Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a quiet partner in the work teachers do every day. While much of the conversation focuses on collaborative, whole‑school adoption, the reality is that many educators are using AI individually—experimenting on their own, testing tools privately, and integrating them into their workflow long before formal policies or training appear.
In this post I focus on the work teachers can do in isolation because in some situations, we are restricted from accessing AI tools while in the classroom. They are being added to internet filters in schools, and we should be very careful about sharing the potentially sensitive data we generate in schools with these tools. Even as we restrict “classroom use” we can, as educators, benefit from their use and we can leverage the content thus created to each our burden.
1. Planning: AI as a Thinking Partner
For many teachers, planning is the first—and safest—place to explore AI. Working alone, they use AI tools to:
- Brainstorm lesson ideas
- Generate essential questions
- Map standards to activities
- Draft unit outlines
- Explore misconceptions or anticipate student questions
- Stay a step ahead of students!
AI becomes a kind of cognitive amplifier. It doesn’t replace the teacher’s expertise; instead, it accelerates the messy early stages of planning. Teachers often describe this as “thinking out loud with a machine”—a private space where they can iterate quickly without judgment. In isolation, AI helps them reclaim time and mental bandwidth, especially when juggling multiple preps or adapting lessons for diverse learners.
2. Producing Materials: AI as a Creative Engine
Once the plan is in place, teachers frequently turn to AI to produce the materials that bring learning to life. This includes:
- Slide decks
- Handouts
- Reading passages at varied levels
- Graphic organizers
- Simulations, scenarios, or role‑play prompts
- Images or icons for visual learning
Working alone, teachers appreciate how AI can instantly generate multiple versions of the same resource—something that would take hours manually. This is especially powerful for differentiation: AI can rewrite text for English learners, create enrichment tasks for advanced students, or design scaffolded supports for those who need them.
The key here is control. Teachers using AI independently can refine, edit, and personalize materials without needing to negotiate with a team or wait for institutional approval. It’s creative autonomy at scale.
3. Assessing: AI as a Feedback Accelerator
Assessment is another area where teachers quietly rely on AI. In isolation, they use it to:
- Draft formative questions
- Create rubrics
- Analyze student misconceptions
- Generate sample answers
- Provide feedback suggestions
AI doesn’t grade for them—nor should it—but it helps teachers think through what high‑quality assessment looks like. Many educators use AI to check the clarity of their questions or to ensure their rubrics align with learning goals. Some even use AI to rehearse student responses, testing how well an assessment captures the intended skill.
This behind‑the‑scenes use of AI strengthens teacher judgment rather than replacing it.
AI can, however, provide quick check-ins. Consider a series of multiple-choice questions to check for understanding of a science unit. We can have AI generate the questions (which we vet), we confirm the answers are accurate, and all is aligned with our lessons and outcomes. We can then use technology to grade the answers (just like scantrons did when I was a younger man and boy) then use the data we analyze from the entire class to judge mastery or to quickly identify questions that were missed by the entire class. In these cases we are not as interested in specific students grades as the understanding of the class as a group.
4. Reporting: AI as a Clarity Tool
Finally, teachers often use AI to streamline reporting tasks:
- Drafting narrative comments
- Summarizing student progress
- Translating communication for families
- Preparing conference notes
Working alone, teachers appreciate how AI helps them communicate clearly and compassionately—especially when writing dozens or hundreds of comments. AI can help rephrase feedback to be more strengths‑based, more specific, or more accessible to families.
The Quiet Revolution
When teachers use AI in isolation, they’re not waiting for permission—they’re innovating out of necessity. They’re reclaiming time, reducing cognitive load, and expanding what’s possible in their classrooms. This quiet, individual experimentation is shaping the future of teaching one lesson, one resource, one report at a time.