Google Unveils Its Most Ambitious AI Push In Schools Yet

Watch the full videoGoogle just announced a set of updates that will advance how schools use AI. This goes beyond just sticking Gemini into Google Classroom. Google are building what the learning ecosystem of their Classroom app, NotebookLM, Gemini and Chromebooks could actually be as an integrated piece.So the question is simple. In a world where the screen is the ‘badguy’ — see Pixar’s new instalment of Toy Story — does the latest traunch of AI integrations from Google actually help schools, or does it just add another layer of tech that educators and students have to manage?When I covered Google I/O, just a few weeks ago, I was a little skeptical, because it kind of feels like Google are just throwing AI tools at the wall to see what sticks. We know that only about half of the products they announced actually survived to 12 months on. So is this what they are doing with Google Classroom too? Just throwing AI tools, this time at our kids and the educators who teach them, and seeing what sticks?The real test is in how this enhances the learning experience of our children and their teachers.Google lean heavily on research they have just published from Sierra Leone, where 1,763 math students used Gemini's Guided Learning to support their learning over eight weeks. They saw between 1.2 and 1.7 years of progress, and as much as 1.8 to 2.5 years where educators built it into around half their lessons. According to the research, educators designed the lessons, set the objectives, and led the discussions. And it was not students mining the tool for answers. Across more than 113,000 interactions, students used it to build understanding in 91.4% of conversations, and Gemini handed over a direct solution in just 2% of its messages. Conrad Sackey, Sierra Leone's minister of basic and senior secondary education, said the trial gives "strong evidence that carefully designed AI can help improve learning outcomes."Google Classroom is rapidly moving from a place...