Achieve Peak Productivity in the Classroom with These 6 AI-Powered Tools
The AI Collaborative: Higher Ed Newsletter | Issue 2
Quote to AI-Generated Image of the Week
"For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned."
— Benjamin Franklin
This Week In 3 Bullets
AI and Higher Ed in the News
6 Essential AI-Powered Productivity Tools
Big Announcement from the Boodlebox Team
AI and Higher Ed in the News
The McDonaldisation of higher education in the age of AI: This article examines how AI aligns with McDonaldisation principles in higher education, discussing opportunities, challenges, and the need to balance AI's transformative potential with preserving human-centered learning.
Exploring the impact of artificial intelligence on higher education: This comprehensive study investigates AI's impact on Saudi Arabian higher education, focusing on stakeholder attitudes, perceptions, and its influence on teaching, learning, and ethical implications.
Why AI usage is now soaring among higher ed employees: This report share how faculty and administrators are using AI professionally and personally at over double the rate from last year, with 93% expecting increased usage, and identifies predictive analytics as the most popular AI function.
Six Essential AI-Powered Productivity Tools
The tools we use shape how we work, think, and create. While traditional productivity tools served us well, they're like using a paper map in the age of GPS—functional, but far from optimal. Today, AI-powered alternatives offer unprecedented capabilities that can transform your workflow.
Let's explore six essential upgrades that will revolutionize how you work:
Calendar → Motion: Transform your schedule from static to dynamic
Browser → Arc: Evolve from tab chaos to intelligent workspace management
Search Engine → Perplexity: Upgrade from endless scrolling to instant, get straight to the answers you need.
Notes → Otter.ai & ChatGPT: Convert scattered thoughts into organized, actionable knowledge
Presentations → Gamma: Elevate from boring slides to stunning, AI-crafted presentations
AI Collaboration → BoodleBox: Replace your basic GenAI tool with an all-in-one collaborative platform where AI, people, and knowledge come together.
1. Calendar → Motion
Motion isn't just another calendar—it's your AI-powered productivity partner. Unlike traditional calendars, it not only displays your schedule but also analyzes your workload and habits to help balance commitments like lectures, grading, research, and breaks. Its AI-driven approach eliminates the need for manual planning, providing a more efficient way to manage academic and personal priorities.
2. Browser → Arc
Arc transforms your browsing experience from chaos to clarity. By leveraging AI, it organizes your tabs and bookmarks into "Spaces" dedicated to different projects, such as research, assignments, or lecture planning. It also remembers your workflow patterns for a more streamlined and organized approach to academic tasks – reducing the typical browser clutter.
3. Search Engine → Perplexity
Perplexity delivers AI-synthesized answers from reliable sources, eliminating the need to sift through multiple websites. It provides comprehensive, cited responses for research, assignments, and lecture preparation. Like a smart research assistant, it understands context and delivers precise information.
Easily access Perplexity on BoodleBox.
4. Notes → Otter.ai and ChatGPT
Transform your note-taking process with this powerful duo:
Otter.ai captures and transcribes conversations in real-time, turning spoken words into searchable text. It even identifies different speakers and generates automated summaries.
ChatGPT acts as your writing assistant, helping organize thoughts, generate outlines, and refine your notes into clear, actionable items. Together, they ensure you never miss important details while maintaining perfectly organized, accessible notes.
Access ChatGPT and thousands of other bots on BoodleBox.
Example Workflow using Otter.ai and ChatGPT for Professors
Before Class:
Record yourself doing a practice lecture with Otter.ai
Feed the transcript into BoodleBox and type “@chatgpt-4o” followed by prompts like:
"Identify areas where explanations could be clearer"
"Generate potential student questions"
"Create discussion prompts for key concepts"
"Suggest real-world examples to illustrate theories"
During Class:
Record the actual lecture with Otter.ai
Use real-time transcription to track pacing and coverage
After Class:
Export Otter.ai transcript and add it to the chat to:
Generate a lecture summary for your records
Create study guides based on what was actually covered
Identify concepts that needed more explanation (based on student questions)
Draft follow-up email addressing common questions
Example Workflow using Otter.ai and ChatGPT for Students
During Class:
Record meeting or lecture with Otter.ai
Use quick-tap feature to mark important moments
Add brief notes or questions without disrupting attention
After Class (Same Day):
Import the Otter.ai transcript into BoodleBox and type “@chatgpt-4o” followed with prompts like:
"Summarize the key concepts from this lecture"
"Create a study outline with main points and supporting details"
"Generate practice questions based on the material"
"Explain [complex concept] in simpler terms"
Study Session:
Review Otter.ai timestamps for crucial moments
Use ChatGPT via BoodleBox to:
Create flashcards from lecture content
Generate practice problems
Connect concepts across multiple lectures
Explain unclear points in different ways
5. Presentation → Gamma
Gamma revolutionizes presentations using AI to transform ideas into visually engaging content. It offers intelligent layouts, generates relevant visuals, and helps craft impactful narratives. This helps educators and students create captivating presentations efficiently.
6. AI Collaboration → BoodleBox
BoodleBox transforms AI collaboration by empowering college professors and students to responsibly collaborate with GenAI for class preparation, classroom learning, and classwork assessment. Partnering with college and university leaders, the platform is destined to be the first GenAI platform tailored to the specific needs of higher education, providing affordable, secure, unlimited access to the top GenAI tools. In addition, the team has created training materials, resources, and a community to help professors easily integrate GenAI into the classroom.
Resources from the Collaborative AI Council
Jeanne Beatrix Law has launched three FREE AI for Education courses on Coursera TODAY (December 18th): Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. No matter where you are on your AI journey, there are certain to be some incredible knowledge nuggets to uncover in these courses.
Mike Kentz shares how we can learn valuable lessons from Wikipedia about guiding students to use AI responsibly. He suggests that just as educators learned to navigate the complexities of Wikipedia, we must teach students to use AI tools critically, recognizing their limitations and verifying information through credible sources. Read the full article here.
Sean Amos, a member of the Campus AI Council and student at Kennesaw State University, brought a refreshing perspective, sharing his worries and skepticism about AI—especially its impact on creativity and the entertainment industry. Check out the full episode here.
Interested in having your work included here? Please submit using this link.
Big Announcement from the BoodleBox Team
BoodleBox has launched a groundbreaking user-based pricing model, enabling colleges and universities to access advanced Generative AI tools at where they pay only for what they use. The platform is FERPA-compliant, SOC 2 certified, and uses 80% fewer tokens than traditional platforms – offering significant cost and environmental benefits. Trusted by over 130 institutions, BoodleBox ensures secure, equitable access to GenAI, supporting both academic innovation and workforce readiness. Check out the New Pricing Model for colleges and Universities.
Behind the Curtain
Hi, I’m France, the Co-founder and CEO at BoodleBox. We’re on a mission to partner with faculty, staff, and students to build the best platform in the world for collaborative, responsible AI in the classroom and for classwork.
This newsletter exists to inform and connect those in higher education interested in helping faculty and students responsibly collaborate with GenAI. Come learn more about BoodleBox for Education, and if you’re already onboard, bring a colleague - we’d really appreciate it.
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Great summary for higher education instructors & administrators. Clear & convincing argument for choosing to invest more time & energy in bringing generative ai on board as your assistant!