A district PD lead in New York told me he was done paying outsiders for PD he'd already written. He already had the material. What he didn't have was time to turn it into courses.
So here's what that looks like. One PD guide goes in, and a full course comes out.
Can't see the video? Watch it on Loom.
That's a full PD course built from a document that was already sitting in a shared drive. Here's what you just watched.
It starts with the PD guide you already wrote
The document in the video is Data-Driven Instruction: A Practical Guide for Teachers. It covers why DDI matters, the 4-step data cycle, classroom strategies that work, and common pitfalls.
Most districts have a dozen guides like this. Teachers rarely read them, and they almost never become something you can assign and track.
TeachMate asks the questions an instructional designer would
I typed a short prompt asking for a PD course built from that guide. Before writing anything, TeachMate — our admin agent — asked a few questions:
- Primary goal: compliance
- Experience level: mixed, from first-year teachers to veterans
- Language: English. It can also be bilingual if you have Spanish-speaking staff.
- Structure: at least four lessons per module
- Proof of learning: a 90% quiz pass
Upload the document, check the outline
I uploaded the DDI guide and TeachMate drafted a storyboard of modules and lessons. I wanted one more module, so I asked for it in the AI chat and it was added.
You approve the structure before any lessons get written.
About four modules and fifteen lessons, ready to edit
Then it built the course: roughly four modules and 15 lessons, with flashcards, graphics, and a quiz. You can turn any text block into a different format, or pull new pieces from the block library.
You spend your time reviewing a draft instead of writing one.
Keep Canvas — or Schoology, or whatever you already run
Export the course as SCORM or LTI into Canvas, Schoology, Blackboard, or Moodle. Teachers keep the login they already know. Or assign it to groups inside Learn Or Teach if you want enrollments and reports without another spreadsheet. Either way, you are adding an authoring and agent layer alongside what you have — not ripping out your LMS.
Build, enroll, remind, report
Build the course from your guide. Enroll the teachers and TAs who need it. Remind anyone who hasn't finished before Wednesday. Report who passed, so the compliance box is checked with real data.
Meet the agents
TeachMate is the admin agent. You ask it in chat to build a course from a document, enroll a group, nudge unfinished learners, or pull a completion report — the same work an admin would click through by hand.
LearnMate is the learner agent. Each teacher gets it in their own chat: where is my module, what did I miss, how do I finish before Wednesday. That stops being your inbox.
What one district PD lead did with it
A New York district's instructional lead sat down in Creator with me and built a roughly 30-minute K–2 ELA course aligned to NYS standards.
The AI produced three modules with quizzes set to a 70% pass. He added stock images and adjusted the text with AI edits until it sounded like his district.
His plan is to replace outside PD vendors with courses like this for the district's extended Wednesday PD sessions. Next he's counting teachers and TAs so we can scope a hosted plan, and bringing another administrator in for a follow-up demo.
When Wednesday PD isn't the only fire
PD is one slice. Districts also owe compliance, safety, and catalog training. Learn Or Teach's course library — including American Red Cross training content we're licensed to host — lives on the same platform. One place for the courses you build with TeachMate and the required training you don't want to reinvent.
Two clear doors
Creator is $1,500 a year for a limited time. AI-built courses from a prompt or your own documents, plus SCORM/LTI export into Canvas or the LMS you already use.
Hosted seats are for when you want teachers on Learn Or Teach itself — LearnMate in their chat, enrollments and reminders, plus the course library — under one login. There's a scale plan for that.
Pick the PD guide nobody reads and turn it into this Wednesday's session.
Start your free trial at learnorteach.com
— Clever
