7 Top AI Side Hustles for Educators

We're talking stuff you can do part-time that leverages your expertise while putting some spare change in your pocket. Intrigued? Read on for the top 7 AI side hustles for teachers in 2024. With so many virtual opportunities, you can work when and where you want - in your PJs on the couch if you like! Whether you're an English teacher, math guru, coding ace, or grammar whiz, you've got in-demand skills. This list has something for every educator looking to make extra money. So put on your side hustle hat and let's explore the best AI side gigs for teachers right now. You've got this!

Creating Educational Content

Finding the Right AI Tool

With so many AI tutoring tools out now, choosing the right one for your needs can feel overwhelming. Do some research to determine tools that match your subject area and teaching style. Popular options like Anthropic, IBM Watson, and Google's AutoML are very flexible while others like Duolingo focus on language learning. Many offer free trials so you can test them out.

Integrating the Tech

Once you choose a tool, figure out how to best integrate it into your lessons. For example, use an AI writing assistant to give students instant feedback on essays or a math helper for solving complex problems. Some tools offer pre-made lessons and assignments to modify to your needs. Get creative - with the right technology, the possibilities for enhanced learning are endless.

Monitoring Progress

The great thing about AI tools is the data they provide. You'll gain insight into how students interact with the technology and their trouble spots. Use reports and analytics to modify lessons, offer more guidance or change tools if needed. Share progress with students and parents to keep them in the loop.

While AI will never replace human teachers, when used thoughtfully it can transform your classroom. With some experimenting, you'll be using AI to inspire students and make your job even more rewarding. The future of education is here - are you ready to embrace it?

Virtual Teaching Assistant

As an educator, you already have expertise in developing engaging content for your students. Why not use those skills to create educational content as a side hustle?

Develop online courses

You can create and sell your own online video courses on platforms like Udemy, Coursera or Udacity. Pick a topic you know well and break it into a series of short video lessons. Online courses are a great way to generate passive income once you've created the content.

Write ebooks

Self-publishing ebooks, especially on education-related topics, can be a lucrative side hustle. Research popular topics in your field and narrow in on a specific angle or niche. Then write a comprehensive yet accessible guide, complete with images, examples and actionable tips. Promote your ebook on social media to drive sales.

Start a YouTube channel

Launching an educational YouTube channel is a great way to share your knowledge with a wide audience. Create engaging video content like tutorials, explainers or reviews. As your subscriber base grows, you can make money through ads, sponsorships and affiliate links. The key is posting new videos regularly to keep viewers coming back.

Tutor online

One-on-one tutoring is a tried-and-true side hustle for educators. Thanks to the internet, you can tutor students all over the world right from your home. Websites like Chegg Tutors, TakeLessons and Wyzant make it easy to find new students and schedule online sessions. You set your own rates and hours, and the flexibility allows you to tutor around your main job.

Whether creating courses, ebooks, videos or offering online tutoring, the possibilities for educators to generate side income through educational content are endless. With some time and effort, you can build up multiple streams of passive revenue doing what you do best - teaching!

Curriculum and Lesson Plan Development

As an educator, one of the hottest AI side hustles is working as a virtual teaching assistant. This role leverages your experience and skills in an online learning environment. Rather than standing in front of a physical classroom, you’re supporting students and instructors in a virtual classroom.

Tutor Students Online

Many parents are turning to online tutoring and virtual learning pods to supplement their children’s education. As an experienced teacher, you’re well-poised to tutor students in your area of expertise over the internet. You can tutor individual students or work with small groups on websites like Chegg, TakeLessons, and Wyzant.

Develop Educational Content

Some virtual teaching assistants create and sell their own video courses, workbooks, flashcard sets and other educational resources. You can build courses on Udemy, Teachable or Thinkific and sell them to students and other teachers. Develop workbooks, worksheets or other printable materials and sell them on Teachers Pay Teachers. Create flashcards, learning games and other interactive resources on Quizlet, Brainscape or Memrise.

