Free AI resources for teachers

For many teachers, the question is not whether AI can be helpful. It is how to use it safely and efficiently, so it becomes a time-saving support instead of one more education technology tool to figure out with no time to spare. Summer break offers a lower-pressure opportunity to build that confidence: learning the basics, practicing with trusted tools and creating educator-first workflows that can save time once school begins. Here are some resources to get started.

The Google for Educators: AI Educator Series

The curriculum is broken into non-sequential, 15-minute modules so you can complete them on your own time. It covers three main areas:

• Foundational Understanding: An introduction and overview of Google’s AI tools (like Gemini and NotebookLM).
• Pedagogical Applications: Specific classroom uses, including creating lesson plans, adapting materials to student reading levels, and designing assessments.
• Administrative Applications: Streamlining administrative workload, including grant writing and parent communications.

The Reward: Completing a module awards a digital badge aligned with ISTE+ASCD standards. Educators looking to go a step further can also earn a formal Gemini Educator Certification by completing an exam.

Learn more.

Microsoft Elevate for Educators

If your district uses the Microsoft ecosystem, the Microsoft Elevate for Educators AI Skills Navigator can show you how to maximize the AI tools built directly into those programs. The interactive training moves smoothly from foundational concepts to practical classroom applications. Additionally, Microsoft offers an official AI Literacy for Educators Credential—developed in partnership with ISTE + ASCD—to help teachers confidently understand AI mechanics, model responsible usage, and explicitly teach essential AI and prompt literacy skills to their students.

• Time Commitment: Self-paced learning paths ranging from 1 to 3 hours total, broken down into short, independent units you can pause and resume on your own schedule.

• What You’ll Learn: How to use Microsoft 365 Copilot to quickly generate differentiated lesson plans, leverage learning accelerators to support student study, and explore specialized modules on using AI responsibly in special education environments.

• The Reward: You will earn the official AI Literacy for Educators Credential, developed in direct partnership with ISTE + ASCD.

Learn more.

Common Sense Education – AI Basics for K-12 Teachers

If you are feeling a bit skeptical about artificial intelligence or are deeply concerned about student data privacy and cheating, this foundational course is the perfect starting point. Co-created by the digital citizenship experts at Common Sense Media and OpenAI, this training balances the practical time-saving benefits of technology with a rigorous, safety-first perspective.

• Time Commitment: Highly efficient. The entire self-paced training takes less than an hour to complete, incorporating short videos, quick readings, and brief interactive quizzes.
• What You’ll Learn: You will master the "CRE Framework" for writing precise, high-quality prompts (Context, Role, and Expectations). The course also walks you through protecting student data privacy, navigating algorithmic bias, and applying the "Human-in-the-Loop" standard to ensure you always remain firmly in the driver's seat.
• The Reward: Completing the modules awards an official digital badge and certificate from Common Sense Education, validating your commitment to responsible AI integration and digital literacy.
• The Summer Win: The course includes a downloadable PDF prompt library filled with pre-made, education-specific templates. You can immediately use these over the summer to generate surveys, draft communication guidelines, and experiment safely before the school year begins.

Learn more.

Canva – AI in the Classroom

If you want to focus on creative, highly visual resources, Canva’s dedicated educator track is a must-see. Canva offers a specialized, free course called AI in the Classroom made of eight short lessons on how Canva's AI tools can help you create engaging resources for your calss. 

• Time Commitment: Highly optimized for busy schedules. The entire self-paced course takes just 60 minutes to complete, utilizing short video guides and hands-on design exercises.
• What You’ll Learn: You will learn how to use Magic Write to generate structured, adaptable lesson materials in seconds, and use Magic Design to build polished classroom presentations from a text prompt. The training also covers transforming existing worksheets into accessible digital formats and using Magic Media to safely generate custom classroom illustrations.
• The Reward: After completing the training modules, you can take a 20-question review test to earn an official, shareable Canva Design School Certification to showcase on your CV or LinkedIn profile.
• The Summer Win: Because Canva for Education is 100% free for verified K-12 teachers, this course gives you immediate, unhindered access to the entire Magic Studio suite. You can use your summer break to play with their newest tool, Canva Code, to build interactive student widgets, custom digital flashcards, and classroom games without writing a single line of actual programming code.
  
  

Learn more.

MSTA Mini Courses

MSTA's professional learning department has courses on how to use AI tools in your classroom. Each course includes a 30-minute video and a short quiz. Participants who pass the quiz will earn a certificate for .5 hours of professional development credit.

Tillie Tips

Take some time to explore MSTA's AI-powered tool, Tillie. MSTA has a library of prebuilt prompts that allows you to complete a short form to get the specific response that works best for you. Also, sign up now to enroll in the upcoming 10 Tips in 10 Days email series. Starting in July, subscribers will receive one email a day for two weeks, Monday through Friday. Each email will walk through a practical use for Tillie that will help you prepare for heading back to school in the fall.