Top 10 AI Prompts and Use Cases and in the Education Industry in Providence

Providence and the Ocean State are gearing up to make AI a classroom-ready tool: the Rhode Island Department of Education's recent guidance outlines how districts can use AI to personalize learning while guarding equity and ethics, noting that about 20% of students already use tools like ChatGPT and Grammarly but roughly one-third don't use AI at all - a classroom-sized gap in access and understanding - and that only 36% of students feel it improves learning; read RIDE's guidance for details.

Local capacity-building is underway, from URI's statewide K‑12 AI workshop that brought teachers from Providence and 30+ districts together to practice age-appropriate, ethical AI lessons to Nucamp's 15‑week AI Essentials for Work program that trains staff to write effective prompts and apply AI across school operations.

“Artificial intelligence is not the future for our schools – it's the present, and our goal is to ensure it enhances teaching and learning to unlock our students' full potential,” - Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green.

The methodology for choosing these Top 10 prompts and use cases started with Rhode Island's own roadmap: selections prioritized alignment with the Rhode Island Department of Education's guidance on responsible AI in schools, local workforce and governance signals from the Governor's AI Task Force, and clear evidence of where classrooms need the most help - equity, privacy, and teacher readiness.

Prompts were vetted for age-appropriateness and classroom utility (following RIDE's recommendations for K–2 supervision and broader high‑school uses), checked against vendor privacy concerns flagged in state coverage, and scoped to reduce educator burden while boosting student-centered outcomes like research, writing, and personalized instruction.

Community input and state-level surveys shaped emphasis on practical, scaffolded prompts that teachers can adopt without reinventing lesson plans; sample prompts favor transparency and teachable moments so students learn to use AI as a tool, not a crutch.

Learn more in Rhode Island Department of Education responsible AI guidance, reporting on the Rhode Island Governor's AI Task Force, and coverage in The Boston Globe education and AI reporting.

“Artificial intelligence is not the future for our schools – it's the present, and our goal is to ensure it enhances teaching and learning to unlock our students' full potential,” - Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green.

Personalized lessons with Speechify give Providence classrooms a practical way to follow RIDE's push for equitable, age‑appropriate AI: teachers can turn assigned readings into lifelike audio, add adjustable playback speeds and highlighting for students with dyslexia or ADHD, and even deploy quick AI summaries and quizzes to check comprehension - so a long article becomes a portable lesson students can follow on the bus or while switching between classes.

Speechify's education tools emphasize accessibility (read‑aloud for PDFs, web pages, and scanned pages), multilingual voices for EL learners, and classroom‑friendly features like text highlighting and offline audio downloads, making it easier for educators to scaffold instruction without rewriting materials; request a demo or view educator resources at Speechify's education page and read their accessibility overview for implementation tips.

For Providence schools balancing privacy and procurement guidance, Speechify's platform model and API offer a familiar starting point for pilots that prioritize student access and learning outcomes.

Course design with NOLEJ gives Providence educators a practical shortcut from dusty PDFs and lecture videos to interactive, standards-aligned learning: Nolej AI-driven courseware overview can turn uploaded content into more than 15 ready-to-use activities - quizzes, games, interactive videos, chatbots and automated flashcards - using a three‑step workflow to import up to 4+ files, set learning goals and difficulty, then export SCORM, H5P, PDF, Excel or AIKEN packages for existing LMSs; explore the platform for feature details at the Nolej AI-driven courseware overview.

That combination of accessibility, inclusivity (FALC and Dys add-ons), and secure deployment options (EU and on‑premise) makes it a sensible pilot tool for Providence districts balancing RIDE's privacy and procurement guidance, and the platform's track record - trusted by over 170,000 users, winner of Best EdTech Startup - means districts can scale curated modules without rewriting whole courses; read a deeper overview in the Transform Learning with Nolej.io detailed overview to see how the global knowledge graph and automated courseware could link local classrooms to verified, skill‑focused pathways that employers respect.

Content creation with ChatGPT can be a practical classroom ally for Providence educators who want to convert busywork into meaningful learning - generate age‑appropriate lesson plans, craft diagnostic quizzes, or spin a dense primary source into a choose‑your‑own‑adventure that sparks curiosity.

Teachers can pull from curated prompt libraries (think lesson templates, vocabulary activities, and rubrics) to speed planning and differentiate for EL and special‑education needs, then refine outputs for accuracy and pedagogy; see ClassPoint's “100+ ChatGPT Examples for Teachers” for ready‑to‑use prompts and formats and Alice Keeler's collection of 100 prompts to jumpstart everyday tasks.

For assessment and question generation, targeted prompts produce plausible distractors and low‑stakes diagnostics that align with classroom goals - use prompts that ask the model to act as a quiz creator, specify audience and depth, then iterate until the questions probe reasoning rather than rote recall.

The real payoff for Providence schools is not automation alone but freeing teacher time to coach higher‑order thinking - one well‑crafted prompt can turn an hour of worksheets into a 20‑minute, student‑led inquiry that teachers can actually coach.

