Is Google Gemini the Ultimate Educational AI?

Edtech Throwdown Episode 200: Is Google Gemini the Ultimate Educational AI? Welcome to the EdTech Throwdown.  This is Episode 200 called Is Google Gemini the Ultimate Educational AI?  In this episode, we will discuss the good and the bad of Google Gemini as we try to answer the question - is this the ultimate educational AI tool?  This is another episode you don’t want to miss, check it out. Segment 1:  Congrats on episode 200 - we had a plan but scheduling conflicts and a busy schedule pushes us back. We’ve been presenting like crazy and Google Gemini keeps popping up.  It does what school ai does.  It does what magic school does.  It’s “safe”.  This raises the question … is it the ultimate tool? 100 Ways to Use Google Gemini (https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MTyP-BBusYw2rHKE_lQ2QVDA7uT7ngYaGfBy9HypQdY/edit?usp=sharing) Segment 2: Where is it? • Find it by clicking the waffle icon of any Chrome account, it is sitting there amongst your other google apps Why use it? • Easy to find part of the google platform your school is already used to • Follows the same privacy and security guidelines as other google products.  This means that if your school is already a google school, they can turn it on for both staff and students with less concern about how info is shared • Exports directly into Google Docs General features as of 2025 • Flash vs. Pro • Guided Learning Mode • Canvas Mode • Image Generation • Adding files, documents and pictures • Gems! • Combats some downsides of AI withLearnLM (https://cloud.google.com/solutions/learnlm?utm_source=ai-admin.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=the-good-and-the-bad-about-gems-and-notebooklm-in-google-classroom#get-started-with-learnlm-now-directly-in-gemini) Downsides: • AI just became easier to access and use - the downsides are many (brain health, environmental concerns, cheating, the loss of struggle, etc) • Not all students a