Your AI Toolkit for Teachers
You don't need ten different AI tools. You don't need to spend money. You don't need to be "good with technology." You need three free tools, a phone or a laptop, and about 15 minutes to set up.
Today we're getting you set up with the AI tools that actually matter for teaching — and more importantly, we're matching each tool to the specific teaching tasks it's best at. By the end of this lesson, you'll have everything you need to start saving hours this week.
The three tools you need
You could spend weeks researching AI tools. There are hundreds. But for teaching, three tools cover 95% of what you'll ever need:
ChatGPT — Your all-rounder. Best for generating lesson plans, worksheets, starter activities, report comments, and parent emails. It's fast, conversational, and excellent at following detailed instructions. This will be your most-used tool.
Claude — Your deep thinker. Best for longer, more complex tasks — writing detailed schemes of work, analysing assessment data, drafting comprehensive reports, and creating nuanced differentiated materials. When you need something thorough and well-reasoned, Claude is your go-to.
Perplexity — Your researcher. Best for finding current information with sources — curriculum updates, subject knowledge refreshers, CPD research, and fact-checking. Unlike ChatGPT and Claude, Perplexity searches the internet and gives you citations, so you can verify everything.
Think of it like this: ChatGPT is your quick assistant, Claude is your thoughtful colleague, and Perplexity is your research librarian.
Setting up ChatGPT
ChatGPT is made by OpenAI. Here's how to get started:
1. Go to chat.openai.com on your laptop or download the ChatGPT app on your phone (iOS and Android).
2. Create a free account with your email address.
3. You're ready. Start typing.
The free version gives you access to GPT-4o, which is more than powerful enough for every teaching task in this course. You do not need to pay for anything.
The mobile app is a game-changer. You can dictate prompts using voice while you're commuting, walking to the staffroom, or waiting for the kettle. Many teachers find that speaking their requests is faster and more natural than typing. Just tap the microphone icon and say: "Create a starter activity for a Year 9 geography lesson on tectonic plates."
One tip: in your ChatGPT settings, you can set Custom Instructions that tell it about you. Add something like: "I'm a secondary school teacher in the UK. I teach Year 7-11 Science. I follow the AQA specification. I prefer activities that work for mixed-ability classes." Now every response will be tailored to your context without you having to repeat yourself.
Setting up Claude
Claude is made by Anthropic. It's particularly good at longer, more nuanced tasks.
1. Go to claude.ai or download the Claude app on your phone.
2. Create a free account.
3. Start a conversation.
Claude's free tier is generous and handles most teaching tasks well. Where Claude really shines is when you need to paste in a long document — a curriculum specification, an assessment policy, a set of student data — and ask it to work with that content. Claude handles long context better than almost any other tool.
When to choose Claude over ChatGPT: Use Claude when the task requires careful, detailed thinking. Writing a full term's scheme of work. Analysing a set of mock exam results. Drafting detailed, personalised report comments. Creating a comprehensive revision guide. If the task feels like it needs a thoughtful colleague rather than a quick assistant, choose Claude.
Setting up Perplexity
Perplexity is your research tool with built-in fact-checking.
1. Go to perplexity.ai or download the Perplexity app.
2. Create a free account.
3. Ask a question and watch it search the internet for you.
Why Perplexity matters for teachers: When ChatGPT tells you something about a curriculum, you're trusting that its training data was correct and current. When Perplexity tells you something, it shows you the source. You can click through and verify. For curriculum-related research, this is essential.
Great uses for teachers:
- "What are the key changes in the 2024 GCSE Science specification?"
- "What does the latest Ofsted research say about effective feedback?"
- "Find recent studies on the impact of retrieval practice in primary schools."
- "What are the Australian Curriculum requirements for Year 6 mathematics?"
Perplexity answers with citations. You get the information and the evidence to back it up — perfect for department meetings, CPD sessions, and your own professional development.
What about school IT policies?
This is important. Before you start using AI tools in your planning:
Check your school's acceptable use policy. Many schools have updated their policies to include guidance on AI. Some are enthusiastic. Some are cautious. Some haven't addressed it yet. Knowing where your school stands keeps you on the right side of policy.
Use AI on your personal devices if needed. If your school network blocks AI tools, use them on your phone or personal laptop at home. The planning and preparation happens outside school anyway — AI just makes it faster.
Never use AI on school networks for student data. Even if the tools aren't blocked, don't enter any student-identifiable information through school systems. This is both a data protection issue and a professional safeguarding issue.
Start the conversation. If your school doesn't have an AI policy yet, you're in a great position to help shape one. Completing this course gives you the knowledge to contribute meaningfully to that discussion.
Free vs paid — do you need to upgrade?
Short answer: no. Everything in this course works with free accounts. Here's what paid tiers add, so you can decide later:
ChatGPT Plus ($20/month): Faster responses during peak times, access to the latest models, image generation, and file uploads. Useful but not essential. The free version does everything you need for planning and marking.
Claude Pro ($20/month): More messages per day and access to the most capable model. Worth considering if you become a heavy user, but the free tier handles most teaching tasks comfortably.
Perplexity Pro ($20/month): More searches and access to advanced models. The free version is sufficient for most research needs.
Our recommendation: start free. Use the tools for two weeks. If you find yourself hitting limits regularly — especially with Claude's message caps — then consider upgrading the one tool you use most. Most teachers find the free tiers are more than enough.
Your 15-minute setup checklist
Here's exactly what to do right now. It takes about 15 minutes:
1. Create a ChatGPT account at chat.openai.com. Download the mobile app. Set up Custom Instructions with your year group, subjects, and curriculum. (5 minutes)
2. Create a Claude account at claude.ai. Download the mobile app. Bookmark it for when you need to work on longer tasks. (3 minutes)
3. Create a Perplexity account at perplexity.ai. Download the mobile app. Test it with a curriculum question relevant to your subject. (3 minutes)
4. Test your setup. Open ChatGPT and type: "Create a 10-minute starter activity for [your subject] on [a topic you're teaching this week]." If you get a useful response, you're ready. (4 minutes)
That's it. You now have the same AI toolkit that teachers around the world are using to reclaim their evenings and weekends. Tomorrow, we put it to work.