Here's something a lot of adults learning new tech skills don't realize: the same AI tools you're trying to learn about can actually help you learn everything else faster too.
You don't need a tutor on retainer or an expensive study app. ChatGPT and Claude — both free to start — can turn your class notes into flashcards, quiz you on what you just learned, build you a study schedule, and explain a confusing step as many times as you need without ever getting impatient with you.
If part of why you're building tech confidence is to understand tools like these, this is a perfect way to practice on something low-stakes and useful at the same time.
Cost to start studying with ChatGPT or Claude's free plans
Ready-to-use prompts you can save and reuse for any course
Professionals supported by Kristin Pelletier over the past decade
After a lesson, don't let your notes just sit there. Open ChatGPT or Claude and try something like the prompt below.
"Here are my notes from today's Excel lesson. Turn the key concepts into 10 flashcards — question on one side, short answer on the other."
Paste your notes in, and you'll have a ready-made study set in seconds. Review them the next morning with your coffee, on your commute, or during a break — a few minutes here and there beats one long cram session every time.
Flashcards are great, but being tested is even better for making things stick. Try this instead:
"Quiz me on what I just learned about PivotTables. Ask me one question at a time and tell me if I'm right before moving on."
This turns a passive review into an active conversation — closer to working with a real tutor than reading a page of notes.
Sometimes an instructor explains something one way, and it just doesn't click. That's normal — it doesn't mean you're behind. Paste the concept into ChatGPT or Claude and ask:
"Can you explain this a different way, like I'm brand new to this?"
You can ask it again. And again. It will never sigh, rush you, or make you feel silly for asking — which is exactly why this tool is so good for building confidence, not just skills.
If you've got a course with a lot of modules and a busy week ahead, let AI do the planning for you. Try this:
"I'm taking a Microsoft Excel course with 8 modules. I have about 3 hours a week to study, spread across whatever days work best. Build me a simple week-by-week schedule to finish in a month."
You'll get a plan broken into manageable chunks instead of one intimidating wall of material. If your week changes — and it will — just tell it what happened ("I missed Tuesday and Wednesday") and ask it to adjust. No guilt, no starting over.
Every field has its own alphabet soup — VLOOKUP, cloud storage, two-factor authentication, cache. When you hit a term that stops you cold, don't just skim past it. Ask:
"What does 'two-factor authentication' actually mean, in plain English, with a real-life example?".
A good explanation should make sense on the first read. If it still doesn't, that's not a you problem — just ask for another example or a simpler comparison.
Watching a demo is one thing; using a skill on your own is another. Once you've learned something, ask AI to hand you a realistic situation to practice on:
"Give me 3 realistic work scenarios where I'd need to use a VLOOKUP formula in Excel, and walk me through solving the first one."
This bridges the gap between "I watched someone do it" and "I can do it myself" — which is exactly the gap that trips a lot of learners up.
Before you paste anything into an AI tool, take a second to think about what's in it. Avoid sharing sensitive personal details, account numbers, passwords, or confidential work information — even in a "just for studying" chat.
Stick to your own notes and general topics, and you'll get all the benefits with none of the risk. This is actually a great habit to build now, since it applies just as much at work as it does while you're learning.
AI tools are genuinely useful, but they're not perfect, and it's worth knowing that going in.
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Double-check anything that matters. AI can occasionally get a detail wrong or oversimplify something. Treat its answers as a helpful first draft, not gospel — especially for anything technical or job-specific.
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Be specific in what you ask. "Make me flashcards" gets a vague result. "Make me 10 flashcards on Excel formulas from these notes, beginner level" gets a useful one.
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It's a supplement, not a replacement. AI tools are wonderful for review and practice between lessons. They work best alongside real instruction — not instead of it — especially when you're learning something with a lot of hands-on steps, like Excel, QuickBooks, or file management.
Bookmark this list — or better yet, paste it somewhere you'll see it during your next study session.
"Turn these notes into 10 flashcards, question and answer format."
"Quiz me one question at a time on [topic], and tell me if I'm right before moving on."
"Explain [concept] like I'm brand new to this, with a real-life example."
"Build me a week-by-week study schedule for [course], based on [X hours a week]."
"Give me a realistic work example where I'd need to use [skill], and walk me through it."
"Summarize today's lesson on [topic] in 5 bullet points I can review later."
Want to Go Deeper?
If working with tools like ChatGPT feels intriguing but a little intimidating, that's exactly what our AI & ChatGPT Masterclass at Wanna Be Tech Savvy was built for — a live, judgment-free class that walks you through using AI for everyday work and learning, one step at a time.
Part of our series on staying focused and motivated while building tech skills. Read the first post: "21 Simple Ways to Stay Focused and Actually Finish Your Online Course."
