5 EdTech Tools Worth Trying This Semester

There’s no shortage of educational technology on the market, which makes it hard to know where to start. Here are five that are genuinely current, verifiably real, and cover distinct classroom needs — not a repackaged list of the same three tools under five categories.

1. Khanmigo — AI tutoring built to withhold the answer
Khan Academy’s GPT-4-based tutor is designed to guide students toward an answer through questions rather than handing it over directly — the same hint-based design that, per the research covered in our AI-tutors post, is what separates AI tutoring that actually helps from AI tutoring that becomes a crutch. Rated 4 stars by Common Sense Media. khanmigo.ai

2. MagicSchool AI — teacher-facing productivity, not student-facing
Over 80 tools for lesson planning, rubrics, differentiation drafts, and parent communication, aimed entirely at cutting teacher prep time rather than tutoring students directly. Crossed 5 million educator sign-ups and 13,000+ schools in 2026; core tools are free. magicschool.ai

3. Diffit — one text, every reading level
Paste in any passage, article, or topic and Diffit generates versions at different reading levels (2nd through 11th+ grade) along with vocabulary lists and comprehension questions, with support for 35+ languages. Useful specifically for mixed-level classrooms and multilingual learners. Free tier available. web.diffit.me

4. Gradescope — AI-assisted grading at scale
Owned by Turnitin, Gradescope groups similar student responses so instructors grade each unique answer once instead of every submission individually. Used at 2,600+ institutions by 140,000+ instructors — worth noting this is primarily a higher-ed and AP-level tool rather than general K-12. gradescope.com

5. Nearpod — interactive lessons with an AI Lesson Generator
Enter a topic or standard and Nearpod’s AI Lesson Builder drafts a full interactive lesson — slides, polls, and 20+ formative-assessment activities — that a teacher edits before deploying. Nearpod states no teacher data is used to train the AI, a relevant point given the data-privacy questions worth asking before adopting any classroom AI tool. Free for individual teachers. nearpod.com

As always, the right tool depends on your subject, grade level, and what problem you’re actually trying to solve — not which one has the flashiest AI feature.