tools used for advanced coding assistance or complex problem-solving in specialized electives.
Data Privacy Status: Varies. Must be vetted and approved by IT.
Approved Audience: Specific High School Classes
Access: Login varies by specific tool.
Because of South African POPIA data privacy laws and our RAIL framework, teachers cannot adopt new AI tools for their own use or for student use without prior vetting. Students are also instructed not to download new tools without your permission. If you discover a new AI platform, or if a student recommends one that you’d like to pilot in your classroom:
Do not create student accounts or require students to use the tool.
Submit a Request: Contact the Tech Department (via the IT Helpdesk / Ticketing System) with the name of the tool and how you intend to use it.
Vetting Process: The Tech Department / AI Task Force will review the platform's terms of service and data privacy agreements to ensure it does not train its models on student data before approving it for campus use.