Teachers see terms such as prompt, chatbot and adaptive learning in articles about AI. The definitions below use classroom examples to show what each term means in practice.
The same tool can have several roles. ChatGPT is a chatbot and a generative AI tool. When a teacher uses it to draft lesson materials, it also serves as a virtual teaching assistant.
Jump to core AI concepts, teaching and learning applications or responsible use.
Core AI concepts
Artificial intelligence (AI)
What it means: Technology that lets computer tools answer questions, analyse text and carry out other tasks.
Classroom example: A teacher gives an AI tool anonymised survey responses and asks which difficulties students mention most often.
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)
What it means: AI that creates content, including text, images and audio.
Classroom example: A teacher asks ChatGPT to draft a restaurant case study for students to analyse. For more on the activity itself, see using case studies in class.
Prompt
What it means: A question or instruction entered into an AI tool.
Classroom example: “Prepare five discussion questions about restaurant customer loyalty for marketing students. Use simple language.”
Chatbot
What it means: A program you can converse with by entering questions and receiving answers.
Classroom example: A student asks ChatGPT to explain the difference between a restaurant’s mission and vision, with an example of each.
Virtual teaching assistant
What it means: An AI tool used to help prepare lessons and handle everyday teaching tasks.
Classroom example: A teacher uses ChatGPT to draft debate instructions, assessment criteria or a message to students, then checks and revises the output. Those drafts can feed into a lesson plan.
Teaching and learning applications
Personalised teaching
What it means: Adapting materials and tasks to an individual learner’s needs.
Classroom example: A teacher asks AI for a basic explanation for beginners and a more detailed version for advanced students.
Adaptive learning
What it means: An approach in which a program selects the next activity based on a learner’s previous answers.
Classroom example: After an incorrect answer, the program offers an easier exercise or another explanation. After correct answers, it moves to a harder task.
Intelligent tutoring system
What it means: A program that supports learning step by step through activities, answer checking and guidance.
Classroom example: A student makes a mistake in a maths problem. The system suggests the next step instead of supplying the full solution.
Automated feedback
What it means: Comments and suggestions a tool produces after a learner completes a task.
Classroom example: A tool points out that a student has made an unsupported claim in a paragraph and suggests adding an argument or example.
Learning analytics
What it means: Analysing learning data to see students’ progress and where they have difficulty.
Classroom example: A platform report shows that students repeatedly answer questions on one topic incorrectly. The teacher returns to that topic in the next class.
Gamification
What it means: Adding game elements, such as points, levels and challenges, to learning activities.
Classroom example: Students earn points for completing successive case studies. The teacher uses AI to prepare tasks at different difficulty levels.
Educational simulation
What it means: An activity that recreates a real-life or workplace situation.
Classroom example: ChatGPT plays an unhappy restaurant customer while a student practises handling a complaint and proposing a solution.
Responsible use
AI bias
What it means: A tendency for AI outputs to favour certain groups or reproduce stereotypes.
Classroom example: AI-generated examples repeatedly portray men as managers and women as service staff. The teacher notices the pattern and revises the material.
Data privacy
What it means: Protecting information about students, including names, grades and written work.
Classroom example: Before sharing excerpts from a student survey with an AI tool, a teacher removes names and other identifying details.
Ethical use of AI
What it means: Principles for using AI responsibly in teaching and learning.
Classroom example: A teacher explains which uses of AI are allowed for an assignment and asks students to add a short statement describing how they used it. See the guide to clear classroom AI use rules for a fuller example.
