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Hi Reader!

This week I am attending the FETC conference in Orlando, Florida. FETC is one of the biggest and best edTech conferences in the United States. If you ever get a chance to attend, do it!

One of my FETC sessions is all about integrating AI into Google Classroom. I’ve put together some of the highlights below.

I am cautiously optimistic about the use of AI in the classroom.

There definitely are opportunities to save time and some interesting new learning strategies made possible through AI tools. Let's take a look at a few ideas together.

Google Classroom is already a classroom staple for many of us, but when you add AI to the mix, things get really interesting. These aren’t just futuristic gadgets; they’re practical ideas that can make a real difference in your day-to-day teaching.

Here are eight ways AI can transform Google Classroom:

1️⃣ Auto generate YouTube questions* - One of the newest features for Google Classroom lets you add questions to a YouTube video for students to answer while they watch. Google Classroom can now automatically suggest these questions based on the content of the video that you select.

2️⃣ Turn any resource into a goldmine of activities with Diffit - Want to do more with that YouTube video? Diffit can generate dozens of student activities from a YouTube video, article, presentation, or other resource that you have. It’s great and easy to use, and works well with Google Classroom.

3️⃣ Personalize learning with focused conversations - let your students engage with content in their own way by chatting with a custom AI chatbot from SchoolAI. I am very impressed with the student-focused resources from SchoolAI which allow teachers to monitor conversations and have built-in focus mode that prevents students from asking about unrelated topics. Click here to learn about cells!

4️⃣ Video Responses with Snorkl - If you miss Flip, you need to check out Snorkl! This free tool lets students record short video responses to a question. Built in AI will evaluate student responses and provide feedback and suggestions for improvement. Try it out!

5️⃣ Auto-grade Discussions:* - grading is one of my least favorite aspects of teaching. Google Classroom can now auto-grade student responses based on your response criteria. I’ve been testing this new feature for a while and it has gotten a LOT better.

6️⃣ Student Study Space* - Google is slowly integrating more student-focused AI tools into Google Classroom. A “study space” allows students to explore a topic based on existing assignments you have added to your course. This one still needs some refinement, but it’s a really interesting idea.

7️⃣ Practice Makes Perfect with AI-Enhanced Practice Sets* - A practice set is kind of like an enhanced Google Form that you can use for formative assessment. The best element of a practice set is the built in hints and resources that pop up to help students when they are struggling to master a concept. Check it out!​

8️⃣ Unlock the Power of Your Resources with NotebookLM - one of my favorite AI tools is NotebookLM. This feature can be enabled for students with proper parental permission and will allow students to explore your class resources using AI. My favorite ideas are generating a study guide, listening to an audio summary of your course material, and generating practice questions to prepare for a quiz or exam.

*Note: Access to these features requires EDU Plus or the Teaching and Learning upgrade for your Google Workspace domain. This premium tier is an excellent value. You can learn more here.

These are some of the ideas I will be sharing this week at FETC. If you are attending this week, please say hello! If not, I would love to hear your thoughts...have you seen success using AI in your classroom?

Want to learn and explore more technology ideas like this? Join me for the winter Google Certification Academy (starts Jan. 21). This course is much more than test prep...we'll explore all kinds of interesting tools and ideas together!

John R. Sowash

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