As we wrap up our August focus on Indigenous Knowledge & Local Context, discover how grounding digital learning in local wisdom creates sustainable, lasting impact for primary and secondary learners. Read on for practical strategies to carry place-based learning forward, our final theme reflection, and a new Gemini prompt to map your local curriculum!

Confused by the new 400-page Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) AI guidance? Discover how the free Google AI Educator Series (GES) helps you put its four core tenets into practice with quick, 15-minute classroom-ready sessions!

Google has announced the addition of U.S. National Parks to Google Arts & Culture through United Parks of America -  a brief guide to the history, culture, and beauty of U.S. national parks.

In a recent "EDU on Air for K-12" session, education leaders shared how school districts can move from AI policy anxiety to active, educator-led governance. Read on to learn how to design a pedagogy-first AI roadmap that integrates seamlessly with your existing guidelines.

Happy First Week Back Teachers, Admin, and Coaches!

This week, we are taking a look at the new Rubric features found in Google Classroom.

https://youtu.be/OksImhZbpBc

Did you know that you can create rubrics for NON-TECHY assignments too this year?

Please check out the video, share with others, leave a comment and give a thumbs up on our video page.

Let's all have a wonderful school year!

If you are an Instructional Coach, please consider also joining us for our GEG Instructional Coaches group!

Have a great week Champions!

Jeff

💡 Tips for Google Apps on Android Devices 📱
New Event for #GEGMalawi this Tuesday 25th August at 6pm GMT+2, via Google Meet. You might be thinking - wait.. didn't this group host this event last year?? Yes yes - but we had members of the local community request that we run a new one! So here we are!!

🤔 Curious about how you can use Google apps to make your life easier on your phone? Do you have some tips you'd like to share throughout in the Google meet chat? 💭

💙 Thank you to our presenters for volunteering to share out about some of their favourite apps for this session, Dr. @Dr_Narjeet_Kaur   @LeahKaphuka Luke Chingoli @NaghamBaki  and Michael Beckley!

🌻 If you are interested, or know of others who would benefit from this session - please share this with them. We'd love to connect!
✍ Registration link: https://forms.gle/bTkYAzzcyzvz4LWY7 or you can use the QR code in the image.

Yes, this event will be recorded, and shared on our Google Site after the event has concluded. 🎬

✨ Thank you @NaghamBaki  for the Canva template !

 During our “Getting Started with Google Workspace for Education” session, we invited participants to reflect on a practical question: “𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤?”

The responses revealed a clear pattern:

• Gemini 36.8%
• Gmail 15.8%
• Chrome 15.8%
• Google Meet 10.5%
• Other tools, less frequently mentioned

These findings highlight an important opportunity. While participants are becoming increasingly familiar with AI and core Google tools, there remains significant potential to explore the broader Google Workspace for Education ecosystem.

Beyond individual tools, this ecosystem can support more effective teaching, collaboration, communication, and assessment.

This is why digital literacy is not only about knowing which tools exist. It is about understanding how to select and use the right tools to strengthen teaching and learning.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭. 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧. 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰. 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞.

#GEGSomalia

Can't find the trusted digital tool you are looking for?  Searching just takes you to ads?  You try freemium versions, etc etc - rabbit holes you do not have time for.  🐰

Not to worry - 🥔IdahoGEG has you covered!

https://www.idahogeg.com/teaching-resources-jessicas-corner Jessica's Corner is a robust offering of trusted, vetted digital tools, especially for STEM, CS, and tech content.  

Don't see what you want?  Fill out this form to request an update.

What will you click on first!?  Drop your comment below and let us know what you tried. ⬇️

Dr. Susan Kandianis has been an educator for more than twenty- five years.  During this time, she served as an elementary teacher, instructional coach, technology specialist, coordinator of educational technology, and currently serves as the Supervisor of Educational Technology at Colonial Intermediate Unit 20.  As a steadfast advocate for student-centered learning  and purposeful technology integration, she designs and facilitates professional learning sessions where educators can explore and experience the many learning opportunities afforded through technology tools. She has presented at numerous state and national conferences, provides professional learning support for AI and Google integration, and serves as an Adjunct for Wilkes University.

Transform spreadsheets into interactive apps, capture in-person meetings with AI, and master calendar security! 📊 Discover how the latest Google Workspace updates streamline data, automate note-taking, and enhance administrative control in this week's Global GEG recap.

Discover how educators at LEO Academy Trust use AI as a "second pair of hands" to streamline lesson planning, admin tasks, and differentiation. In this insightful episode, you’ll learn how swapping manual heavy lifting for smart AI prompts can help you reclaim your time and focus more on your students.

