Google Plans to Expand Guided Learning and Make AI Use for K-12 Students Opt-In

At a glance

Google announced that its guided learning feature will roll out worldwide in Google Classroom, and will be tested in Search at some schools in the United States at the end of November. It also plans to change its AI products for K-12 student accounts so that school administrators must turn them on before students can use them.

Key points

1. 1

   Guided learning helps students think for themselves by asking step-by-step questions instead of giving answers right away.

2. 2

   In Classroom, teachers choose the activities, and they can see each student's chat history and progress.

3. 3

   In K-12 student accounts, access to AI, including Gemini, is blocked until a school administrator turns on each product.

4. 4

   Trials in Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom showed some improvement in learning indicators, but broader evaluations found no clear difference, so the effectiveness is still uncertain.

Why it matters

Decisions about how and by whom AI is used in schools are being made now, so students, parents, and teachers need to know about them.