AI is reshaping Israeli classrooms, from grading to homework

At a panel during Google and Calcalist’s AI Week, Dora Solovey, an AI teacher and AI implementer at the ORT network, and English teacher Noga Yaacobi from HaTamid School in Ramat Gan discussed how artificial intelligence is changing education in Israel. Solovey said, “I no longer check exams until late at night. I have agents doing it for me,” describing AI as part of a broader strategy at ORT.

Solovey said the network is bringing tools such as Gemini and NotebookLM into classrooms to support research, critical thinking and independent learning. Yaacobi called AI one of the most useful tools she has ever used in class, saying it gives students more while reducing her own workload and freeing her for direct work with pupils rather than technical tasks.

The teachers said the education system must adapt to AI both from the ground up and through top-down policy. Solovey said AI can write and grade tests, including open-ended questions, while Yaacobi said adoption is already spreading among teachers and should be formally integrated by institutions and the government. On homework, Solovey said it has not disappeared but changed, since teachers now need to assess process, critical thinking and how students used AI, while also teaching them to question machine-generated answers.

Both argued that teachers will remain essential, though their role may shift toward mentor or guide. Solovey said no tool can replace “a teacher’s look or a hand on a child’s shoulder in a moment of distress.” Looking five years ahead, she envisioned a more digital classroom with group work, independent learning and less teacher lecturing, while Yaacobi called NotebookLM a must-have tool for turning reliable knowledge into presentations, infographics and tailored content for different students.