AI Productivity Tools

Choose a Tool for a Teaching Task

Start with a small, specific need: revise directions, brainstorm examples, organize sources, or build a practice activity. Test with non-sensitive material and compare the output with what you would accept from your own work.

Reviewed October 2026. Features, prices, access, and data terms change. Links below lead to provider information; listing a tool does not establish college approval.

A Practical Selection Checklist

Purpose: Does it support the learning goal or reduce a specific administrative task?
Quality: Can you verify facts, sources, calculations, and discipline-specific language?
Access: Can students use it with assistive technology and without an unexpected payment or account requirement?
Data: What is retained, who can review it, and what terms apply to your account?
Control: Can you inspect the result before it is shared or acted on?

Use institutional guidance before uploading student work. Treat generated feedback and accessibility suggestions as drafts requiring human review.

General Assistants and Course Workflows

Microsoft Copilot in Education: explore Microsoft’s education offerings and check which features your institution enables.
Gemini for Education: review Google’s education options and account requirements.
Claude for Education: review Anthropic’s higher education offering.

Try this: “Here is an assignment and its learning goal. Identify ambiguous directions and propose a clearer version. Preserve the required learning and explain your changes.”

Provider descriptions establish what a service offers, not whether it improves learning in your setting. Avoid treating generated citations as verified sources.

Build and Test a Focused Assistant

PlayLab lets educators build AI tools and compare model choices. Start with one task, such as helping students locate syllabus information or asking practice questions from an instructor-provided reading.

Test ordinary questions, missing information, incorrect assumptions, and requests outside the intended scope. Check whether the assistant cites the right material and admits when it cannot answer.

Suggested workflow: define the task → provide permitted reference material → test with fictional examples → revise instructions → review accessibility and data handling → decide how to use it.

Explore PlayLab’s California Community Colleges information and higher education examples. Check local access and approval before adoption.

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