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Views and Visibility

AI-School adapts the application to your role, your environment, and your personal settings. As a result, it can happen that you do not see a button, model, tool, or connection, while someone else does.

This is usually not an error. AI-School only shows components that are available, permitted, and relevant for your account at that moment.

Why doesn't everyone see the same thing?​

The interface is built up from multiple layers:

  1. Your role: student, staff, admin, board admin, or super admin.
  2. Your teacher status: for staff accounts, it can be set separately whether someone is a teacher or has no teaching duties.
  3. The environment: settings of the school, organization, or tenant.
  4. Restrictions and access: for example, whether students or staff are allowed to use certain functions.
  5. Available models and providers: which AI models are enabled by the environment.
  6. Tool settings: which tools are visible, automatically available, on, or off.
  7. Connections and MCP access: whether connections are allowed and whether you are logged in with the correct provider.
  8. Your personal preferences: for example, the Instappen or Standaard view, default provider, and personal tool exceptions.
  9. The current chat context: some buttons disappear or are disabled during an ongoing response, in an assistant, in document mode, or with a specific connection.

A missing button does not automatically mean you lack permissions. Sometimes the function is disabled in your environment. Sometimes you are using the Instappen view. Sometimes the function only belongs to another model or provider.

Instappen and standard view​

Users with a non-student account can choose in Preferences how many options they want to see in the app. In the app, these modes are called:

  • Instappen: calm view with fewer options.
  • Standaard: all possibilities and settings are visible.

This setting is not available on the preferences page for students. For students, the available view is mainly determined by the environment configuration.

Standaard​

In Standaard, you see the full interface within what your role and environment allow. For example, you can:

  • choose the default AI provider in Preferences;
  • set general instructions and extra instructions;
  • use the model switcher in chat settings and with responses;
  • use the direct input modes for chat, text-to-image, text-to-audio, and documents if available;
  • open the extra options of the chat;
  • switch between sections such as links, files, images, and statistics on the home screen;
  • start tools and connections from the home screen;
  • set personal tool exceptions;
  • manage drive connections, except for student accounts.

Instappen​

In Instappen, the regular chat remains available, but AI-School hides some advanced choices. This makes the interface calmer.

In this view, the following disappear, among others:

  • the default AI provider in Preferences;
  • general instructions, extra instructions, and personal answer style;
  • the model switcher in the chat sidebar and with responses;
  • the direct input mode buttons for image, audio, and documents;
  • the extra options button of the chat;
  • the dashboard switcher for links, files, images, and statistics;
  • the tools and connections block on the home screen;
  • the button to create a new assistant from the home screen;
  • personal tool exceptions;
  • drive connections.

Not everything disappears. History and available assistants can still be visible. Also, some chat-related settings or tools may still appear in an existing chat context, depending on the chosen chat, assistant, or workflow.

Why don't I see the model switcher?​

The most common reason is that Instappen is enabled.

The model switcher is hidden in Instappen:

  • in the chat sidebar;
  • with previous responses;
  • in parts of the chat window where you normally can switch models.

If you want to choose models or retry responses with another model, set the view to Standaard via Preferences.

Roles and role views​

AI-School uses roles to determine which parts of the application are loaded. A role is not the same as a full job description. The final view also depends on permissions, environment, school or board scope, and personal settings.

For staff, there is another important distinction: teacher or non-teacher. This is not a separate main role like student or admin, but a property of the staff account. A staff member can therefore be staff and teacher at the same time, or staff without teaching duties.

Student​

A student account uses the student view. This view is intended for using AI-School within the student context, for example chatting, working with available lessons, or student access to parts allowed by the environment.

A student does not see a general management environment. Some functions may also be available or unavailable due to access hours, limits, or individual settings.

Staff​

A staff account uses the staff view. This is the regular work environment for staff: chatting, using available assistants, viewing history, managing files, and setting personal preferences.

Whether a staff member sees extra options, such as MCP connections, voice chat, or document creation, depends on environment settings and any individual access.

Teacher​

A teacher is a staff member whose staff profile has Is teacher? set to Yes. This status can be set manually by an admin, come in through staff import, or be taken from an integration such as Somtoday.

A teacher sees extra education-focused parts within the staff view. For example:

  • Groups in the main menu;
  • Select groups in settings;
  • the Lessons tab on the assistants page;
  • their own lessons that the teacher can manage or test;
  • options related to sharing lesson material or assistants with groups.

A teacher is still also a regular staff member. Teacher status therefore does not grant general management rights and does not automatically make someone an admin.

