As AI becomes more common in education, one important development is often overlooked: AI designed specifically for schools.
A good example is Teachers.is – a platform created to support teaching and learning in a school context, not for general use.
What makes it different?
Most AI tools (like general-purpose chatbots) are designed for a wide audience. They are flexible, but not always aligned with school realities.
School-customised AI works differently:
- Built for education: Tools like Teachers.is are designed around curricula, classroom tasks and assessment needs.
- Safer environment: They usually follow stricter rules on data protection and student use.
- More predictable outputs: The system can be guided to produce responses that match educational expectations (e.g. CEFR levels in language learning).
- Teacher control: Teachers can adapt or monitor how the AI is used.
How is this different from general AI tools?
General AI tools (including systems like ChatGPT) are:
- Trained on very broad data
- Not tailored to a specific curriculum
- Less controlled in terms of output and level
- Not designed with school policies in mind
They are powerful and flexible, but they require more teacher mediation.
In contrast, school-tailored AI is:
- Aligned with teaching goals
- Easier to integrate into lessons
- Designed with students (and schools) as primary users
Why this matters for L2 teachers
For language teachers, this distinction is especially important. School-customised AI can:
- Adapt language level: Tasks and texts can be aligned to students’ proficiency (e.g. A2, B1).
- Support specific skills: Writing, speaking or interaction tasks can be scaffolded.
- Provide controlled practice: Activities can be designed to focus on particular grammar or vocabulary.
- Reduce risks of over-reliance: The tool is structured to encourage guided learning rather than simply generating answers.
- Fit classroom realities: Tasks can be linked directly to what students are learning in class.