Hello, Michigan educators!

Welcome to our brand-new platform space! Whether you were part of our previous GEG Michigan google group or you are joining us for the very first time, we are thrilled you’re here.

As we launch this community on our new platform, our goal is simple: to create a connected, collaborative space where Michigan teachers, tech coaches, administrators, higher-ed faculty, and educational leaders can share ideas, tackle challenges, and level up our tech skills together.

To get things rolling, we want to know who is in the room and where you’re tuning in from across the state!

Drop a comment below with:

1. Your Role & District/Organization: (e.g., 4th Grade Teacher, Tech Integration Specialist, High School Principal, ISD Specialist)

2. Where on the Mitten (or Yooper land!) are you located? (Bonus points for using the classic "hand map" reference: Thumb? Tip of the Mitt? West Michigan? UP?)

3. One goal or topic you hope to explore with this community this year (e.g., Gemini & AI tools, Chromebook workflow hacks, Google Workspace admin, digital citizenship, etc.)

I’ll kick things off in the comments below! Can't wait to see the incredible mix of talent and passion across our Great Lakes state. Tag a fellow Michigan colleague below who should join us!

Step into our third week of Indigenous Knowledge & Local Context as we examine how to ethically integrate regional ecological data and native language preservation into your daily curriculum using Google Workspace. Read on for practical teaching strategies, project frameworks, and our latest Gemini prompt!

Google Classroom recently underwent its most dramatic visual update. Watch GEG Instructional Coaches leaders @JeffBradbury & @CamiKann break down the new interface, student experience, and essential teaching features.

FREE Back to School PD Resource:  Good for all K-12 Education Stakeholders

This morning I attended the virtual Global GEG Event: "Digital Roots — Integrating Traditional Knowledge into Classrooms (Bahasa Indonesia)".

As a native English speaker, this was a brand-new experience for me (and yes, I was a little unsure of myself!)

I relied on Google Meet’s real-time translation + English closed-captions to follow along—and it worked seamlessly!
It was incredible to immerse myself in another culture's approach to education.

What struck me most is how connected we ALL are: educators around the globe are using Google Workspace for Education to solve the same challenges, innovate, and bring incredible value to their students.

Huge thank you to the organizers and speakers for an inspiring session! 💙
Ahmad Fikri Dzulfikar Febriandrini Kumala, M.IB., M.Ed Nastiti Rahajeng

In our conversation together, Dr. Kirsti Lonka challenges the binary "good vs. bad" view of screen-time, urging educators to focus instead on how digital tools can foster active, knowledge-driven engagement rather than passive consumption. By designing lessons around real-world phenomena, teachers can bridge the gap between classroom learning and the collaborative, multidisciplinary nature of the modern world.

Megan Smith is an Instructional Technology Specialist at Lancaster-Lebanon IU13, where she leads professional learning around educational technology and student-centered learning. With over 20 years in education, spanning elementary teaching, instructional coaching, and technology integration, she has extensive experience designing and facilitating professional development focused on instructional best practices. Megan is passionate about helping educators discover meaningful ways to leverage technology to enhance student learning.

We had a great first event!

Check out our notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GYdg7Jk0jkUpeG_9ueHTzvlVKE2JdswGwjQsaSat7yc/edit?tab=t.0

Hello everyone,

I teach technology classes to upper elementary students. My primary focus with this age group is on establishing a solid foundation for computational thinking. We do a fair amount of offline work before they dive into working with code blocks, and our projects generally do not extend beyond 3-4 weeks (2 sessions/week). AI is definitely a powerful coding partner for professionals, and I do address that with students as a mini lesson on AI literacy; however, my students are still developing their foundational problem-solving and algorithmic thinking, so I don't see AI as having any direct role within my computer science curriculum. I'm curious about a few things, though:

1. Am I completely wrong? Is there a valid role that AI could play when coding with 3rd-5th-grade students?

2. At what grade level or level of coding skill mastery should AI-assisted coding tools be introduced?

3. What guardrails could be put into place to ensure that AI is not getting in the way of students' understanding of coding concepts?

4. What about vibe coding? I could actually see the use of this that isn't necessarily tied to the coding unit. There is a lot of critical thinking and problem solving that goes into creating and refining something via Gemini Canvas. I'd still be hesitant with my youngest students because of how they perceive the role of AI; however, there could be some merit in using this process with my oldest group.

I'd love to hear insights, classroom guidelines, or lesson experiences as I think through my coding curriculum (and beyond).