Non-teacher staff member​

A non-teacher staff member has the same basic staff role, but without teaching duties. This staff member can still chat, use available assistants, view history, manage files, and set personal preferences.

What is usually missing compared with a teacher:

  • no Groups in the main menu;
  • no Select groups for lesson groups;
  • no Lessons tab on the assistants page;
  • no own teacher lessons to manage or test.

Non-teacher staff members can still see assistants or workflows if these have been shared with them and the environment allows this.

Admin​

An admin account has access to the management environment within their own school or location scope. Which management panels are visible is then further filtered by permissions and scope.

An admin can also view the app as staff. In that role view, admin-specific parts disappear from the regular user interface, so the admin can better see what staff approximately experience.

Board admin​

A board admin has a broader management role than a regular admin. This role can see settings at environment or board level that are not always available to school admins, such as broader environment settings, permissions, or central AI settings.

A board admin can also view the role view as school admin or staff. This allows the same user to see different interfaces depending on the active role view.

Models and providers​

The available language, image, and speech models come from the environment's model configuration. A school or organization can determine which providers and models are available.

As a result, it can happen that:

  • OpenAI, Claude, Google, or European AI are not all visible;
  • a model mentioned in a news article or example is not in your environment;
  • image or speech models differ from language models;
  • an assistant works with a fixed model;
  • a model cannot be chosen because an active connection requires a specific provider.

For hosted MCP connectors, such as Google Calendar or Microsoft connections via the connector layer, AI-School uses OpenAI models. If such a connector is active, other model providers may be disabled or unusable in that chat.

Tools: automatic, on, off, and not visible​

Tools can be set in different ways.

Automatic​

The tool is available, but the AI decides whether the tool is needed. This is the normal setting for many tools.

On​

The tool is explicitly on for you or for the chat. AI-School then tries to make the tool more directly available.

Off​

The tool is visible as an option but not available for you or for this chat.

Not visible​

This is the strongest restriction. If an admin sets a tool to Not visible, the tool disappears from the chat window and your personal preferences. You cannot turn this tool back on yourself.

Personal tool settings are therefore only exceptions to what the environment has made visible. They cannot restore a hidden tool.

Provider-specific tools​

Not every tool works with every AI provider.

Examples:

  • OpenAI has its own native tools, such as web search and code interpreter.
  • Claude has its own tools, such as web search, fetching web pages, and code execution.
  • Google has its own native tools, such as Google Search, URL context, Maps, and code execution.
  • Some general tools work independently of the provider.

If you switch model providers, the list of tools can change. This is expected behavior. AI-School adjusts the tool settings to the provider associated with the chosen model.

For Google-native tools, it also applies that these cannot always be combined with general function tools. If Google-native tools are active, AI-School may disable other tools in that round to ensure the model call works technically well.

Connections and MCP tools​

Under Tools on the home screen, various types of connections can appear:

  • built-in AI-School tools;
  • personal MCP servers;
  • organization-wide MCP servers;
  • hosted connectors such as Google Calendar, Google Drive, Gmail, Microsoft Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, and similar connections.

Whether you see these depends on multiple conditions.

MCP access​

The environment separately determines whether staff and students may use MCP connections. Additionally, an admin can set an individual exception per staff member or student:

  • allowed;
  • not allowed;
  • default, meaning follow the environment setting.

If MCP access is off, you do not see a button to add an MCP server, and organization or personal MCP connections disappear from your view.

Logged-in provider​

Some connectors are only visible if you are logged in with the correct provider.

Examples:

  • Google Calendar, Google Drive, and Gmail require a Google login.
  • Outlook, Microsoft Teams, and SharePoint require a Microsoft login.

If you are logged in with email and password, a Google or Microsoft connector may be missing, even if the environment has enabled it.

Re-granting permission​

For some connections, you must give extra permission. A regular login is then not enough because the connector needs extra rights, for example to read the calendar or search files. AI-School asks for that permission when you start the connection.

Desktop and local MCP​

Local MCP servers and local file access belong to the desktop app. If you use the web version, you do not see desktop-specific features.

Chat context: why is something temporarily missing or disabled?​

Some components are only temporarily hidden or disabled.

This can happen when:

  • a response is being generated at that moment;
  • you are in a controlled assistant or lesson;
  • you are working with a fixed prompt type, such as document mode;
  • a previous chat has saved its own tool setting;
  • a message is being regenerated;
  • the chosen local model does not support tool use;
  • an MCP connector is active and only supports OpenAI models;
  • you are working on mobile and the layout is more compact.