Explore prompt examples and tweak them to match local curricula and privacy practices.

Virtual tutoring in Providence - think a TutorAI‑style service layered into classroom routines - can give Rhode Island students the immediate, individualized help RIDE encourages: Imagine Learning's on‑demand model lets a student click a “Tutoring Help” button inside a lesson to pull up an expert who uses interactive whiteboards and chat tools, with secure, equitable support available across local hours and subject areas from K–12 ELA and math to world languages and test prep; see the Imagine Learning on-demand tutoring page for details.

Used during class time, on‑demand tutors become a practical differentiation tool that relieves teacher overload and reaches students who might otherwise fall behind - Pear Deck's overview of in-class tutoring shows how virtual tutors can deliver the one-to-one feedback large classes often can't provide.

Research also points to design features Providence districts should prioritize: frequent, monitored sessions and clear data tracking so programs meet high‑impact tutoring thresholds (studies suggest stronger effects for tutoring delivered more than three days per week or bundled into 50+ hours across a year), per the National Council on Teacher Quality.

For districts piloting AI‑driven tutoring while following local procurement and privacy guidance, start small, embed tutors into lessons, log usage, and tie vendor contracts to student outcomes so virtual tutoring scales as a proven bridge across Rhode Island's learning gaps - learn more about implementing pilots in local guidance from Nucamp's overview of RIDE AI policy and procurement.

Grammar and language support with Grammarly gives Providence teachers a practical, classroom-ready way to lift student writing without turning feedback into a morale killer: Grammarly's guide to constructive feedback shows how the platform's tone detector helps coaches deliver empathetic, productive comments, while its real‑time checks (it detects more than 250 types of errors) and plagiarism scanner support clearer revision cycles for EL students and those learning academic English; see the Grammarly tips on giving constructive feedback and a handy ESL-focused overview for how to use Grammarly as a teaching aid.

For districts aligning pilots with local policy, pair these tools with Rhode Island's RIDE-aligned procurement and AI guidance so schools can test Grammarly as a monitored, privacy‑conscious support - imagine a student hearing a suggested rewrite read aloud and immediately improving a paragraph on the spot, turning a defeated sigh into a teachable victory.

“The first problem of any kind of even limited success is the unshakable conviction that you are getting away with something, and that any moment now they will discover you.” - Neil Gaiman

Data privacy in Providence classrooms can move from anxiety to action by using synthetic-data approaches - think Syntheticus (example tool) - to create realistic, non‑identifiable datasets that let districts test apps, train models, and run analytics without exposing a single student record; synthetic data scores “very high” for privacy while keeping analysis useful, though it's more complex to set up than simple masking, so start small and validate outputs against real patterns, as many guides recommend.

For practical comparisons of techniques and tradeoffs, review the clear breakdown in the “6 Student Data Anonymization Techniques” guide and the comprehensive GDPR‑aware overview from Usercentrics, which both show why synthetic data often becomes the preferred route for compliance‑minded pilots.

A vivid example: one U.S. district used 50,000 synthetic records to stress‑test a new grading system without risking transcripts or family trust - proof that, when paired with RIDE‑aligned procurement and legal review, synthetic datasets let Providence schools innovate safely while preserving FERPA and GDPR considerations.

Treat anonymization as a discipline - appoint a privacy lead, pick the right mix of masking, pseudonymization, and synthetic generation, and monitor re‑identification risk as part of every pilot.

“Student data privacy is for all staff - no matter their role - and should happen multiple times a year.” - Dr. Lori Rapp

AI graphic design with Adobe Firefly brings practical, classroom-safe creativity to Providence schools by turning a few plain words into posters, animated slides, or original images students can critique and iterate on in real time; Adobe's Firefly models power Generate Image, Generate Text Effect, and Generate Template tools that are already embedded in Adobe Express for Education, so a teacher can spin a lesson's visual, make a printable “Back to School Night” handout, and even auto-translate it into 45+ languages without leaving the app.

Built-in guardrails, Content Authenticity Initiative tags, and admin controls let district IT teams toggle Firefly features on or off to match RIDE-aligned procurement and privacy rules, while classroom-friendly templates and Guided Activities help teachers scaffold projects that teach both visual literacy and responsible AI use.

For Providence pilots that need low overhead, Adobe Express for Education offers free K–12 deployment and ready-made templates; explore Adobe Firefly generative AI features for K‑12 (Adobe Firefly generative AI features for K‑12: guidance and deployment) and the Adobe Express for Education resources (Adobe Express for Education: classroom templates and tools) to see how simple prompts can turn design tasks from chore to creative lab in one class period.

Excel AI analytics with Microsoft Copilot gives Providence schools a fast, practical way to turn messy gradebooks and assessment exports into clear, action-ready insights: using natural‑language prompts educators can ask Copilot to “spot trends,” build pivot charts, add comparison columns, or set up conditional formatting so the highest‑need students pop in color at a glance - imagine a red‑yellow‑green heat map unfurling across a performance column with one prompt.