We’ve all felt that sinking feeling when a student turns in an assignment that sounds more like a corporate press release than their own wonderfully unique voice. With generative AI so accessible, the standard "assign a report, grade the final product" loop is feeling a lot of friction lately.

But here’s the good news: we don't need to put our younger students in front of chatbots to teach digital literacy.

Instead, we can use Gemini behind the scenes as our personal design partner to build robust, offline, tactile learning experiences that are "AI-proof."

To help us tackle this together, we’ve just launched a brand-new K-12 Active Learning Blog Series right here in the community!

We’ve mapped out five hands-on challenges designed to help you save prep time and elevate student thinking. Each post pairs a bite-sized Google AI Educator Series (GES) module with a world-renowned Harvard Project Zero Visible Thinking Routine:

• Challenge #1: 🛡️ Outsmarting the Copy-Paste: How to Design AI-Resistant Assessments (Focus: Process-based grading and student-draft portfolios)

• Challenge #2: 🔍 Fact vs. Fiction: Generating Tactile Information Literacy Lessons (Focus: Generating physical claim-sorting cards for hands-on evaluation)

• Challenge #3: 📚 Behind-the-Scenes Differentiation: Fast Scaffolding with Gemini (Focus: Adapting reading passages and building vocabulary keys in minutes)

• Challenge #4: 💻 Coding Without Code: Designing Custom Classroom Simulators (Focus: "Vibe coding" custom interactive math and science widgets in plain English)

• Challenge #5: 🎨 Visual Metaphors: Grounding Abstract K-5 Concepts with Gemini (Focus: Rendering abstract concepts like gravity or empathy into touchable graphics)

How to Join the Challenge:

1. Read the Blog Posts: Click any of the links above to jump straight to our newly published challenges.

2. Try the Gemini Prompts: Copy our pre-built prompt templates to instantly generate your next lesson's materials.

3. Share & Reflect: Scroll to the comments at the bottom of the blog posts and share your takeaways using the "I Used to Think... Now I Think..." routine!

Let's move from policing AI to leveraging it through great pedagogy.

Which challenge are you going to try first? Drop a comment below, and don't forget to explore the full Google AI Educator Series Catalog to start earning your micro-credentials!

Trying to explain abstract concepts like empathy, gravity, or fractions to a 9-year-old? Learn how to use Gemini’s image generator behind the scenes to create concrete visual anchors and tactile printouts—leveraging CAST UDL guidelines and Harvard's 'See, Think, Wonder' routine—to make dense curriculum topics completely touchable.

Teaching students to navigate online claims is critical, but direct chatbot use is not always compliant for younger students. Learn how to use Gemini as your back-end generator to create physical, hands-on claim sorting decks—leveraging CAST UDL guidelines and Harvard's 'Claim, Support, Question' routine—that turn media literacy into an active offline team game."

Explore how educators are placing community heritage at the center of modern learning in our latest blog post for Indigenous Knowledge & Local Context month. Discover practical ways to archive oral histories, map local ecological wisdom with Google Workspace, and join our upcoming August 14 global event on building digital roots with educators from Indonesia.

Today is the first day that I have been able to try out vertical tabs in Chrome.  Once enabled (right click any tab and select Show tabs vertically), all tabs and tab groups will move to the left of the screen where they can be minimized or expanded. This view may be helpful to those who have many tabs open at once.

Step into August as we explore Indigenous Knowledge & Local Context. Discover how educators across the globe are using Google Workspace and UNESCO frameworks to honor ancient wisdom, preserve local heritage, and build culturally responsive classrooms. Read our theme launch post for practical tools, project ideas, and classroom prompts!

My co-leader, Joe Marquez, and I hit the golf course pretty often, and we're always talking shop between holes. Then it hit us: why not record quick, 60-second edtech tips right from the tee box? We'll be sharing bite-sized videos featuring cool tools, clever classroom hacks, and the latest Google updates! Check out our first two recordings from Bluff Pointe Golf Course in Fresno, CA. More to come soon!

https://youtube.com/shorts/cwqB3pEst3Y?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/-9crgeq-1Hw?feature=share

Help me create in Google Forms now supports generating quizzes.

With this launch, you can quickly create a quiz by writing a specific prompt for Help me create describing the quiz you want to create. Your prompt can reference Google Drive files like Docs, Slides or PDFs to use as sources for the quiz, should you choose.

Are You Teaching Software Operations or Durable Life Skills?

