August 08, 2025

Episode 226 - Back to School with Gemini... or Not?

47 minutes

In this episode, we talk about AI (and other things)! We discuss the growing concerns surrounding school surveillance tools, examining case studies where innocent student jokes have led to harsh outcomes due to automated threat detection. Shifting gears, we look at the availability of AI tools like Gemini Pro and ChatGPT for college students, including student discount programs. Also, we analyze a recent Common Sense Media report on AI teacher assistants, discussing their moderate risk rating, potential for invisible influence, concerns about novice teachers taking content as fact, and the risks associated with using AI for high-stakes circumstances like IEP creation or grading.

Much of the episode is spent unpacking Jay's K12TechPro survey regarding Gemini and NotebookLM in classrooms, revealing current district policies on AI use for staff and students, and the presence (or absence) of board policies.

Referenced URLs:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/08/07/ai-school-surveillance-gaggle-goguardian-bark/473cb556-737e-11f0-84e0-485bb531abeb_story.html

https://apnews.com/article/ai-school-surveillance-gaggle-goguardian-bark-8c531cde8f9aee0b1ef06cfce109724a

https://gemini.google/students/

https://help.openai.com/en/articles/10986084-student-discounts-for-chatgpt-terms-of-service

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/featured-content/files/csm-ai-risk-assessment-ai-teacher-assistants-final.pdf

00:00:00-Intro

00:14:21-Gemini & ChatGPT Student Promo

00:16:00-Surveilling Students

00:19:15-Common Sense Media - Bias in AI

00:25:43-Are you enabling AI for students?

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PowerGistics

Lightspeed (Check out Signal!)

Fortinet

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Music by Colt Ball

Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.

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