Assist Instructors

Rather than working directly with students, you can provide support to online instructors. Help instructors develop course materials like video lectures, assignments, tests and discussion prompts. Monitor online classrooms and discussion forums, answer student questions and provide feedback. Track student progress and grades. This type of role may be a good fit if you prefer to work behind the scenes.

The demand for online learning is growing fast, and virtual teaching assistants will play an important role in developing and supporting these digital classrooms. An AI side hustle as a virtual teaching assistant lets you continue impacting and enriching students’ lives – just through a screen rather than in person. Your experience and passion as an educator can translate well to mentoring and motivating students in an online environment.

Grading Papers and Tests With AI

The education field is changing rapidly with the rise of artificial intelligence. As an educator, you can leverage your expertise to develop engaging AI-integrated curriculum and lesson plans.

Create Interactive Digital Lessons

Use tools like Articulate Storyline, Adobe Captivate, or iSpring Suite to build interactive lessons with AI features like speech recognition, adaptive learning, and personalized feedback. For example, you could create a lesson where students practice pronunciation by reading sentences aloud and receiving automated feedback on their accuracy.

Develop Adaptive Learning Pathways

AI-based adaptive learning systems can create custom learning paths for each student based on their strengths, weaknesses, and interests. Work with companies that provide adaptive learning platforms to develop course content optimized for these systems. Your lessons would include a range of difficulty levels and topics so the platform can serve up the right content for each learner.

Build Personalized Learning Experiences

Use AI to provide a tailored learning experience for each student. For example, you could develop a set of short-form lessons on key concepts that an AI assistant would then string together into a personalized curriculum based on a student's needs and learning preferences. The assistant might also suggest specific strategies, examples, and practice problems for each student based on their profile.

Create Automated Assessment Tools

Develop quiz and test questions that can be automatically graded by AI to provide instant feedback to students. You could also build more open-ended assessments where AI evaluates short-form responses, essays, or project work and provides feedback on key areas for improvement. These types of AI-based assessments free up educators to focus on more complex grading and mentoring.

Leveraging AI in the ways provides an opportunity for educators to reach more students in an engaging, personalized manner. Developing interactive content, adaptive pathways, personalized experiences, and automated assessments are all side hustles that put your skills to use in an exciting, fast-growing area of education. The future is now!

Translation and Transcription Services

If you're an educator, grading student work is undoubtedly one of the more tedious parts of the job. Luckily, artificial intelligence can now help speed up the grading process. Several AI-based services offer automated essay scoring, which can evaluate short written responses and essays.

Automated Essay Scoring

AI grading services like Essay Grader, Gradescope, and others allow you to upload student essays, short answers, or other written work and receive scores quickly based on things like organization, word choice, sentence structure, and more. The AI evaluates the overall quality and coherence of the writing using algorithms trained on thousands of sample essays.

While AI can't provide the personalized feedback that a human grader can, it can take over the initial scoring process, freeing up your time to focus on student work that needs more nuanced evaluation and comments. The scores and basic feedback from the AI provide students with a benchmark, so they know how they're doing before you dive into providing your own feedback and insights.

Pros and Cons

Using AI for grading does have some advantages, like saving time and providing fast scores and feedback to students. However, there are also downsides to consider:

- AI may struggle with more open-ended or creative work. It works best for essays with a defined prompt and structure.

- AI cannot provide the personalized, empathetic feedback that students value from human teachers.

- There is a risk of bias in the algorithms and data used to train the AI systems. Researchers are still working to address issues of unfairness and build more equitable AI.

- Students may feel that automated scoring is impersonal. Be transparent that you're using AI to assist with initial grading, but you still review and provide feedback on their work.

- Integrating an AI grading service into your existing systems and workflows takes time. Make sure to test it thoroughly before using it for high-stakes assignments.

If used responsibly and transparently, AI-based grading tools can be a helpful supplement for educators. But human judgment and personal feedback will always be critical parts of evaluating student work. AI should assist human graders, not replace them.

