Google has announced the integration of its Gemini AI into Google Workspace for Education, aiming to enhance educational tools with advanced AI capabilities. Educational institutions will have access to Gemini for Google Workspace through two new add-on tiers, available for users aged 18 and older.
New Add-Ons for Education
The new add-ons, Gemini Education and Gemini Education Premium, will be available as extensions to existing Google Workspace for Education editions. These add-ons are designed to work with tools that educators and students use daily, such as Google Docs, Gmail, Sheets, and Slides. Google has conducted testing that reveals users appreciate the integration of Gemini AI in these familiar tools, finding it enhances their productivity and user experience.
Enhanced Classroom Features
Google is also piloting the use of LearnLM to introduce Gemini AI into Google Classroom. This integration aims to provide new lesson planning features, assisting educators in creating more effective and engaging lesson plans. The goal is to streamline the planning process and free up more time for educators to focus on teaching.
Google ensures that Gemini AI will include enterprise-grade data protection, accessible through gemini.google.com. The data protection measures guarantee that user data will not be reviewed by anyone, used to train AI models, or shared with other users or institutions. These protections are particularly important for educational institutions, ensuring that student and teacher data remain secure.
Institutions interested in trying out Gemini AI can purchase a few licenses without a minimum purchase requirement, making it accessible for smaller groups. Current users of Gemini Enterprise in educational settings will be able to transition to either of the new education-specific tiers, ensuring a smooth upgrade path.
Additional Features and Tools
Educators can access the side panel, Help me write/organize/visualize, and more through Gemini for Google Workspace. While AI cannot replace the expertise, knowledge, or creativity of educators, it can enhance and enrich teaching and learning experiences. Google acknowledges that it is still early days for generative AI technology. The Gemini Education Premium tier includes Meet's AI-powered note-taking and summarization, AI-enhanced data loss prevention, and more features that will be added soon.
Educators are using Gemini to create lesson plan templates, grant proposals, and job descriptions in Docs, summarize long email threads in Gmail, create agendas for professional development sessions in Sheets, and generate original images in Slides. Gemini is also adding OpenStax and Data Commons extensions, as well as guided practice quizzes that provide conversational feedback on responses.
In the future, any user aged 18 and older on any Workspace for Education account will be able to chat with gemini.google.com for free, using Gemini 1.0 Pro with support for over 40 languages. This expansion of Gemini AI into educational products represents a significant step in leveraging AI to enhance educational tools, aiming to improve productivity and efficiency for educators and students alike.
