ChatGPT v TeachMate AI

If you had told a new teacher fifteen years ago that they could use something called AI to help with all aspects
of school admin, they wouldn’t believe it – but now we have the tools to do this. There are various AI
resources available, but two key ones for education are ChatGPT and TeachMate AI. So how can they help
teachers and what are the differences between them?

Both of these resources can plan a scheme of work or a lesson plan framework. If you type in the learning
objectives needed and year group etc, you will receive custom-made plans, which can then be refined,
adapted and improved. TeachMate AI has lesson plan formats that look more standardized to a classroom
teacher and you can choose the correct curriculum – this can be an issue with ChatGPT, as you could create a
fantastic scheme of work and then realise it was for a completely different curriculum. However, ChatGPT will
ask you if you want the plan adapted in specific ways for different learning needs or ages and whether you
want associated resources created. TeachMate AI does have many resources to choose from but ChatGPT
might just have the edge here – as ever with AI, as long as you are very specific. It can take a few attempts to
get this right – like anything, practice makes perfect.

Both AI resources will produce classroom resources for you to use, from quizzes to worksheets to slide shows,
which is a fantastic time saver. You can refine and adapt these resources in different ways as appropriate –
the teacher is still the subject knowledge expert and will understand what the learners in front of them need –
it just means you can stop creating resources from scratch or using the same generic resources that
subscription websites provide! If you upgrade to Pro in TeachMate AI, which requires a monthly subscription,
you will be able to generate Cloze procedure passages, model texts, practice comprehensions and assembly
scripts, among other tools. You would be able to do this on ChatGPT, but it would be a much lengthier process
as all of the formats and templates are already built into TeachMate AI Pro. TeachMate AI wins this one hands
down – it is built for the UK education system.

The number one most time saving tool is on TeachMate AI – report writing. If you, like this writer, started
teaching at a time when we handwrote school reports with only a Tippex to help us, you will fully appreciate
the excitement of AI generating reports. You put in the key words that describe the student, their strengths
and areas for development and it will do the rest. No more copy and paste and no more of the he/she peril!

Model texts are also incredibly useful – the amount of time teachers have spent over the years creating a
ghost story beginning or a good cliffhanger is unthinkable – you now don’t need to be the next J.K. Rowling in
order to teach a good English lesson – both tools can produce equally good model texts and you can specify
vocabulary level and word count.

ChatGPT and TeachMate AI are both exciting and incredibly useful resources and could revolutionize PPA time
for teachers. This is not about replacing teacher creativity, it is about enabling teachers to have the time to be
more creative. These tools can produce the skeleton of a plan or resource which can be added to by the
experts. Happy exploring!

 Photo by Google DeepMind on Unsplash