In a digital landscape that evolves faster than traditional curricula, memorizing software menus is no longer enough. In the latest Global GEG panel, Pearl River County educators Tara Poolson and Ashton Treadaway break down how to pair digital literacy with student agency. From implementing a "Notice, Name, Next Step" routine for technical roadblocks to utilizing Google Workspace to make student thinking visible, discover practical strategies to transform your classroom into a space of active inquiry.

Ready to build future-ready learners? Read our complete event recap, access free curriculum resources, and join the global conversation on the Global GEG Space and through the official Google AI Educator Series Hub.

All educators know that the most precious resource in their day is time. In Northern Ireland, EdIS ran a 6-month long pilot, training 200+ teachers to leverage Gemini for Education and Notebook in their day-to-day activity. They captured over 600 use cases, with the average teacher saving 8 hours per week, and some saving up to 10! Learn more about how they did it. 

Welcome to GEG Brunei at GfE Community!

Welcome to the Google Educator Group (GEG) Brunei community on Google for Education!

We're delighted to have you join a growing network of educators who are passionate about transforming teaching and learning with Google for Education tools. Whether you're just starting your journey or you're an experienced Google Educator, this community is a place to connect, collaborate, and grow together.

Here, you can:

• 📚 Discover practical teaching ideas and classroom resources.

• 💡 Share your experiences, tips, and success stories.

• 🤝 Connect with fellow educators across Brunei and beyond.

• 🚀 Learn about upcoming events, workshops, and professional development opportunities.

• 🌟 Inspire and be inspired by innovative teaching practices.

We encourage everyone to participate, ask questions, share your insights, and support one another. Every contribution helps strengthen our learning community.

Thank you for being part of GEG Brunei. We look forward to learning, innovating, and making a positive impact in education—together.

Welcome aboard, and happy collaborating!

Hi, 

Ive been using vibe coding in canvas to create custom apps for my elementary students. I’ve had Gemini produce the raw code for me to copy and paste into codeAI app lab. Does anyone know how to do this in Google Sites? I’m not sure we will have access to codeAI next year and my students can’t open anything that contains Gemini in the web address. Thanks! 

I've been a little frustrated recently by the possibilities that are held in the data that is held in Google Classroom, but there has been no way to be able to leverage this data. To overcome this I've built an apps script solution which allows you to pull all your classroom data on a schedule into a Google Sheet. 

Once your data is in a Google Sheet you can:

• Use the data in Google Workspace Studio Flows
• Use the data in Gemini Gems
• Use the data in NotebookLM
• Use the data that you have in a Gem or a Notebook in you flow

Using this you could for example:

• Track students who hand work in late, and pull out statistics
• Automate replies to students emails using data from classroom
• Create Class Newsletters 
• Write report card comment based on assignment data and things that have happened

This is just a fraction of what this makes possible.

As Google require anyone who uses Google Classroom data scopes to go through a very expensive validation process, I've made this as a Google Sheet that you can make a copy of, and then you can just use the sheet in your own account. You can read more about what's possible at: https://www.zipsolutions.org/classstudiosync.html you can access the sheet and make a copy at https://bit.ly/class-sync 

I'd love to know how you use this, and if you find it useful, are there other features that you would like it to have?

Hey all, I recently completed this series of 9 short tutorials about Gemini.  These were made for the Google for Education team in ANZ, and I hope you find them useful.

You can find them in a YouTube Playlist here - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-m80M_9t53I78Dd-Se8l2cd6moF-3YF_

Some points to note:

• These were all made with help from Gemini. Gemini helped me gather ideas for what to include, and to help create the overall structure and flow.  I also used Gemini Canvas to help brainstorm the scripts. Canvas it great for this because you can directly edit Gemini's out put to ensure it still remains some what human.
• The presenters are all AI avatars made with Veo 3.1.  I think the new 3.1 model does a great job, especially with the overall lip-sync of the avatars to the script.  There are some really minor glitches if you pay close attention, but for the most part the AI avatars are very good.
• The whole series was recorded and edited in Google Vids. I was constantly surprised at just how flexible Vids can be if you dig in and explore what it can do.
• Hope you enjoy the videos.  They are all less than 2 minutes long, which should make them good to share with your colleagues, many of whom I'm sure won't watch tutorials if they are much longer than 2 minutes!

We all know that the best professional learning happens when we learn from each other. Do you have a lesson plan that unlocked student creativity, an artifact from a project that transformed learning, or a blog post exploring a new tech tool? Your experience is a valuable resource for educators worldwide.

We invite you to submit your work as an article to the Global GEG community. By contributing your insights, you are directly helping fellow teachers save time, discover new strategies, and build their knowledge base all for the benefit of students everywhere.