In that case, wait until the response is ready, open a new chat, or check whether you are in an assistant, document mode, or connection chat.

Management settings that affect visibility​

Admins can influence visibility in various places.

Restrictions​

In restrictions, an environment can set whether staff or students have access to functions such as:

  • MCP connections;
  • voice chat;
  • document creation;
  • usage limits and access hours.

Additionally, admins can set exceptions for individual staff or students.

Models​

In model settings, the environment determines which language, image, and speech models are available. If a provider or model is not included there, it does not appear in the model switcher.

Tools​

In tool settings, it can be set per provider whether tools are automatically available, on, off, or not visible. Especially Not visible is important: users cannot turn such a tool back on themselves.

Connections​

Hosted connectors and organization-wide MCP servers are managed separately. They only appear if enabled for the environment and the user meets the access conditions.

FAQ: Help! I don't see something​

I don't see the model switcher​

Check if you are using the Instappen view. Go to Preferences and set the view to Standaard. If you do not see that setting, your role or environment may determine which view you get.

I don't see Assistants in the menu​

In Instappen, Assistants is hidden from the main menu. Available assistants may still be visible on the home screen. Set the view to Standaard if you want to open the separate assistants page via the menu.

I don't see Lessons under Assistants​

The Lessons tab is intended for staff members who are set as teachers. If you do see Assistants but not Lessons, you are probably a staff member without teacher status. Ask an admin to check whether Is teacher? is set to Yes in your staff profile.

I don't see Groups or Select groups​

These parts belong to the teacher view. A staff member without teacher status normally does not see them. Students may see their own group selection, but that is a different view from the teacher function for groups.

I don't see Tools or Connections on the home screen​

In Instappen, the tools and connections block on the home screen is hidden. Set the view to Standaard. Then check whether your environment allows MCP access and tools.

I don't see a particular tool​

Probably the tool is set to Not visible in the environment, the tool is not available for the chosen provider, or the tool does not fit your current chat context. You cannot restore hidden tools yourself via preferences.

I see a tool, but it does not work in this chat​

The tool may be disabled for this chat, not fit the chosen model, or temporarily unavailable during generation. Optionally start a new chat and check your tool settings.

I don't see Google Calendar, Gmail, or Google Drive​

These connectors require a Google login and must be enabled by the environment. If you log in with Microsoft or email/password, Google connectors may be missing.

I don't see Outlook, Teams, or SharePoint​

These connectors require a Microsoft login and must be enabled by the environment. If you log in with Google or email/password, Microsoft connectors may be missing.

I cannot add an MCP server​

MCP access may be off in the environment for your role. Additionally, an admin may have set an individual exception for your account to not allowed.

My colleague sees more models than I do​

First check whether you both use the Standaard view. Then the difference may be due to a different role, school/location, active chat context, personal preference, or environment.

My colleague sees Lessons or Groups and I don't​

Check whether you both have the same teacher status. A staff member with teacher status sees education-focused parts such as Groups, Select groups, and the Lessons tab. A staff member without teacher status normally does not see these parts.

I don't see a model mentioned in an article or training​

The manual may mention examples of models not enabled in every environment. The administrator determines which models are available in your environment.

A model is greyed out or cannot be chosen​

This may be because the current chat uses a connection or connector that only works with certain models. Hosted MCP connectors, for example, work with OpenAI models.

I don't see General instructions or Extra instructions​

These settings belong to the advanced preferences. Set your view to Standaard. In Instappen, these advanced preferences are hidden.

I don't see Drive connections​

Drive connections are only in Standaard and are not visible to students. Additionally, you must be able to log in with the correct provider or re-grant permission.

I don't see local AI or local MCP​

Local AI, local file access, and local MCP servers belong to the desktop app. These components do not appear in the web version.

I don't see something on mobile​

On small screens, AI-School uses a more compact layout. Open the side menu via the hamburger icon or try the same page on a larger screen.

What should I report to support or my administrator?​

Provide as concrete information as possible:

  • which button, tool, connection, or model you are missing;
  • where you expected to see it;
  • whether you are a student, staff, admin, or board admin;
  • if you are staff, whether you are a teacher or have no teaching duties;
  • whether you use Instappen or Standaard;
  • with which login provider you are logged in, for example Google, Microsoft, or email/password;
  • whether you are working in a regular chat, assistant, document mode, or connection chat.

With that information, an administrator can usually quickly check whether it concerns a personal preference, role, environment setting, or technical limitation.

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