MagicSchool AI aims to help teachers plan lessons with generative AI and has already reached over 150,000 teachers.
Generative AI is transforming education. While in the beginning, it may have been students using ChatGPT for their homework, more and more services are emerging that aim to harness the potential of AI systems for teachers.
One such service is MagicSchool, an AI-based tool that aims to help teachers use generative AI in the classroom. Developed by former teacher Adeel Khan and his team, the AI service is based on OpenAI's ChatGPT.
The MagicSchool team adapts the underlying models, such as GPT-4, to the needs of the classroom using best practices and Khan's experience in education. Specifically, this means fine-tuning with what the startup says is high-quality training data, as well as a comprehensive set of pre-built tools for teachers.
How MagicSchool supports teachers
MagicSchool comes with over 50 different tools that teachers can use for lesson planning or communication. For example, the tool can adapt texts for different reading levels, create worksheets, generate science experiments, easily explain concepts, or create questions for a YouTube video. The tool is also designed to provide teachers with advice on how to deal with student behavior issues, for example.
As is common with generative AI, MagicSchool warns about the pitfalls of neural networks, such as false statements or bias. Ultimately, it is up to the teacher to decide what to use and what not to use - and whether it is a good idea to listen to chatbots' advice on how to deal with students.
MagicSchool aims to "fight burnout"
With an estimated teacher shortage of 30,000 in the U.S., the company sees AI as a way to ease the burden on the remaining teachers. The small team recently raised $2.4 million in funding and is currently working with teachers and operators at several schools across the U.S. who are testing the tool on a daily basis. Meanwhile, MagicSchool is also available as a Chrome plugin.
Since its launch about four months ago, MagicSchool has gained more than 150,000 users - a testament to the growing interest in AI among teachers. MagicSchool is currently free, but a premium version for $9.99 per month is expected to launch soon. Competitors Eduaide and Diffit offer similar services.
