The AI skills you need, delivered the way you need them

This series is part of our long-standing commitment to supporting educators with the tools they need for the modern classroom. This series offers educators a strong foundation in AI so they can better guide students to use this technology safely, responsibly, and effectively. Our goal is to empower educators, not just with technology, but with the confidence to lead in a world where AI is becoming more common - and support their students to be prepared for the changing world of work.

Google is the technology partner in this series that is designed to teach core AI concepts, critical thinking skills, and responsible use through hands-on experience with Google tools like Gemini for Education and NotebookLM. The programming will be developed with our partners at ISTE+ASCD to help educators understand the technology broadly and guide their students to use AI effectively and safely. This program is an extension of the broader efforts to provide every teacher in the U.S. access to best-in-class AI literacy training and designed to equip them with the essential skills needed for the modern classroom.

This series is designed to teach core AI concepts, critical thinking skills, and responsible use through hands-on experience with Google tools like Gemini for Education and NotebookLM. It goes beyond simply exploring how to use AI tools, and instead is built around the skills educators and students need to be “AI Ready” – aligning to ISTE+ASCD Standards for Educators and ISTE+ASCD Standards for Faculty, and supporting ISTE+ASCD’s Profile of an AI-Ready Graduate. The training is broken into short, non-sequential micro-trainings intended to fit easily into your schedule. K-12 sessions will be 10-15 minutes. HiEd sessions will be 30-45 minutes. Sessions will be divided into three categories: Foundational Understanding, Pedagogical Applications, and Administrative Applications. K-12 will be grade-level specific for the “Pedagogical Applications” sessions. Sessions are not sequential and do not require pre-requisite knowledge. The first release of content will be referred to as the “core session set” - perfect for a longer teacher institute or faculty training day. All content is available as self-serve sessions or a comprehensive facilitator guide via the Google for Education Learning Center. Both pathways include a short-form quiz and a certificate badge upon completion.

The first core session set will be released on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. Starting on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, new content will be released the first Wednesday of every month. We are being deliberate about timing and will roll the series out after standardized testing season, when teachers have more time and space to explore and learn new things, and after Spring Break for HE faculty.

In partnership with ISTE+ASCD—the world’s largest innovation-focused education nonprofit—Google is co-developing this curriculum to support a nationwide rollout to U.S. K-12 school districts and higher education institutions. This collaboration underscores a shared commitment to educational excellence, empowering educators to lead with confidence in an increasingly AI-driven world. This program is an extension of the broader efforts to provide every teacher in the U.S. access to best-in-class AI training and designed to equip them with the essential skills needed for the modern classroom.

The training is free for every educator that takes part. At the end of the training, educators will receive badges to demonstrate their understanding. We are not sharing more about the financial aspects of this partnership, but Google is funding the effort. What matters is that we can make essential training available for the nation’s educators as an investment in their professional development. This in turn will provide much needed skills and knowledge to guide their students to ensure they use AI safely and effectively.

The lessons will be developed to fit into the existing structure that educators have for skill building and training. The initiative will kick off after the testing season, which is generally a busy time for K-12 teachers, and following Spring Break for HE faculty. The training is free for every educator that takes part. At the end of the training, they will receive badges to demonstrate their understanding. A recent UNESCO survey shows that while a significant number of educators are already using AI, many report low confidence and are concerned about a widening knowledge gap regarding the technology. This partnership provides an opportunity to bridge that gap.

• This program is different because it is tailored to how educators actually learn and the time they have available.
• Instead of requiring educators to sacrifice personal time, this program is "job-embedded" – specifically designed to be completed during contracted hours, such as prep periods or lunch.
• The training is broken into short, non-sequential micro-trainings intended to fit easily into a teacher’s schedule.
• This training is aligned to ISTE+ASCD standards for Faculty and Educators, and in support of their Profile of an AI-Ready Graduate. It is being created in collaboration with teachers and faculty – for teachers and faculty – focused on how they can best fit it into their schedules and how they themselves learn.

• Not at all; our role is to help. We believe AI can be a powerful assistant for educators, handling repetitive tasks so they have more time to focus on what they do best: teaching and connecting with students.
• This program is designed to make the teaching profession more rewarding and sustainable by ensuring that educators feel informed and empowered to use these transformative tools and help instruct and teach their students to use AI safely and effectively.

If you are interested in learning more about Google AI training options, you can fill out the interest form on this page.

• There will be train-the-trainer events held around the US for K-12 and HE. These events will support educators to lead in-person training in their region.
• If you are interested in learning more about Google AI training options, including train-the-trainer events, you can fill out the interest form on this page.

We’re beginning in the US to establish a strong foundation through direct collaboration with teachers and students. As we gather early learnings and feedback from educators to optimize the trainings, we look forward to scaling these initiatives to reach students and educators in additional regions globally.

• We recognize that it can be very easy to rely on AI tools for quick answers. That being said, when we spoke with students, we learned that many do truly want an option to more deeply engage with AI tools for understanding, rather than just getting the answer. They want a tool that can act as a study partner and meet them where they are in their learning journey, fostering a deeper understanding.
• We designed Gemini to make it easier for people to learn. For example, Guided Learning in Gemini offers a strong middle ground between getting the answers directly and struggling through a concept without support, and we hope this will enable people to engage more deeply with difficult topics in a way that truly develops their critical thinking.
• The tool is also underpinned by LearnLM, our family of models purpose-built for learning, which were developed in collaboration with educators and pedagogical experts and infused with learning science principles that inspire active learning, help learners manage cognitive load, adapt to their needs, inspire curiosity, and encourage metacognitive thinking. We wanted to build pedagogical principles into the core of our model because we’ve seen that when AI is more pedagogically grounded, it can have a positive impact on learning.
• We also worked with Digital Promise to develop a framework that evaluates AI tools with these questions in mind. The framework provides recommendations and resources for designing and implementing AI, built on insights from more than 50 independent experts across education, technology and research.