"I'll just use AI." Fair enough. Here's the honest comparison. Plus a free prompt pack, no card.
An Honest Comparison

“I'll Just Use AI.”

Fair enough. You can mark in a general chatbot. Here is the honest difference:

A general chatbot
  • Sounds generic. A parent can hear the tell.
  • Student names pasted into a public chatbot.
  • No rubric, no syllabus, no sense of your standard.
  • Paste, prompt, copy, de-identify. Every single student.
Open Period
  • Your voice, calibrated to how you actually mark.
  • Names stripped before anything leaves your browser.
  • Your rubric and the NSW syllabus, your standard.
  • A whole class in one pass. You approve every word.
Get Founding Access Free prompt pack · no sign-up · independent, not affiliated with any AI provider
How we kept this fair. Every line below describes who does the work, you or the tool, not what a general AI model "can't" do. We do not state any provider's data policies as fixed, they change. We describe what stays your responsibility in a general AI model. And we end with a real section on where general AI genuinely wins.
8
manual steps a general AI model asks, per student
28×
the paste-prompt-copy loop, for a class of 28
3
free NSW-teacher prompts you keep, no sign-up
Free
founding access when we open, no card
Side By Side, Honestly

The same job, in each tool.

Marking a class set against your rubric. Who does the work in a general AI model, and who does it in Open Period.

Remembering your rubric & standards

In a general AI model

You manage it

A normal chat does not hold your rubric. You re-paste it each session, or build and maintain a custom assistant to keep it.

In Open Period

Built in

Your rubric, year level and marking standards are stored and applied to every mark. No re-pasting.

Knowing your class

In a general AI model

You manage it

It does not know your class. You re-describe the year level, prior performance and adjustments whenever you want them considered.

In Open Period

Built in

Set your class context once. It is applied across feedback, marking and emails.

Student privacy

In a general AI model

Your responsibility

Removing student names and managing data-use settings is on you. Nothing strips identifiers for you before the text is sent.

In Open Period

Automatic

Names and identifiers are stripped before the text reaches the AI, in-app with a server-side backstop, and the removal count is shown. (One exception: photographed handwriting, which we disclose in our privacy pack.)

The output you get back

In a general AI model

You format it

You specify the format every time, then read, copy and reformat the result by hand.

In Open Period

Structured

Comes back as strengths, in-line annotations and next steps, ready to review and use.

A whole class set

In a general AI model

One at a time

Repeat the paste-prompt-copy loop for each student. See the count below.

In Open Period

Built for sets

Designed to run through a class set from one setup.

Consistency across the pile

In a general AI model

Varies

Results shift with how you phrase the prompt each time, which can make marks harder to compare.

In Open Period

Steady

The same structured standards every time, so drafts stay comparable across the set.

Dollar cost

In a general AI model

Usually cheaper

Free, or a paid plan. Honestly, in dollars, this is general AI's win.

In Open Period

Founding access

A general AI model is usually cheaper in dollars, and that is its win. Open Period's founding access is free when we open, no card. The trade you are weighing is dollars vs. your time and student-data safety.

The Quiet Cost

What a general AI model asks of you, every single time.

Not once, but for each student. This is the cost that never shows up as a bill.

  1. Open a fresh chat (or your custom assistant) and reset the context.
  2. Manually remove the student's name and any identifying details. For privacy, this is on you.
  3. Paste your rubric and marking standards.
  4. Paste the student's work.
  5. Spell out year level, tone, length and the exact output format you want.
  6. Read the response and copy it out.
  7. Reformat it for your records, the report, or the email.
  8. Start again at step 1 for the next student.
Now multiply steps 1 to 7 by every student in the class. A set of 28 is the paste-prompt-copy loop run 28 times, plus de-identifying 28 times by hand. That is the cost that never appears on an invoice.
Grab The Free Prompts
Free · No Sign-Up · Yours To Keep

The free prompt pack.

We mean it about being useful. If a general AI model is your tool, here are three NSW-teacher prompts that work in any general AI model. Copy them, fill the brackets, and you will see the manual steps for yourself.

