Key points:
- School districts turn to AI to improve personalized education for students
- Take a peek at a new agentic AI virtual teaching assistant
- Redefining accessible, AI-powered global higher education
- For more news on using AI, visit eCN’s AI in Education hub
Simply put, AI can do a lot–it can personalize learning, help students generate research ideas and refine papers, and can reduce time spent on administrative tasks, freeing instructors to spend more time with students.
A recent Google blog post outlines how four different institutions are leveraging Google AI tools, like Gemini and NotebookLM, for innovative teaching and learning.
1. At the University of California Riverside, students use NotebookLM to present their own views of readings and materials side-by-side with a short position paper. Then, they have a back-and-forth debate with NotebookLM to discover weaknesses or holes in their arguments–or to test how well they understand the material.
“We need to prepare [students] for a future where they’ll need to know how to leverage AI tools effectively in their work environments,” said CIO Matthew Gunkel. “With the Gemini app, we’ve empowered the entire institution with private and secure generative AI at scale and, importantly, with appropriate safety protections.”
2. Data analysis moves quicker at Wake Forest University–administrative staff use Gemini to take notes in Meet, enabling meeting participants to focus on being present during important discussions. The provost’s office uses NotebookLM to summarize documents and create university policies based on analysis.
“Colleagues in finance were telling us about analysis that they were doing with Gemini that saved them hours,” said Mur Muchane, CIO and vice president for IT. “A task that took eight hours was down to 30 minutes.”
3. At San Diego State University, Gemini and NotebookLM help students with real-time studying, writing feedback, research support, and interactive learning. Faculty use Gemini and NotebookLM to ensure their lectures are fine-tuned and relevant, leading to increased student engagement.
“Enabling Gemini made perfect sense because it integrates with our existing Google Workspace environment, which is already deeply embedded in how our students, faculty, and staff collaborate and learn,” said Dr. James P. Frazee, CIO and VP for information technology. “This allows us to responsibly introduce AI in ways that align with our commitment to equitable and innovative education.”
4. Marketing and communication professionals at Boise State University use Gemini for creative inspiration as they create all varieties of engaging content.
“Since we already use Google for our email, document management, presentations and other aspects of our work, it was a no-brainer to utilize Gemini because it most easily integrates with these existing environments and workflows,” said Leif Nelson, Executive Director of Learning Technology Solutions and Research Computing.
- How 4 institutions use AI to transform education - May 1, 2025
- The 5 dimensions of AI literacy - April 30, 2025
- AI tools to help students reach academic goals - April 28, 2025