Despite increased workloads, burnout, and staff shortages, schools have opportunities for innovation. According to a Gallup survey, 44% of K–12 staff reported feeling "always" or "very often" burnt out. The UN previously flagged a global teacher shortage, and UNESCO estimates that 44 million additional educators will be needed by 2030.
Generative AI tools, such as Google Gemini, help save time and reduce workloads. According to Vivek Chachi, Product Manager for Google Workspace for Education, the primary goal of Gemini is to combat burnout and enhance the efficiency of the educational process.
Gemini allows teachers to focus on teaching while automating routine tasks. Tanya Holloran, Google's manager for educational programs, highlighted that the tool personalizes lessons according to students' interests and state standards.
How does Gemini help fight teacher burnout?
Larger class sizes and increasing administrative duties often cause exhaustion. Gemini simplifies the creation of educational materials:
- Lesson plans can be customized, for example, transforming math problems into formats related to music, concerts, or students' interests.
- Teachers can save hours of work by personalizing or adapting materials to individual needs.
Gemini also reduces time spent on administrative tasks. It restores materials, assists with preparing responses to official queries, or compiles district policies. IT leaders use the tool for creating projects and other large-scale tasks.
In-class functionality
On Chromebook Plus devices, the "Help Me Read" feature promotes better understanding of content, whether it’s PDFs, essays, or research. Google Workspace integrates the Gemini add-on into Gmail, Google Slides, and Google Docs for quick interactions.
Google places strong emphasis on data security: information from chats is not used to train AI models without user consent.