An analogy is made between F=ma and T=IA (I'll use I for moment of Inertia and A for Angular acceleration so I don't have to keep writing alpha). Elsewhere, the analogy is made between F=dp/dt and T=dL/dt (L being angular momentum with L=Iw and w being angular velocity).
For most of introductory level physics, one doesn't get into much trouble using the two forms F=ma and F=dp/dt interchangeably because an object can't change its mass at will if mass does not pass in and out of its boundaries.
However, the two forms T=IA and T=dL/dt can give very different results because a rotating object can easily change its moment of inertia even if there is no interaction with the external world. For a spinning skater, T=IA would predict that with no external torque acting that A must be constant - regardless of changes in moment of inertia. But T=dL/dt predicts that the rotation will speed up if the skater's arms are pulled in.
I only bring this up because so many texts and webpages don't emphasize how T=IA assumes that the object is rigid.
As you can probably guess - I'm grading final exams :-)