AI Teaching Assistants: Benefits, Drawbacks, and Best Practices

The popularity of AI teaching assistants has been one of the most significant developments in educational technology over the last year. Platforms such as MagicSchool, Brisk Teaching, SchoolAI, and Khanmigo offer educators a wealth of tools and features designed to streamline teaching tasks, personalize learning experiences, and enhance classroom efficiency. However, as with any new technology, it's important to approach AI teaching assistants with a balanced perspective, understanding both their potential benefits and limitations.

AI Teaching Assistants: What Are They?

AI teaching assistants are software platforms that leverage artificial intelligence, particularly large language models (LLMs), to assist educators with various tasks, such as:

  • Lesson planning

  • Generating creative ideas

  • Creating worksheets

  • Developing quizzes and tests

  • Grading and providing feedback

  • Creating presentations

  • Analyzing student data

  • Facilitating personalized learning

  • Communicating with parents

These assistants offer a range of pre-crafted prompts and templates, simplifying the process of creating educational materials. They often integrate seamlessly with Learning Management Systems (LMS) such as Google Classroom and Canvas, making them even more convenient for teachers.

Benefits of AI Teaching Assistants

● Efficiency: AI assistants excel at automating tasks, freeing up valuable time for teachers to focus on direct instruction, student interaction, and other essential aspects of teaching.

● Centralization: AI teaching assistants provide a single location for accessing a wide range of AI-powered tools, making them easy to find and use.

● Consistency: AI applies scoring criteria and feedback uniformly, reducing the potential for human bias or inconsistency.

● Personalization: AI can analyze student data and create personalized learning experiences tailored to individual needs and learning preferences.

● Accessibility: Many AI teaching assistants are free or offer affordable subscription plans, with many under $10 a month, making them accessible to educators across various settings.

● Support for Diverse Learners: AI can provide targeted support for students with learning differences or those who require additional assistance

Drawbacks: The LLM Issue

The most significant drawback of most AI teaching assistants lies in the large language models (LLMs) that power them. These platforms typically run on less advanced LLMs, such as GPT-3.5, compared to the latest version of ChatGPT, GPT-4o. GPT-4o’s capabilities are far ahead of those of GPT-3.5 and this disparity in LLM performance significantly impacts the quality, accuracy, and capabilities of AI teaching assistants.

Most AI teaching assistant tools hide the fact that they use GPT-3.5 or other lower-performing LLMs. For instance, it's virtually impossible to find a reference at MagicSchool to its LLM. SchoolAI and Mizou are similar in that they obscure LLM information. SchoolAI tells you it uses ChatGPT, but fails to disclose which LLM it is employing. This secrecy can lead to unexpected consequences, particularly in subjects requiring precision (like Math) and contextual understanding (like World Languages).

For instance:

  • Limited Creativity and Nuance: AI assistants powered by less advanced LLMs may struggle to generate truly creative content or provide nuanced feedback on student writing.

  • Prone to Errors: The quality of AI-generated content can vary greatly depending on the LLM used. Less advanced models are more prone to errors, inaccuracies, or "hallucinations," where the AI generates factually incorrect or nonsensical information.

  • Limited Modalities: ChatGPT’s 4o model offers advanced multimodal capabilities, both audio and visual, while most AI teaching assistants do not.

AI teaching assistants are also restrictive in that they are highly structured and may prevent you from inserting additional information into your prompts or uploading additional files. In other words, you must present them with requests in the manner they prescribe. Furthermore, some AI teaching assistants charge extra for “special features,” which you may have assumed were already part of their services. Finally, many AI teaching assistants bar students from entering, which negates the possibility of creating student-facing activities.

The ChatGPT Advantage

ChatGPT, particularly GPT-4o, offers several advantages over many AI teaching assistants:

  • Advanced LLM: GPT-4o is a more powerful and sophisticated LLM, enabling higher-quality content generation, more accurate responses, and a greater capacity for nuanced understanding.

  • Flexibility: ChatGPT is incredibly versatile and can be used for a wide range of tasks beyond those offered by many AI teaching assistants.

  • Multimodality: GPT-4o seamlessly integrates text, vision, and audio, providing a more engaging and interactive learning experience.

However, ChatGPT also has its limitations:

  • Data Privacy: Unlike many AI teaching assistants designed specifically for educational settings, ChatGPT does not have built-in data privacy protections. This lack of student data protection can be a significant concern for schools, and many ban its use.

  • Prompting Skill Required: To leverage ChatGPT effectively, users need to be skilled at crafting clear and specific prompts. This can be a learning curve for some educators.

  • Not Built for Teachers: ChatGPT is not specifically designed for educational purposes and lacks streamlined features many teachers find desirable, if not essential.

  • Age Restrictions: ChatGPT is not meant for children under 13, and OpenAI requires that children ages 13 to 18 obtain parental consent before using ChatGPT.