Consulting and Training on AI in Education

As an educator, your language and communication skills are invaluable. Why not put them to use as a side hustle? Offering translation and transcription services are two options that can utilize your abilities and generate extra income.

Translation

If you’re bilingual or multilingual, providing translation services is an excellent way to make use of your language skills. You can translate documents like websites, books, legal contracts, medical forms, and more from one language into another. While some of this work may be done remotely using translation software, human translators are still very much in demand to ensure accuracy and context.

Transcription

Transcription involves converting audio or video files into text documents. As a teacher, you likely have experience interpreting student speech and explaining concepts in a clear, written manner. These skills translate well to transcription work. You can transcribe podcasts, focus groups, legal proceedings, medical evaluations, and other audio or video files. Transcription jobs allow you to work remotely on a flexible schedule.

To get started in either translation or transcription, you’ll need to build a portfolio of your work to show clients. You may also need to invest in reference materials, transcription software, and possibly translation software or online services. Many freelance websites like Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer offer opportunities to find new clients for these types of jobs.

The key is starting small by offering your services to friends, local businesses, or non-profits to gain experience. As you get reviews and referrals, you can increase your rates and take on more complex, higher-paying work. While the pay may start on the lower end, with time and practice, experienced translators and transcribers can make $30-$100 per hour. For educators, these freelance side hustles are ideal because you can work as little or as much as you want, setting your own schedule around your teaching job.

Developing AI-Powered EdTech Products

As an educator, you have a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field of education that many companies would value. One way to leverage your expertise into a side hustle is by offering consulting and training services on how to implement AI in education.

Consulting Services

School districts, education tech startups, and other organizations may hire consultants to help determine how best to apply AI to improve learning outcomes. You could advise them on possibilities like using AI for personalized learning, analyzing student data to predict outcomes, or automating some routine tasks. With your background, you'll be able to provide valuable guidance on both the opportunities of AI as well as the potential challenges of implementation. Rates for independent education consultants in the U.S. average $150 to $300 per hour.

AI Workshops and Training

Educators and administrators are eager to learn about practical ways to use AI in the classroom. You might develop a workshop on topics such as “Using AI to Personalize Instruction” or “Analyzing Learning Data with AI”. These interactive sessions teach participants how AI tools work and provide hands-on experience. You can market your training through your professional networks, education conferences, and organizations. Workshop fees typically range from $200 to $500 per attendee.

The demand for expertise in this emerging field is growing rapidly. By sharing your knowledge about AI in education through consulting and training, you can establish yourself as an authority in this area while earning extra income. The flexibility of these side hustles also allows you to set your own hours and work around your teaching schedule. If you stay up-to-date with the latest AI technologies and applications, consulting and training on AI in education could provide an ongoing source of revenue for years to come.

AI Side Hustles for Teachers FAQ

As an educator, you have a unique understanding of the challenges in the classroom and insights into how technology could help. Why not put that knowledge to use by developing your own AI-powered education technology (EdTech) products? Creating resources that truly help students and teachers is a rewarding side hustle.

You’re already passionate about education, so think about problems you experience regularly that could be solved with technology. Maybe you need an app to help organize field trips, a website to simplify grading, or an online course to teach a difficult concept. The possibilities are endless.

Once you have an idea, start building a prototype. You can create simple chatbots, mobile apps, or online courses without needing to code by using intuitive tools like Anthropic's Claude, Adalo, or Thinkific. Test your prototype with fellow teachers and students and use their feedback to improve the product.

If you want to earn money from your creation, you’ll need to market and sell it. Offer free trials to get people hooked, then charge a subscription fee. You can also pitch your product to schools, districts, or EdTech companies who may want to acquire it. While running a business does take work, the reward of positively impacting education can make it worthwhile.

Creating AI-powered EdTech products is an exciting way for educators to earn extra money while also improving the learning experience for students. With the rise of easy-to-use tools, you don't need technical skills to build something useful. You just need a desire to solve problems in education and make a meaningful impact. Give it a try—your students and fellow teachers will thank you!