Google Claps Back: Guided Learning in Gemini | Ep. 71

VOTE FOR MATT & LIZ (SXSW EDU)Vote for Matt and Liz’s live ChatEDU session -⁠https://participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sxsw26/community-voting-edu/page/community-voting/session/1753650289710001LzZM⁠Vote for Liz’s Personal Interest Project (PIP) session -⁠https://participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sxsw26/community-voting-edu/page/community-voting/session/1753465373604001edhOIn this episode of ChatEDU (Google Claps Back: Guided Learning in Gemini), Matt and Liz open with a whirlwind of AI developments. They share impressions of GPT-5’s quirks and memory mishaps, read a defense of the m dash, and react to the self-loathing loop from Google’s Gemini model. They also tackle AI’s limits, laugh at edible lamp business plans, and break down why threatening a chatbot won’t make it smarter.Story #1: Rundown – GPT-5, Essay Bans, Mental Health Rules, ChatGPT Tune-Ups, AI Predictions, and a Billion Dollar RetreatThis week’s rundown includes GPT-5’s shaky rollout, a top New York high school banning summer essays to prevent ChatGPT cheating, Illinois becoming the first state to prohibit AI-led mental health therapy, and South Korea ending its national AI textbook program. They cover OpenAI’s “What we’re optimizing ChatGPT for” update, aimed at making the chatbot better at detecting distress and less likely to give overly agreeable answers, plus a study showing large language models can predict educational and psychological outcomes from childhood essays with remarkable accuracy. The segment wraps with Google’s launch of Genie 3, a text-to-3D world model that creates interactive scenes on the fly.Story #2: Common Sense Media Assesses AI Teacher ToolsCommon Sense Media’s latest AI Risk Assessment examines teacher-facing tools like Google Classroom, MagicSchool, Khanmigo, and Kiip. The report gives these platforms a moderate risk rating, noting that they perform best when built on high-quality instructional materials and teacher oversight. Risks include bias, inaccurate content, and reduced curricular coherence. Matt and Liz discuss why novice teachers may be especially vulnerable to over-reliance.Story #3 (Beneath the Surface): Guided Learning from GoogleJust days after OpenAI launched Study Mode, Google responded with Guided Learning inside the Gemini app. Matt and Liz test it live, exploring its math support, quiz generator, and visual explanations. They highlight new education-focused announcements from Google, including one year of free Gemini Pro access for college students, a billion-dollar AI education initiative, and a storybook builder that turns photos into narrated adventures.AnnouncementsEmail Matt and Liz at [e-mail] for info on their new Student-Facing AI Literacy CourseRegister for the Fall Micro-Credential (starts October) – skills21.org/ai/microGet details on the EdAdvance AI in Education Conference & PL Series – edadvance.org/ai-conferenceLinks and References (as mentioned in the show)McSweeney’s “The M Dash Responds to the AI Allegations”https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-em-dash-responds-to-the-ai-allegationsBusiness Insider on Gemini’s Self-Loathing Bughttps://www.businessinsider.com/gemini-self-loathing-i-am-a-failure-comments-google-fix-2025-8Common Sense Media Teacher AI Assistant Risk Reporthttps://www.commonsensemedia.org/ai-ratings/ai-teacher-assistants?gate=commsdistributionlinkStanford EdTech AI Study (SchoolAI Usage)https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-k-12-educators-actually-engaging-vsgme/Google Guided Learning Blog Post – Explore Guided Learninghttps://blog.google/products/gemini/storybooks/Dan Fitzpatrick’s Google Edu Updates on Forbeshttps://www.forbes.com/sites/danfitzpatrick/2025/08/06/google-takes-aim-at-chatgpt-study-mode-with-major-gemini-updates/SponsorThis episode is supported by the National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing, helping students and educators build workforce-ready skills through innovation. www.nextgenmfg.org