Month: November 2025

For too long, Google has dominated the educational AI landscape. While Microsoft struggled with their OpenAI partnership and delivered a Copilot experience that never quite lived up to expectations, Google leveraged their pre-existing platform in Google Classroom to introduce education specific tools such as the recent Gemini in Classroom and, perhaps most usefully, Notebook LM….

A week after ChatGPT launched Study Mode, Google fired back with Guided Learning for Gemini. Given my interest in AI tools for education and the fact that I was engaged in some summer learning of my own, I thought I’d put both systems to the test. What I discovered wasn’t which AI performs better –…

For a long time I pursued the hallowed ‘Dan Grade’ and I got it too. In fact more than one, in more than one art. However, the belts mean nothing.  That’s right, nothing. I don’t mean the gradings meant nothing – they weren’t easy, especially my first degree in Tang Soo Do – that was…

Recent headlines about mobile phone bans in schools have been grabbing attention across the globe, but they’re telling us a story that’s far more complex than the soundbites suggest. The Economist recently published findings from a double-blind study showing that phone bans can improve performance, while Conservative politicians have jumped on the bandwagon with promises…

When AI becomes invisible in your pedagogy, that’s when the magic happens. The real AI level-up for educators doesn’t come from crafting the perfect prompt or even running complex single tasks through an LLM. The breakthrough happens when AI enhancements become so woven into your regular pedagogy that they flow seamlessly through your teaching practice….

I’ve just switched to an electric car – well, about three weeks ago now. It’s not particularly exciting or flash; it’s not a brand new Tesla. It’s a four-year-old Vauxhall Corsa E with 50,000 miles on the clock that actually cost less than its internal combustion engine equivalent. What’s fascinating about this car is how…

Is it weird that Gemini can’t actually create its own logo? Google isn’t just competing in education technology—they’re dominating the field. With the launch of Learn LM, enhanced Notebook LM capabilities, and integrated AI across their educational ecosystem, Google has positioned itself as the definitive leader in AI-powered learning. Add to this their native integration…

Gen AI systems are not substitutes for Google or even a damn good book – please stop treating like they are, then complaining when they aren’t! So I’ve been hearing a lot about what AI can’t do as the resistance to AI in education mounts, just as the pressure to engage increases (Newtonian physics playing…

You don’t understand anything until you learn it more than one way. Marvin Minsky Who says integrating AI into your teaching has to be a complex, time-consuming overhaul? Sometimes, the most impactful applications aren’t about revolutionary platforms but about simple, clever hacks that solve a real classroom problem. This is the first in a new…

Does AI risk creating a super powered attention vampire? OpenAI has launched a television advertising campaign. I spotted it on Channel 4’s streaming platform a week or so ago, but apparently it is on live terrestrial TV too. The advert is deliberately wholesome: a brother and sister planning a trip together, with helpful captions showing…