An AI toolkit for all aspects of academic life

Artificial intelligence is no longer a theoretical concept; it is a practical tool that is fundamentally transforming the landscape of education and research. AI renders educational experiences more visual and engaging, while also streamlining repetitive tasks associated with teaching and research activities. 

Building an AI toolkit can help in all areas of academic life, from the classroom to the laboratory, fostering innovation in research and sparking student engagement. Here are the most helpful ones I’ve found. 

Promote self-learning of foundational knowledge

HitWit.ai is an AI-powered self-learning tool that aids learning through personalised, high-intensity learning sessions. It allows users to engage deeply with various content types, such as documents and videos.

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The tool features a multimodal AI mechanism, which creates mind maps and charts for visualising the learning process and offers spaced quizzes to improve retention. Its interactive, conversational approach positions the AI as a tutor that helps identify gaps in knowledge.

Unlike traditional education, HitWit.ai emphasises a user-guided learning path and helps users track progress with scores.

Create, personalise and engage

How can we enhance the interactivity of and engagement with the learning process? Captivating visuals and virtual models grab students’ attention. Platforms such as Canva and Gamma AI help design visually appealing presentations, posters and infographics. Other AI image generators like EdCafe AI, NightCafe, Rabbithole, Scribeli AI, Ideogram and Leonardo can also be used.

Tools such as Napkin, Notion AI, Map-this.com and Chat GPT help create mind maps and graphic organisers. Other tools like Graphy help visualise data with charts and graph generation to help spot data trends and changes.

The following five AI image prompt generators are noteworthy for their ease of use, customisation and versatility: GravityWrite (user-friendly), PromptMania (free, simple interface and easy to generate prompts without technical knowledge), AI Text Prompt Generator (straightforward by requiring some adjustments for optimal performance), Prompt Hero (designed for users familiar with AI image generation, offering prompt templates and a wide range of examples) and PromptPerfect (advanced with optimisation tools, associated with learning curve).

AI assistants for PDFs

ChatPDF, ChatGPT and Adobe AI Assistant enable users to easily and quickly read, compare and question PDF files in an interactive manner. These tools are excellent for extracting knowledge insights, making comparisons and identifying knowledge gaps. TextCortex is a complimentary AI PDF reader that allows users to upload PDF, PPTX and DOCX files to their workspace, facilitating a multi-file chat feature. 

Generate videos

Students retain information better when engaging using multiple senses. AI tools such as Hedra AI and Synthesia create talking avatars to enhance learning. Hedra AI animates images or descriptions into avatars, while Synthesia generates interactive video lessons, simplifying complex topics. Instructors can use these tools for course introductions or explaining biological processes like mitosis. 

A practical application of Synthesia or Hedra could involve an instructor making a course introduction video to a topic or explaining a process in biology such as the scientific method or mitosis. Synthesia can bring a static presentation to life by generating a virtual biology instructor who walks through each slide generated by Gamma AI, for example. 

AI avatars can be customised to resemble an educator and narrate short explainer videos, breaking down concepts with examples. They can provide assignment feedback using gestures and visual aids for clearer understanding. In diverse classrooms, avatars can enhance accessibility by delivering lessons in multiple languages for English language learners.

Streamline administrative tasks with custom GPTs

Grading and administrative tasks take time away from teaching and research. AI tools such as Google Gemini, ChatGPT, MagicSchool, Khanmigo, Monsa AI and OpenAI help streamline these duties. OpenAI’s paid version enables custom GPTs to generate custom or reusable prompts that can provide specific feedback to students on an assignment and create quizzes, worksheets, lesson plans, images and discussion questions.

Visualise concepts

AI tools like Midjourney and Stability AI enhance student engagement by generating images that visualise complex concepts. A biology instructor could use Midjourney to illustrate a species’ evolution under environmental pressures, sparking discussions on survival advantages. Another activity involves students designing fictional species for extreme environments and visualising them with AI.

Employ your own personal editor

Websites such as Futurepedia and Adademiq.io, along with specific tools such as Perplexity and Storm from Stanford University, offer a variety of free writing resources. Writing tools like PaperPal AI, Trinka AI, Writefull, Grammarly, ProWritingAid, Hemingway Editor and Wordvice AI proofreader can assist with academic and technical writing.

Review relevant papers in seconds

Conducting thorough literature reviews is essential but can be time-consuming. For example, a researcher exploring artificial neural networks can use Connected Papers to visualise how different studies are interconnected, ensuring a comprehensive grasp of the field.

Platforms such as Semantic Scholar, Research Rabbit, Litmaps and Connected Papers help researchers quickly identify relevant papers and understand the relationships between them. Other programs like Mendeley, Zotero and EndNote can help manage references. Rayyan is a free web tool and mobile app designed to help researchers working on reviews and knowledge synthesis by speeding up screening and selection studies. 

Urbi Ghosh is a faculty member at CSU Global.

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