In This Article

• China Shuts Down AI Tools During Nationwide College Exams

• AI Tool “EdChat” Saves Teachers Thousands of Hours

• Trump Wants Teachers Trained On How to Use AI - Will It Work?

• AI Prompt Engineering: A Critical New Skillset for 21st-Century Teachers

• What Teachers Need To Level Up Their AI Use: 4 Lessons Learned

• AI Tools to Try: SchoolAI and Auto Classmate

News and Highlights

China Shuts Down AI Tools During Nationwide College Exams

In the run-up to Gaokao (China’s June 7–10 college-entrance marathon), leading AI chatbots from Alibaba, ByteDance, Tencent, Moonshot, and others temporarily disabled picture-recognition and homework-help features. The companies say the pause—active only during exam hours—aims to keep the test fair for the 13.3 million students competing for limited university spots.

Key Takeaways:

• Popular chatbots (Qwen, Doubao, Yuanbao, Kimi) stopped answering photo-based questions until exams end.

• Students’ phones and laptops are already banned in test centers; the AI shutdown is an extra cheating deterrent.

• Chatbots themselves confirmed the block, citing the need to “ensure fairness of the college entrance examination.”

• Mirrors global worries: U.S. universities have revived paper tests and blue books to curb AI-assisted cheating.

Why It Matters: The move shows how education authorities can coordinate with tech firms to preserve assessment integrity in an AI era—an approach U.S. districts may study as they grapple with proctoring and academic honesty.

AI Tool Saves Teachers Thousands of Hours

In South Australia, an education department-developed AI app is dramatically reducing teacher workload for a common assessment. The new tool, part of the “EdChat” platform, can evaluate a student’s English proficiency writing sample in 52 seconds – a task that used to take teachers about 30 minutes each. After successful trials in dozens of schools, it’s being rolled out with training for teachers and safeguards in place.

Key Takeaways:

• Time-Saving: The AI app cuts grading time from ~30 minutes to 52 seconds per student on a key writing assessment, potentially saving thousands of teacher hours across 30,000+ annual assessments.

• Origin: A classroom teacher identified the opportunity to use AI for this task and collaborated with the department and Microsoft to create the solution, illustrating educator-driven innovation.

• Implementation: Around 50 schools tested the “LEAP” AI tool to ensure it gives consistent, reliable results. It’s now integrated into the EdChat system, with teacher training underway so staff learn how to use it effectively.

• Safeguards: The EdChat platform has built-in guardrails (age-appropriate responses, privacy protections), since it’s tailored for education rather than a generic AI chatbot.

Why It Matters: This is a tangible example of AI improving efficiency in education without replacing teachers. By freeing educators from repetitive grading tasks, they can redirect time toward lesson planning or one-on-one student support. Early results suggest teachers can trust the tool’s consistency, potentially easing concerns about AI accuracy. It also highlights how teacher insights can drive AI solutions that address real classroom needs.

Trump Wants Teachers Trained On How to Use AI - Will It Work?

The U.S. federal government has made a high-profile push to accelerate AI adoption in schools. In late April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order “Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth” that directs federal agencies to help schools teach students to use AI and, notably, train teachers to integrate AI tools into their classrooms. The order calls for prioritizing grants and programs for AI-focused professional development and curriculum resources. While many educators welcome the attention on AI literacy, some experts are skeptical about implementation, given limited funding and training infrastructure at the federal level.

Key Takeaways:

• National Spotlight on AI Education: The executive order marks the first major federal action on K-12 AI integration, signaling to districts that AI literacy and usage are priority areas.

• Teacher Training Emphasis: A core goal is to train teachers to use AI tools and teach about AI in all subjects. Federal agencies, including Education and even Agriculture (for rural schools), are tasked with leveraging funds to support AI professional development.

• AI Across the Curriculum: The plan isn’t limited to computer science classes – it encourages incorporating AI basics and tools into everyday teaching, from using AI-driven lesson aids to having students learn with AI in subjects like math, science, and humanities.

• Challenges: The ambitious plan faces practical hurdles. Most teachers have not received any AI training yet – as of fall 2024, about 58% had none – and the order doesn’t come with dedicated new funding. Implementation will rely on repurposing existing programs, and there’s concern about whether schools can scale up training quickly and equitably.

Why It Matters: This move could accelerate how quickly AI tools become commonplace in American classrooms. For teachers, it promises more resources and focus on AI training – potentially easing the learning curve for using tools like ChatGPT or AI-driven software in instruction. If successful, it may help schools nationwide adopt AI in ways that improve student outcomes and keep U.S. education on pace with global AI trends. However, educators will be watching closely to see if promised support materializes on the ground. A federal directive is notable, but true impact will depend on funding, training delivery, and addressing teachers’ fears and misconceptions about AI.

Noteworthy Reads

AI Prompt Engineering: A Critical New Skillset for 21st-Century Teachers – By Timothy Montalvo (eSchool News) 

An opinion piece argues that “prompt engineering” – the art of crafting effective queries for AI tools – is quickly becoming an essential teacher skill. The author explains how well-designed prompts can help teachers generate lesson plans, examples, and feedback more efficiently, reducing prep time and burnout. It also suggests that teaching students to write good prompts can build their metacognition and digital literacy. In short, educators who learn to use AI wisely and creatively can enhance instruction while maintaining ethical standards. As the author puts it, “Prompt engineering is not just about using AI… it’s about using it wisely, ethically, and creatively.”

What Teachers Need To Level Up Their AI Use: 4 Lessons Learned – Education Week report

Distilled insights from a panel of innovative teachers and researchers on how to empower more educators to use AI in the classroom. Key lessons include the need for greater AI literacy and training for teachers, explicit lessons on ethical AI use for students (to address concerns like cheating), and clear policies from schools about when and how AI can be used. Panelists shared that many teachers still feel fear or uncertainty about AI, so hands-on professional development and sharing success stories are crucial. They also discussed AI’s potential to reduce teacher workload (acting as a virtual assistant for planning or grading) and to differentiate learning, as long as equity is kept in mind. It’s a thoughtful look at practical steps and mindset shifts that may help you confidently integrate AI in your classrooms.

AI Tools to Try

SchoolAI positions itself as a “student-centered AI platform” that gives teachers an all-in-one hub for chat-style tutoring, lesson-plan generation, writing feedback, and real-time analytics—all within a district-controlled environment. Educators can spin up subject-specific “chatbots” (e.g., a Shakespeare coach or algebra helper) from vetted templates, monitor every student’s interactions for accuracy and tone, and quickly adapt lessons based on instant data dashboards.

Because SchoolAI runs inside a managed workspace with content filters and audit logs, IT teams retain oversight while teachers get a safe, turnkey way to bring conversational AI into daily instruction.

Check out the tool here.

Auto Classmate – Lesson planning just got easier with this free AI tool designed for educators. Auto Classmate lets teachers generate detailed lesson plans tailored to their grade level, subject, and even state standards in a matter of moments. You input your lesson objectives and topics, and it uses OpenAI’s GPT engine to produce a customizable plan – complete with activities, materials, and assessment ideas.

Notably, you can click to align the lesson with specific state or Common Core standards, ensuring your plan meets requirements.. The platform is user-friendly (even AI beginners can navigate it) and since it’s completely free to use, teachers can save time on planning without budget worries.

Check it out here.

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