This Week's Tools Worth Your Time
Claude
AI Assistant and Research
Claude is Anthropic's AI assistant built for thoughtful, nuanced conversations. It is particularly strong at reading long documents, helping you think through complex ideas, and drafting professional writing. Anthropic revealed this week it is testing a new tier called Mythos that represents a step change in capability. The current version is powerful and available today.
Free tier available. Claude Pro is $20 per month.
Try this before Friday
Open Claude at claude.ai and paste a paragraph from one of your recent articles or lecture notes. Ask it to rewrite the passage for a general audience. Compare the result to your original and see what you notice.
ChatGPT Library
Productivity and Organization
OpenAI released a new Library feature in ChatGPT that automatically saves every file you upload. You can find, reuse, and build on documents across multiple conversations without uploading them again each time. Educators can store syllabi, rubrics, and course materials and pull them up instantly in any new session.
Available to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Business subscribers. Plus plans start at $20 per month.
Try this before Friday
Upload your current syllabus or a grading rubric to ChatGPT. Ask it to suggest three improvements based on current best practices in your field. Check the Library tab to confirm your file is saved for next time.
NotebookLM
Research and Organization
NotebookLM lets you upload your own documents, PDFs, and lecture notes and ask questions about them. It grounds every answer entirely in the materials you provide. The University of Houston just made it available to all students and faculty through a new Google partnership. Any educator can access the free version with a Google account today.
Free with a Google account. NotebookLM Plus is included with Google One AI Premium.
Try this before Friday
Upload one set of lecture notes or a journal article to NotebookLM. Ask it to identify the three most important concepts and suggest two discussion questions. Use one question to open your next class.
Perplexity AI
Research and Writing
Perplexity AI searches the web and returns answers with cited sources. It is built for fast, reliable research without the effort of reading through dozens of links. Professors can use it to quickly verify facts, explore recent studies, or get a working overview of a new topic before diving deeper.
Free tier available. Perplexity Pro is $20 per month.
Try this before Friday
Type one research question you have been putting off into Perplexity. Read the sourced answer and click through two of the citations. Track how many minutes you saved compared to a standard web search.
Microsoft Copilot
Productivity and Writing
Microsoft Copilot is built into the tools many educators already use including Word, PowerPoint, and Teams. It can draft emails, summarize meeting notes, and help you build presentations faster. If your institution uses Microsoft 365, you may already have access through your campus license at no additional cost.
Free web version available at copilot.microsoft.com. Full features are included with Microsoft 365 Education licenses.
Try this before Friday
Ask Copilot to draft one email you have been putting off this week. Edit it in your own voice before sending. Notice how much easier it feels to start when the first draft is already written.
|