Create your first teaching assistant
A teaching assistant is your own AI, built for your classroom. It answers questions, explains topics, and supports students, all following your instructions. You decide what it teaches, how it teaches, and where the boundaries are.
This takes about five minutes. You do not need any technical knowledge.
Before you start
You only need an idea of what you want the assistant to do, for example "tutor my students on photosynthesis" or "give feedback on argumentative essays". If you have your own worksheets or curriculum files, keep them handy. You can add them along the way.
Build your assistant
You can build in two ways. Build with Sokra lets you describe what you want in a chat and Sokra configures the assistant for you, step by step. Build manually gives you the form directly if you prefer to set everything yourself. Most teachers start with Build with Sokra.
1. Start a new assistant
There are two ways in. On the Assistants page, click Create. Or, better, open the Space for the class that will use the assistant, click Add, and create a new one there (you can also add an assistant that already exists). Either route opens the editor, where you pick one of the two build modes above. Give your assistant a name, an emoji, and a short description so your class recognizes it.
2. Set how it behaves
In the Behavior tab, set the grade level and tell the assistant how to work with your students: its role, its tone, and what it should and should not do. This is where you put the assistant in charge of your subject the way you would brief a teaching assistant.
3. Add your content
Your files are what make the assistant truly yours. In the Material tab, attach PDFs or documents so the assistant answers based on what you actually teach, not the open internet. You can connect the same materials to more than one assistant.
4. Define what good work looks like
In the Feedback tab, set the criteria your assistant uses when it gives students feedback. You shape the criteria, the assistant applies them consistently for every student. The assistant gives feedback against your criteria. You remain the one who decides what good work is.
5. Try it before anyone else does
Use the live Preview while you build. Send the assistant a few messages the way a student would, check the responses, and refine the behavior or materials until it is exactly right.
6. Share it with your class
When you are happy with it, Publish the assistant and add it to the Space your class uses, so they can start using it right away. Keep it Private while you are still working on it.
Tips
- Start small. One clear task ("practice irregular verbs") works better than one assistant that tries to do everything.
- Adding even one of your own worksheets noticeably improves the answers.
- You can keep editing after publishing. Changes apply the next time a student opens it.
Troubleshooting
The assistant ignores my materials. Check that the files are attached in the Material tab of this assistant, not only uploaded to your Collections. Materials have to be connected to the assistant to be used.
Students cannot see the assistant. Students reach an assistant only through a Space they can access. Add the assistant to the Space your class uses, and make sure they can reach it, either by setting the Space's Permissions to Open or by inviting them.
The responses are too generic. Add more specific instructions in the Behavior tab and attach your own materials. The more you tell the assistant about your subject and your students, the more useful its answers.