The new in‑grid COPILOT function even lets sheets call AI like a formula (for example, =COPILOT("Classify this feedback",D4:D18)) so results update automatically as data changes, keeping dashboards current for school‑board reports or RTI meetings; see Microsoft's guide to the COPILOT function for details.

Prompt craft matters: include context, desired format, and source ranges to get reliable outputs - start with simple tasks (extract city/state from addresses, compare FY24 vs FY23, or “show data insights”) and iterate.

For districts mapping pilots to local rules, align Copilot use with Rhode Island's RIDE AI guidance to protect student data while boosting analytic capacity across Providence classrooms.

Top Copilot prompts for Excel - prompts and what they do:

Prompt: Top Copilot prompts for Excel: Set up conditional formatting to highlight students - What it does: Auto‑highlight top/bottom values or apply color scales for quick visual triage.

Prompt: Top Copilot prompts for Excel: Spot trends and show data insights - What it does: Identify patterns and create charts or PivotTables to reveal performance shifts.

Prompt: Microsoft Copilot function in Excel documentation (COPILOT function example =COPILOT) - What it does: Run natural‑language classification or summaries that update with sheet data.

Prompt: Top Copilot prompts for Excel: Extract and split text for cleaner records - What it does: Break addresses or names into separate columns for cleaner analysis.

Prompt: Top Copilot prompts for Excel: Compare columns and lookup data - What it does: Create computed columns that compare years or match inventory/rosters for side‑by‑side comparisons.

Language learning in Providence classrooms gets a practical boost when Duolingo's AI‑backed, research‑driven lessons are paired with targeted prompt workflows - think customized study plans, conversational role‑plays, and instant grammar corrections from ChatGPT prompts - to turn short blocks of time into meaningful practice; Duolingo's five‑principle method (interactive lessons, AI personalization, standards alignment, motivation, and delight) helps teachers scaffold assignments, track progress, and keep students engaged with bite‑sized activities, while prompt libraries offer ready‑made routines for vocabulary building, writing feedback, and cultural insights that teachers can adapt to local curricula (sample prompts and routines are collected in a practical guide to accelerate language learning: Duolingo for Schools resources and guide for teachers).

For Providence educators juggling mixed ability levels, use Duolingo teacher tools to assign time‑boxed modules and supplement them with prompt‑driven conversation practice and role‑play scenarios that encourage speaking and correction in real time - imagine a student turning a 10‑minute hallway wait into a confidence‑building speaking drill that logs new words and errors for next class.

Explore Duolingo's teaching approach and practical prompt examples to design classroom workflows that are low‑overhead, standards‑aligned, and student‑centered: Duolingo teaching approach and methods for classroom use.

Gamified learning with Kahoot! gives Providence classrooms a low‑friction way to turn review, vocabulary work, and student brainstorming into lively, standards‑aligned practice: Kahoot's AI Generator and question tools can spin a topic, website, or PDF into ready‑to‑play quizzes in seconds, and the AI notes scanner even converts handwritten study notes into flashcards for quick retrieval practice - perfect for short review windows between lessons (Kahoot's AI tools).

For discussion and project work, the Brainstorm question uses deep‑learning text clustering to automatically group short student responses (think “hiking,” “hike,” “let's go on a hike”) so a teacher can focus on strategy instead of sorting cards by hand - an elegant fix for large classes and multilingual groups (technical deep‑learning writeup).

Pairing Kahoot with prompt workflows or ChatGPT can accelerate question creation and formatting for import, cutting prep time while preserving teacher control over accuracy and alignment (step‑by‑step guide to combining ChatGPT and Kahoot).

In short: Kahoot's mix of game mechanics and AI tools makes practice feel like play, helps teachers triage learning needs faster, and turns routine study into memorable, repeatable moments.

Providence's next step is practical: translate RIDE's August 15, 2025 guidance into pilots that protect privacy, close a “classroom‑sized” digital divide, and build educator capacity - notably RIDE will offer implementation support and create an AI Advisory Group to keep guidance current.

The state's findings are a clear north star (20% of students already use AI, just 6% of educators use it regularly, 36% of students say it helps learning, and one‑third don't use AI at all), so local plans should pair tight guardrails with funded professional learning and measurable outcomes.

Start small, prioritize equity and FERPA‑aware procurement, and invest in staff training - practical options include 15‑week programs like Nucamp's AI Essentials for Work to teach prompt craft and classroom workflows - while following national trends and policy context from the Education Commission of the States.

When districts align policy, training, and procurement, AI can move from a classroom risk to a reliable scaffold that helps teachers spend less time on busywork and more time coaching deeper learning.

“Artificial intelligence is not the future for our schools – it's the present, and our goal is to ensure it enhances teaching and learning to unlock our students' full potential.” - Commissioner Angélica Infante‑Green (RIDE Responsible Use of AI Guidance (Aug 15, 2025))