Google and MIT launch a free generative AI course for teachers

When considering generative AI in the classroom, many people think of its potential for students; however, teachers can benefit just as much from the technology, if not more. On Thursday, Google and MIT Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education (RAISE) unveiled a free Google Generative AI Educators course to help middle and high school teachers use generative AI tools to enhance their workflow and students’ classroom experience.

The self-paced, two-hour course instructs teachers how to use generative AI to save time in everyday tasks such as writing emails, modifying content for different reading levels, building creative assessments, structuring activities to students’ interests, and more, according to the press release. Teachers can even learn how to use generative AI to help with one of the most time-consuming tasks–lesson planning–by inputting their existing lesson plan into the generative AI models to get ideas on what to do next in the classroom.

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“This course empowers educators to confidently integrate AI into their teaching, creating richer and more accessible learning experiences for all students,” MIT RAISE Director Cynthia Breazeal said.   

The course consists of five 40-minute-or-less modules, accessible by teachers and administrators on the Generative AI for Educators webpage.

Some school districts across the country plan to offer the course as well, including California’s Anaheim Union High School District, Florida’s Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Illinois’ Chicago Public Schools, New Mexico’s Albuquerque Public Schools, Oklahoma’s Glenpool Public Schools, and Wisconsin’s Sun Prairie Area School District, according to the press release. 

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“In a rapidly evolving world, our teachers cannot afford to fall behind in accessing powerful generative tools that will help them develop new approaches to teaching and learning,” Michael Matsuda, the superintendent at Anaheim Union High School District, said.

OpenAI, the startup behind ChatGPT, once highlighted the benefits of giving educators generative AI tools and shared use cases in which teachers across the country are already using the technology. OpenAI’s examples included using a chatbot to role-play conversations meant for students, building classroom materials, providing English language assistance for non-English speakers, and teaching students about critical thinking.