Major Project: Exploring MagicSchool AI

I downloaded TikTok, and had every intention of starting there for this project, and then I had a colleague mention MagicSchool AI when I was discussing working on essay outlines with two of my classes and I ended up going down that rabbit hole first instead. It was already on my radar, so it worked out perfectly, but wow! I did not realize how robust MagicSchool has become. Or always was? I had very limited interaction with it prior to this, so I’m not sure if it was always this vast, or if they continue to add tools as needed/wanted. Anyway, without further ado:

Basic Overview:

MagicSchool AI is, as described on the website, a “robust AI platform for education” designed to assist teachers in streamlining classroom tasks, and to help students by offering different tools to support them and their learning. According to the tools categories, they are aiming to help with:

• planning
• content
• questions
• intellectual prep
• student support
• communication
• community tools
• admin

As you can see from a screenshot of the homepage dashboard below (and this is only what I starred, which is not even close to all of what is offered), the possibilities are endless. I cannot give an honest review of everything, as I have barely scratched the surface of what all of the AI tools are capable of, but it definitely gives you a lot to work with.

Potential Impact on, and Implications for, Users:

Generative AI tools like MagicSchool AI, Diffit, Khanmigo, and Curipod (amongst others) have the potential to significantly transform classrooms by reshaping both the teaching and the learning experience. Depending how they are integrated into classrooms, the impact could be both positive and negative, but I think we have to consider that these tools are not going to go away, they are only going to get smarter, and if we can get ahead of the wave, we can try to steer students use for the better.

People are always going to have differing views on potential pros and cons, but I’ve collated a few different opinions here for you to peruse, and make up your own mind.

Pros:

1. Time-saving potential: Although a lot of these tools are touted to “automate” tasks like grading, lesson planning, and content creation, I think a lot of teachers resist the idea of giving up all autonomy to a still-flawed AI generator. And for good reason. However, with close oversight, and in collaboration with the teacher, I have no doubt that it can be used to help save a lot of time.

2. More robust than most other sites currently geared toward education: Unlike Diffit or Curipod, which are focusing in on smaller slices of educational generative AI, or specific tasks, MagicSchool AI has a lot of those tools all in one place.

3. Personalized Learning: AI tools can provide real-time insights into student progress, and can help students cater to each student’s needs and preferences, which we all know is a huge challenge in today’s classrooms.

4. Instant Feedback: I am not at all suggesting that teachers no longer have to provide feedback, but as a part of the process, you could have students run their work through different tools, providing them with feedback that they can then instantly use to correct mistakes.

5. Enhanced Engagement: Our students are already using technology more than any previous generation, so offering them dynamic, interactive content to help make lessons more engaging, or using the tools to help you reshape something you’ve already been doing for a number of years but really need to revamp, helps both teachers and students.

6. 24/7 Access: Depending what tools you are using with your students, they have access to them at all hours, which could free up some of your valuable time.

Cons:

1. Initial Learning Curve: Many sites address and acknowledge that, because MagicSchool AI has to many different tools to choose from, it can be overwhelming to even get started. Because…where? Where do you even start?

2. Prompting is still significant: For those who were hoping that this would save them from prompting…no. Unfortunately, even with the specialized tools, your prompting is still going to be a very key component of making this work for you.

3. Price: Although a lot of the tools are available for free, and I have not yet run into any limitations in using the free version, there is a paid version, and there are things that are not accessible without a subscription.

4. Over-reliance on Technology: In addition to access concerns, there’s concern about the lack of personalization or oversight on the teachers part, and the potential impact on students’ critical thinking skills  when they are relying on AI to help with homework, problem-solving, or even creative projects.

5. AI Issues: I think we can all agree that AI is far from perfect, and we are aware of the fact that it is biased, hallucinates, etc.

Other Considerations:

It’s hard to let go of some of these pieces, or imagine an app or website or AI tool “taking over” some of these tasks. And I think we need to re-frame that thinking. To be very clear: I don’t think AI can or should take over, or that teachers should be “passing off” some of these tasks to AI. But I definitely think that there are pieces where using AI to help could help make our lives as teachers significantly easier. There’s a lot of teaching that needs to be done, both by a teacher using these tools, and by students being introduced to generative AI, but I also think that this is the way of the future, and we need to figure out how best to integrate it.

For those concerned about privacy (as we all should be in using online tools with students!), CommonSense.org did a review of MagicSchool, and rated it on a number of things, including how safe this is for students to use. For a full look at that review, you can follow the link, but I’ve included a quick look below.

