Google Unveils New AI Tools for Google Workspace for Education at ISTE 2024

At the ISTE 2024 conference, Google announced several exciting updates to its Google Workspace for Education offerings, including the integration of its powerful Gemini AI assistant. These new tools aim to empower both students and educators, helping them save time, create engaging learning experiences, and foster greater creativity in the classroom.

One of the key highlights is the introduction of Gemini for Google Workspace, which will be made available to teen students in over 100 countries, free of charge. Gemini, Google's advanced generative AI model, can be used to assist with a variety of tasks, from drafting lesson plans and summarizing long email threads to generating original images and personalizing content for individual students. To ensure responsible use, Gemini will be off by default for teens, and administrators will have the ability to enable it in the Admin console. Additionally, Google has committed to adding extra data protection for all education users, ensuring that their data will not be used to improve AI models.

Another exciting development is the integration of Google Vids, a collaborative video creation app, into Google Workspace for Education. Educators can use Vids to create engaging videos for lessons, professional development, and more. Students, on the other hand, can leverage Vids for video book reports, essays, and other creative projects. The version of Vids with generative AI capabilities will be available as a Gemini for Google Workspace add-on.

Google is also enhancing its Read Along feature, which helps students build independent reading skills with the support of AI. The Read Along in Classroom service will now be available globally, allowing students around the world to practice their reading skills in English. Teachers will also have the ability to enable additional support in a student's native language, starting with Spanish.

To further support differentiated instruction, Google is piloting Gemini-powered features in Google Classroom, which will help educators create personalized learning experiences for their students. This includes the ability to define student groups and assign different content based on their needs, as well as the integration of AI-suggested questions for certain YouTube videos to help students check their understanding.

These updates from Google demonstrate a strong commitment to leveraging the power of AI to enhance the educational experience for both students and teachers. By integrating Gemini and other AI-powered tools into its Google Workspace for Education offerings, Google is empowering educators to save time, create more engaging content, and personalize learning to better meet the needs of their students. As the education landscape continues to evolve, these innovations from Google are poised to play a significant role in shaping the future of teaching and learning.