Prompt 1: Mark a draft against a rubric
You are an experienced NSW English teacher marking a Year [YEAR] student draft. First, an important instruction: do not repeat the student's name; refer to them only as "the student". Mark the work below against this rubric, judging it as a whole, not as a checklist. Be specific, honest and growth-focused. RUBRIC: [paste your rubric here] THE TASK THE STUDENT WAS ANSWERING: [paste the question/task] THE STUDENT'S WORK: [paste the de-identified draft; remove names before pasting] Return: (1) two genuine strengths, (2) the single most important thing to improve in the next draft, (3) three specific next steps, written to the student as "you". Do not invent quotes the student did not write.
Prompt 2: Draft a parent / carer email about behaviour
You are an NSW high school teacher writing to a parent/carer about a classroom incident. Write professionally and with care. Do not use the student's real name; write "[student]" wherever a name would go, so I can fill it in afterwards. Context (already de-identified): - Year level: [YEAR] - What happened: [describe the incident plainly] - What I've already done: [redirected / spoke with them / etc.] - Tone I want: [restorative / firm and clear / information only] Write the email body only. Keep it to [LENGTH] words. End with a line offering to discuss by phone or email. Plain language, no fancy dashes.
Prompt 3: Differentiate a task for mixed ability
You are an NSW English teacher. Take the task below and produce three versions for a Year [YEAR] class: (a) a scaffolded version for students who need support, (b) the core version, (c) an extension version that lifts the challenge without adding busywork. Keep the learning intention identical across all three. THE TASK: [paste the task] ANY ADJUSTMENTS TO HONOUR: [e.g. EAL/D, reading level, a named adjustment; describe generally, no student names] Return the three versions clearly labelled, plus one sentence each on who it's for.
Notice what every prompt needs. A rubric pasted in, the work pasted in, the year level, tone and format spelled out, and a hand-written instruction to avoid the student's name, because nothing removes it for you. That is the friction, in your own hands. The prompts are yours to keep either way.
Said Out Loud

Where general AI genuinely wins.

An honest comparison has to include this part.

Price

Free or low-cost. If budget is the only question, general AI wins it outright.

Flexibility

It will do anything: emails, lesson ideas, a recipe, code. A purpose-built marking tool will not.

One-off tasks

For a quick, single job, opening a chat is faster than any setup.

You enjoy the control

If you like crafting prompts and steering the model yourself, it is a brilliant instrument.

The honest bottom line. A general AI model is the cheaper, more flexible general tool. Open Period is the purpose-built one that already knows your rubric and your class, keeps student data de-identified by default, and is built to run a whole set, so the time and the manual privacy work come off your plate. They are different jobs. Founding access is free when we open, so you will be able to compare them on your own marking before deciding.
Fair Questions

General AI vs Open Period, answered straight.

Isn't general AI free?
Yes. In dollars, it is usually cheaper, and that is a genuine win for it. The cost it hides is your time, the paste-prompt-copy loop run once per student, and the manual privacy work, where you remove every name yourself. Open Period's founding access is free when we open, no card, so the comparison is not price vs. price. It is dollars vs. your time and student-data safety.
Is it really fair to general AI?
We think so. Every row above describes who does the work, not what a general AI model "can't" do, and we include a real section on where general AI genuinely wins: price, flexibility, one-off tasks, and the control if you enjoy steering the model. We also hand you three working prompts to use in a general AI model today. Open Period is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by any AI provider.
What about student privacy in a general AI model?
In a general AI model, removing student names and identifiers and managing your data-use settings is on you. Nothing strips identifiers for you before the text is sent, so it is a manual step every single time. Each provider's settings and policies are theirs to set and can change, so check your plan's current terms. Open Period takes a different approach: it strips names and identifiers before the text reaches the AI by default, with the removal count shown. See the privacy and data page →
Can I just keep the prompts?
Yes, they are yours. The three prompts above are a free give with no sign-up required. Copy them, adapt them, use them in any general AI model or anywhere you like. The email box is only if you would like to be first in when Open Period opens.
Am I still the one marking?
Always. Open Period produces a first pass, a draft for you to review, change and approve. You stay the assessing teacher. Feedback is formative for Years 7 to 11 with no grade, and bands apply only for Year 12. AI assists, a human decides, the way the national framework requires.
See It On Your Own Marking

See the difference on your class.

Open Period is opening to a first group of NSW English teachers. Leave your email and you are first in when it opens, with free founding access, so you can compare them on your own pile.

We'll email you the moment we open the doors. No card, no spam.

✓ Free for two weeks when it opens, no card
✓ Keep the prompt pack either way
✓ Your work stays in your browser
Founding Bonus

We set up your calibration with you

Your marked samples are our job, not your evening. You start with the first pass already tuned to how you mark.

Founding Bonus

A marking-codes starter pack

Ready-to-use feedback codes like Strength, Run-on and Next, so your first pass speaks your shorthand from day one.

Founding access is for the first cohort only. When it fills, the free-at-launch place closes. Leaving your email now holds yours.

You're on the founding list.

The founding cohort is small. Bring your staffroom in with you and share with three English teachers who would want this too.

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