My Own Experience with It:

One thing I really like about this, right off the bat, is that it really seems to have been created specifically with teachers and students in mind. This isn’t a wide-open platform, where anything goes. If, like me, you find Generative AI a little overwhelming, and you haven’t really refined your prompting prowess, this is a really great option, because they’ve set up different generators and tools that narrow that focus for you.

I used the Launch to Students for the first time with my Grade 9’s, while working on a comparison essay between Romeo and Juliet and Tristan + Isolde. The brainstorming always seem to bite some of them, and they have so much trouble getting started. I know what’s going to happen if they work on it at home – parents, siblings, or a Google search/AI is going to end up helping them anyway, so I wanted a way to track what they are using. Enter Launch to Students.

When you choose to launch a new room, you get to pick what tool students have access to. You can see here the room that my students are already working in, but for the purpose of this, I’m going to walk through creating another room.

Step 1: Launch New Room

When you select this option, it takes you to a room detail page, where you get to name it, pick the grade level, and decide how many students are allowed in. One feature I really like with this is that students DO NOT have to sign up, or create an account. However, that also means that each time they access the site, they’ll have to start over again. The room will save all of their chats, so that isn’t an issue, but you may need to increase your max students allowed, or purge old prompts in order to fit everyone in.

Step 2: Select Which Tool(s) You Want Students to Use

You get to pick which tools your students have access to. I stuck with one, so as not to overwhelm anyone (myself included).

Step 3: Customize Your Tool!

After you’ve selected the tool(s) you want students to use, you can go into it and add a default prompt. Students can edit or add onto it if they want to, but it gives them something to start with if they haven’t encountered generative AI before.

I set up the prompt to help them with ideas first, as seen below.

Once they’ve got their ideas, you can then show them how to refine that into an outline. I tested the generation, as shown below, and this is how it appears to students, and this is what teachers have access to when looking at what students have been doing with their prompts.

Step 4: Launch to Students

Once you’ve got it set up and you’re ready for students, launch it. You have a few different options, and I put the QR code up on the screen, then also added the join URL to our LMS.

Step 5: Walk Through it with Students

I took most of a class period showing students how to play with this. We tested out different prompts, students tested out how much the AI would give them (and it will not give them a complete essay – if they ask for an essay, it conveniently gives them what an essay should look like structurally, and how to format properly). A few them started tangent conversations, asking for the AI’s opinion on different things (like who the GOAT in the NBA is), and some students had no desire to test it out, which I told them was completely fine. For students who were struggling, though, this has been an amazing tool to fold into our essay planning.

Conclusion:

I have just started using this with two of my classes. I am, by no means, a pro at any of this, nor have I fully encountered all of the issues that might pop up when you invite students to use AI. The more I explore, though, and after having used just this one tool, I will definitely be looking for other ways to integrate pieces into my classroom. I think the important thing going forward is going to be ensuring that this is used as a supplement to what is happening in class, as opposed to trying to replace anything.

Additional Resources:

Don’t just take my word for it! I have found a few different reviews, blogs, and documents to link here for you, and previewed a number of them myself while putting this together, so if you are looking for more information, here’s a start. I know one teacher’s opinion isn’t always enough, so I figured this might be of use to some people.

• Common Sense Education‘s MagicSchool AI review
• Chris Kennedy’s “Leading the AI Charge: Strategies for Forward-Thinking School Districts”
  • Chris is a Superintendent with the West Vancouver School District
• Cari Wilson’s This and That Tech Tips on Tuesday blog has a number of different posts about MagicSchool AI, as well as other Generative AI
  • Cari is a District Vice-Principal of Innovation and Technology in West Vancouver
• Peggy Reimers’ Blog Review of MagicSchool AI
  • Peggy is a 26-year teaching veteran
• Shana Ramin’s Hello Teacher Lady blog post titled “MagicSchool AI for Teachers: 5 Game-Changing Features”
  • she also has a number of other posts about different AI uses
• ShakeUpLearning’s Youtube video: “Teachers Are Magic: Using MagicSchool AI in the K-12 Classroom”
  • Ashley Shanley walks you through what MagicSchool AI is, and how to use various tools
• Youtube Video: “A Fantastic AI Tool for Teachers – MagicSchool”
  • Jennifer Wathall walks through MagicSchool AI and some of the different tools
• Braden Holt’s Report for Investors on MagicSchool AI
  • Braden is a teacher in BC, and a Masters student at UBC
• UBC’s “Digital literacy and the use of AI in education”
  • while not specifically about MagicSchool AI, this page does include a number of resources about generative AI, it’s usage, classroom infographics, parent information, etc.
• MagicSchool itself has a YouTube channel with a number of different ideas and prompts to help you get started