Popular AI Teaching Assistants: A Comparison

Here's a brief overview of some popular AI teaching assistants and their key features:

  • MagicSchool: Offers a vast library of over 60 tools for educators, with more than 25 lesson-planning tools, including a conceptual understanding generator, a rubric generator, multiple explanations for complex concepts, AI-resistant assignment suggestions, a unit plan generator, math story word problems, a 5D model science lesson plan generator, multiple-choice quiz generators, and more. The tools are customizable to personalize student learning and are available in multiple languages. One advantage of MagicSchool is its support for many file formats, including PDF, images, and Word documents. MagicSchool is continuously improving its platform to provide cutting-edge features for its users. One of the most significant recent upgrades is integrating AI-powered image generation and editing capabilities powered by Adobe Express. In all, MagicSchool is a popular, affordable and feature-rich AI teaching assistant.

    • MagicSchool launched MagicSchool for Students (“MagicStudent”) in 2024, a groundbreaking AI platform designed to foster AI literacy among students. This platform offers a range of student-facing tools and resources that enable teachers to plan lessons and activities incorporating AI technology.

  • SchoolAI: A comprehensive AI-powered teaching assistant that offers customizable features designed principally for K-12 students. It includes a range of student-facing tools, such as chatbots that provide personalized feedback, interactive quizzes, and collaborative project spaces. SchoolAI emphasizes monitoring and analyzing student activity, providing teachers with insights into student learning patterns. It integrates with various digital platforms and LMSs (like Google Classroom, Canvas, etc.) to collect data on student interactions, such as assignment submissions, quiz scores, and participation in online activities.

  • Khanmigo: An intelligent tutoring system developed by Khan Academy that provides students with one-on-one tutoring and also serves as an AI-powered teaching assistant by supporting teachers in lesson planning, student engagement, and feedback. It leverages advanced AI techniques, including natural language understanding, speech recognition, and computer vision to interact with learners through voice or text. By analyzing student questions and needs, Khanmigo can provide relevant content, exercises, and personalized feedback to guide them toward mastery. One of Khanmigo's best features is its ability to break down complex problems into sequential steps, helping students understand the thought process behind each solution rather than simply providing answers. But Khanmigo for classrooms and schools requires an (expensive) subr

  • Brisk Teaching: Essentially a versatile Chrome extension that seamlessly integrates with a wide range of web pages and applications. It integrates directly with Google Workspace, including Google Docs, Slides, and Classroom. Brisk Teaching excels at providing real-time feedback on student writing, offering suggestions and hints directly within documents. It also includes features for creating rubrics and generating personalized feedback. However, some of its most desirable tools, such as the Targeted Feedback Tool, are only available with a paid subscription that is only sold to institutions, not individual teachers.

  • Eduaide: Focuses on lesson planning, differentiation, and assessment. It offers tools for creating standards-aligned lesson plans, generating differentiated activities, and building assessments. Eduaide emphasizes streamlining the teaching process and making educators more efficient.

  • Mizou: An AI-powered chatbot focused on tutoring, assessment, and grading in multiple languages. It allows teachers to create customized chatbots tailored to specific subjects and learning objectives. Mizou prioritizes student data privacy and is COPPA compliant.

  • TeachMateAI: This AI teaching assistant is attracting many educators with promises of time-saving automation and a wide array of teacher-friendly tools.The platform includes lesson plan generators, resource creation assistants, and assessment builders, all powered by advanced AI algorithms. TeachMateAI is geared towards educators following the International Baccalaureate program or the UK National Curriculum. Still, it also provides resources geared toward the core curriculum in the United States, Canada, and other nations.

    Best Practices for Using AI Teaching Assistants

  • Focus on Learning Goals: Clearly define your learning objectives and how the AI assistant can help you achieve them.

  • Choose the Right Tool: Carefully evaluate different AI teaching assistants and select the one that best aligns with your needs, preferences, and teaching style.

  • Understand the LLM: Inquire about the LLM powering the AI assistant. The quality of the LLM significantly impacts the quality of the AI-generated content and feedback.

  • Critically Evaluate AI Output: Always review and edit AI-generated content to ensure accuracy, appropriateness, and alignment with your teaching goals.

  • Prioritize Student Learning: Remember that the ultimate goal is to enhance student learning, not just save time. Use AI assistants in ways that actively engage students and personalize their learning experiences.

  • Start Small: Begin by incorporating AI into one specific aspect of your teaching and gradually expand your use as you gain experience and confidence.

    Embrace AI Literacy

    As educators, we need to embrace AI literacy and help our students do the same. This includes understanding AI's capabilities and limitations, developing critical thinking skills to evaluate AI output, and promoting ethical AI use.

    The future of education is not about replacing teachers with AI but about reimagining what's possible when we combine human expertise with the power of artificial intelligence.