With thousands of AI tools available for education and L&D, it is easy to get lost in the jungle of possibilities. New tools appear every week, while platforms like LinkedIn overflow with lists of "the Top 10 best or "the 100 most useful" tools. For education and L&D professionals, determining which tools really add value is almost impossible. But a closer look at the landscape reveals that most tools run on only a handful of powerful AI models. In this article, I offer some preliminary overview and share some insights on commonly used tools and promising newcomers.
Foundational models: the power behind educational AI tools
Most educational AI tools use generative AI and are based on one of the six major foundational models: GPT-4 (OpenAI), Gemini 2 (Google), Claude 3.5 (Anthropic), Llama 3.3 (Meta), Grok 2 (X), and Nova (Amazon). The first four in particular are widely used in educational software. This means that many tools basically use the same technology, but they are distinguished by how that technology is deployed and what it delivers to the user.
So when choosing an AI tool, it is important to look beyond the hype. What benefits does the tool offer? What about the reliability of the vendor? And what problem does it actually solve? Below is an overview of tools I am increasingly coming across:
Interesting newcomers
Besides proven tools, there are also many innovative start-ups worth keeping an eye on. These are a few that I find interesting:
- Edthena: A video-based feedback tool for trainee teachers.
- Sana Labs: Personalised L&D platforms based on AI.
- Kodable: For children to learn programming through play.
- Wooclap: Interactive polls and quizzes that provide real-time feedback.
- Hubert.ai: Automatic evaluations of courses and training.
Do it yourself: unleash your own creativity with AI
More and more teachers and trainers are among the group of early adopters who not only use AI tools, but also build their own applications using foundational models such as GPT and Claude. The great thing is: you don't need any programming experience to do this. Using ordinary human language, you can ask AI to work out solutions to problems you encounter in your education or training practice. Think, for example, of developing an AI tutor that exercises language skills, a tool that helps your students to reason clinically, or a tool to quickly devise activating forms of learning for your lessons.
Want to experience this for yourself? Then sign up for the AI Learning Lab, a two-day workshop by Jeroen Krouwels and Marcel de Leeuwe. Here, you will learn everything they have learned about AI and immediately develop your own tools in mini-projects during the workshop. At the end of the workshop, you will go home with concrete, home-made applications that you can immediately use in your own work practice. Get started and become an AI master too!
AI as Ally: towards more personal and effective learning in the 21st Century
AI is fundamentally changing the way we learn and develop. The power of AI lies not only in accelerating and personalising learning processes, but also in freeing professionals from routine tasks. This creates space for what is really important for learning: personal attention and guidance. After all, education and L&D are not primarily about knowledge transfer; we forget most of what we hear in a lesson. It is primarily about developing insights, skills and wisdom - areas in which human guidance remains indispensable.
With the help of AI, teachers and trainers can respond much more effectively to individual learning needs, for example through adaptive learning modules and real-time feedback. Tools that automatically generate and analyse content enable faster innovation, while data offers new insights into learning behaviour and outcomes. This strengthens the role of the professional as process facilitator and mentor.
At the same time, AI has a transformative power on the organisation of learning itself. By letting go of traditional models and aligning education and L&D with an AI-driven world, we can make learning more inclusive and accessible.
In short, AI is not a replacement for the professional, but a valuable ally that helps make learning more personal, effective and meaningful. The challenge lies in harnessing these capabilities in a sustainable and responsible way. By redesigning learning landscapes, replacing theory lessons and lectures with active forms of work guided by teachers in the role of "masters of the 21e century": professionals with not only solid subject knowledge, but also, above all, an understanding of how people learn and great skill in working with AI applications.
