AI in Action for Educators

Welcome back to AI in Action for Educators!
Today we’re looking at how AI can help you improve your classroom materials — making them clearer, simpler, and more engaging for your students.

We all have lessons, directions, or handouts that work well… but could use a little polish. AI can help you do that in seconds.

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Think about those moments when students say, “I didn’t understand what you meant,” or “I didn’t know we were supposed to do that!”

It might not be your teaching — it might just be how the directions are worded.

AI tools like ChatGPT or Copilot can take your existing text and reword it for clarity or reading level, without changing your meaning. Not only can it help you reword the directions on your worksheet, AI can also provide you with oral directions that are clear and concise, or offer some additional information students may need to complete the work.

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Here’s an example:

“Here’s my classroom handout. Simplify the language for 6th graders, keep the main ideas clear, and make it sound friendly and engaging.”

Or try:

“Make these directions clearer for students who might be reading below a specific grade level.”

You could also upload the handout and type “Create a step-by-step guide breaking down worksheet instructions, highlighting key tasks and expectations that I should give the students.”

You can copy and paste your text right in — just make sure you’re not including student names or private info.

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Here’s my messaging with ChatGPT:

I uploaded a PDF and requested clearer directions.

Different options were provided, and AI asked whether it should recreate the worksheet.

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Very quickly a new worksheet was created, and I was able to download it. However, the first document created from my PDF had a couple of big errors: there were some random characters where the word Direction should have been. Also, an entire column was removed from the worksheet, but an additional row added othe bottom that had some duplication of problems above it. ChatGPT does not do as well with recreating PDFs.

It also didn’t do well when I asked it to recreate the worksheet with answers. You can see it completed only the first two rows in the generated document.

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In order to provide you with the best results, AI works best with text it can read well - so your best option is to copy and paste the text directly into ChatGPT or Copilot. Then paste the generated text back into your document.

The next best option is to use a word document, especially if you’re using Copilot, or a tool like Brisk in Google Docs, or one that can edit your document directly. A PDF or an image are the least effective for AI to rewrite, and are not your best choice. If your handout is in PDF, open it in Google Docs and copy the text and paste into AI for the best results.

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AI can also help make your materials more interesting for students. Try asking:

• “Can you add an example or analogy to make this concept easier to understand?”

• “Summarize this paragraph in two sentences.”

• “Suggest three visuals or icons that could go with this slide.”

• “Create a short quiz or exit ticket based on this content.”

You’ll be amazed how quickly it can generate ideas that make your materials pop.

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Of course, AI doesn’t know your students like you do.
Always review what it creates — tweak the tone, adjust for reading level, and make sure it fits your goals.
Think of AI as your editor, not your replacement.

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Here’s the bottom line:

“AI can’t replace your teaching voice — but it can help your materials speak more clearly or be more engaging for your learners.”

Next week, we’ll take it a step further and explore how to use AI to differentiate assignments and support all kinds of learners.

Thanks for watching today! Give these suggestions a try and let me know what you think. And as always - have a great week!