When ChatGPT launched in late 2022, much of the focus and concern was students misusing it to write admission essays, papers, or assignments. Faculty worried about how we would know if the student actually did the work or if AI produced it. Attention then focused on products that could help us tell if what a student submitted was written by AI. There was a lot of hand wringing and teeth gnashing.

A lot has happened since then. Today, it is nearly impossible to avoid it as it is almost everywhere.

A lot of the educational literature also initially focused on students’ use of AI. However, more and more information has come forth now focusing on how we, as educators, can use AI to help us in the work that we do, from voice-to-text AI tools that can instantly make our message clear and well-written to tools that can help us create a slide presentation and lecture in less than half the time it usually does and to analyze student data on surveys and give us instant feedback.

As someone who started teaching even before personal computers, I admit I felt really uncomfortable even trying to think about navigating this tool. But that is the key: to remember that it is a tool, just like any other tool we use in education, to help us do what we do. I was also around when the World Wide Web, PowerPoint, and now all the digital devices and technology like cell phones, iPads, and AI came into existence. With each one, I watched it send shock waves through higher education as professors not savvy or knowledgeable about these new tools felt ill-equipped and perhaps a little intimated, myself included. It seemed our students, who have grown up with the Web, technology, and digital devices, could instantly run circles around us. However, I learned a very important lesson when working in a program that required students to have iPads, and we had to adjust our curriculum to incorporate their use. Even though students had been using iPads, they didn’t know how to use them as an educational tool. I would venture to say the same is true about AI.

This article isn’t going to focus on how to enhance student literacy about AI, although that is important. However, I believe that will naturally happen as we get more comfortable using it in our work as an educator. Therefore, my focus here is to present some ways in which AI can help you, in your work every day, educate the next generation of PAs. As teachers, we are mentors and facilitators as well. We must consider that we must prepare our students for the future, which will most certainly involve AI.

There are many AI tools focused on helping educators that can help you reclaim some of your time so that, for instance, it doesn’t take many hours to create a new lecture. The idea here is for this list to start as a primer for you to stick your toe in the water or perhaps poke it in a little deeper than you have to explore some of these. Some of them may appear to be for the primary grades, but education is education, and I have found that they often apply to higher education as is or with a bit of adjustment.

However, before I get into the list of tools, I have found that most folks agree that writing a good prompt is one of the critical skills for effectively working with AI. What you write and how you write it directly affects what you will get in response.

General tips for writing AI prompts 

• Write the prompt as if you are speaking to or telling someone what you want. Be as clear and concise as you can. 

• Be specific. For example, if you want citations included or you want it to look at particular types of resources – tell it. A sample prompt could be: provide a detailed clinical presentation of appendicitis including etiology, physiology, pathophysiology, signs, and symptoms from medical sourced references and include citations.

• Tell it how you want the output or information presented, for example, in a table or diagram. 

• Use the words do and don’t to clarify what you want and don’t want. 

• And if you still aren’t getting what you want, ask AI how best to write a prompt. 

AI tools for teachers 

There are many tools out there, and more are coming. The key is to find ones that work for you. Most of the ones I have included here have free versions so that you can try them out first. I have provided the links as well. Just click on the name.

*Please note I am not endorsing or affiliated with any of these products. 

AudioPen

This voice-to-text AI tool records your voice message and provides an AI cleaned up written version and an actual transcript of what you said. This can help you write e-mails, letters, and even your notes for a lecture. There is a free and paid version, $99 a year.                                   

Educaide.Ai

Two teachers created this platform, and it is specifically for teachers. It provides a full array of tools to help faculty create course materials, educational content, classroom planning, etc. It does have a free version. Paid options are $5.99 a month or $49.99 a year. 

Teaching with AI  is an OpenAi guide released by ChatGPT to help teachers. The guide provides suggested prompts and how best to use ChatGPT to help. 

Slidesgo

This tool provides free templates via Google Slides with the added feature of an AI presentation Tool Maker. It can reduce the time needed to create a presentation slide deck. There is a free version. Otherwise, the cost is $5.99 a month or $35.99 a year. 

Perplexity

This tool is a chat service platform similar to ChatGPT. However, it also lists the sources from which its responses came. It also provides additional and related prompts and questions. There is a free version. The paid plan is $20 a month. 

QuestionWell

This tool does the question writing for you. You can input an article, reading assignment, or even a video and it will write questions based on your input and learning outcomes. Yes, you read correctly. If you provide the source material and input learning outcomes, it will create questions. You can also select the type of questions, such as multiple choice or short answer. It can also work with Blackboard, Canvas, Kahoot, and other tools.

There is a free version. The paid version is $5.83 a month or $70 for a year. 

Medical Ai tool 

OpenEvidence

OpenEvidence is a medical information AI platform for healthcare professionals that searches reputable medical sources to help medical providers and educators quickly access accurate and reliable information. It is free for healthcare professionals with NPI numbers. A limited free version is available without an NPI number. 

Using AI for data analysis

AI can be very helpful in providing quick analysis of data collected, such as student surveys. This is where composing a well-written prompt is key so that you get the evaluation you want and in the format you want. 

With ChatGPT, you can upload the results of a Google survey using the Excel sheet format with the data with a prompt such as: 

"I have collected student feedback on a lecture, and I want to identify the top three 'muddiest points'—the concepts or topics that were most unclear or confusing to students. Please analyze the feedback and do the following: 

1. Identify key themes – Group similar responses together to find common areas of confusion.
2. Rank the top three muddiest points – Based on frequency and importance.
3. Briefly explain why these topics may have been unclear and suggest ways to clarify them in a review session. 

Provide direct quotes or examples from the feedback that illustrate each unclear topic if possible. If responses are too varied, suggest an alternative way to categorize them. The goal is to ensure my review session addresses the most critical areas of confusion for the students." 

So many AI tools are out there, and more are coming every day. It can be overwhelming, so I suggested picking one or two tools and exploring and working with them to decide whether they work for you. Remember, what may work for someone else may not work for you. AI isn’t going away any time soon, so it is important to embrace a growth mindset about learning some aspects of it and using some of its tools to help you be more effective and efficient. 

**Special thanks to Jereme Mellenthin, MPAS, PA-C, Assistant Professor at

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Physician Assistant Program, who provided the information related to data analysis. 

References and Resources 

AI – Oh My! A Closer Look at AI Tools for Educators. (2024, February 9). Faculty Focus. https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-with-technology-articles/ai-oh-my-a-closer-look-at-ai-tools-for-educators/ 

Ditch That Texbook (2023, November 13). 40 AI tools for teachers, educators and classrooms (free and paid). https://ditchthattextbook.com/ai-tools/ 

Edutopia Sessions: Reclaiming Your Time with AI. (2025, March 21). https://www.edutopia.org/video/edutopia-sessions-reclaiming-your-time-with-ai 

Lam, A. W. (2024, May 1). Embracing AI in education. Faculty Focus. https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-with-technology-articles/embracing-ai-in-education/ 

Mawreader, A. (2024, February 6). Teaching tips: Navigating AI in the classroom. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/academic-life/2024/02/06/how-college-professors-are-using-generative-ai-teach