A Glimpse Into the Future with Learn Your Way from Google Labs

In today’s episode, we'll explore Learn Your Way, an AI powered learning project from Google Labs. Visit AVID Open Access to learn more.

Transcript

Paul Beckermann 0:00 Welcome to Tech Talk for Teachers. I'm your host, Paul Beckermann.

Transition Music with Rena's Children 0:05 Check it out. Check it out. Check it out. What's in the toolkit? Why? What is in the toolkit? Check it out.

Paul Beckermann 0:16 The topic of today's episode is a glimpse into the future with Learn Your Way from Google Labs.

Paul Beckermann 0:24 Teachers are well aware that generative AI has become the latest disruptor in the K-12 education landscape, and it's already challenging traditional concepts and practices of how to best teach your students.

Teachers have struggled how to balance the use of such a powerful tool with introducing students to the skills that they'll need in the future, and also with preserving academic integrity. At the same time, while there are many opinions and possible approaches being shared in education communities, there are still no definitive answers. The world of AI is in draft form, with teachers trying to rewrite the script in their classroom every day because the AI landscape is evolving continuously.

It's important that teachers stay plugged in to current developments, even when those new ideas and tools are not yet fully developed or ready for integration. That's where today's topic comes in.

Paul Beckermann 0:24 It's an AI-generated approach to learning being developed by Google called Learn Your Way. Although it's still in beta, early prototypes are available in Google Labs, and these prototypes offer a glimpse into potential ways that generative AI is being leveraged to improve learning. Awareness of these efforts can help us to remain ready for when these tools do become fully usable.

So what is Learn Your Way? In simple terms, Learn Your Way lets you turn a PDF document into an interactive reading experience. On its research website, Google says, "At Google, we're exploring how to use generative AI (Gen AI) to automatically generate alternative representations or personalized examples while preserving the integrity of the original material."

When using the program, the integrated AI creates four different ways to interact with text: an immersive text experience, a narrated slide show, an audio lesson, and a mind map.

Paul Beckermann 0:24 Let me dig a little deeper into each of those four options to give you a better idea of what each experience is like.

Number one: Immersive Text. This option offers a traditional reading experience with AI enhancements. Longer text is broken up into digestible chunks, which are outlined on the left side of the page. The selection you're on appears in the middle section of the screen. Learning objectives for that section are posted at the top, and interactive questions are embedded throughout the text.

Each question is identified with an orange tab with a question mark on it. By clicking the question mark tab, an AI-generated multiple-choice question appears to the right. Learners answer the question about the text and get immediate formative feedback. The AI will tell you if you're right or wrong and then provide an explanation why. At the bottom of the page is another quiz to be completed.

Paul Beckermann 0:24 When the learner is finished reviewing the entire page, if you get that question wrong, it'll give you options to get a hint and try again, see the answer, or skip it. Learners can then move on by selecting the next selection from the outline on the left.

Number two: Slides and Narration. This option takes the text and converts it into a visual slideshow summary with narration that plays while you follow the slides. The audio is not a word-for-word recreation of the PDF text. Rather, it's a conversational style summary of the content. It also adds in examples tailored to the user's personal interests. It feels a little bit like listening to a personalized lecture.

Number three: Audio Lesson. This option functions much like the podcast feature in Google's Notebook LM. Learn Your Way takes the PDF text and converts that text into a conversation between two speakers. The discussion feels comfortable and realistic.

Paul Beckermann 0:24 Examples are provided, and speakers even ask each other questions about the content. As with Slides and Narration, visuals are included with the audio lesson. It's more like an outline or flow chart that highlights keywords and concepts on the screen.

Number four: Mind Map. This option is essentially an interactive visual mind map. It starts with the main topic or concept on the left and then branches out into key sub-points. Next to each sub-point is a button that can be clicked to expose a further breakdown of additional sub-concepts. This process continues until a full mind map is revealed that represents the content and interconnections of the material from the original PDF. It's a nice way to see in one space how the content is interconnected and comes together.

Paul Beckermann 0:24 In addition to these four interactive experiences, the learner can also click the PDF Source option in the top left corner of the screen to view the original PDF document.

While the current examples that you can try are already targeted to a grade level and student interest area, the finished tool is intended to be customizable. In its final form, students will be able to select their own grade level as well as an interest area, and the AI will re-level the text and personalize the learning with relevant examples that match that learner's interests.

Paul Beckermann 0:24 Google indicates that it has based the experiences on five principles of learning science: inspire active learning, manage cognitive load, adapt to learner, stimulate curiosity, and deeper metacognition.

While Learn Your Way is still in beta format in Google Labs, it does offer some exciting possibilities moving forward. This tool can potentially provide teachers with a quick way to both differentiate traditional textbook or text-based content and also make the reading experience less passive and more engaging.

There's preliminary evidence that this approach may prove effective. Google reports a recent efficacy study shows compelling results: Students using Learn Your Way scored 11 percentage points higher on a long-term recall test than those using a standard digital reader.

Paul Beckermann 0:24 There's no guarantee that Learn Your Way will become the next big innovation in education, but the fact that Google is exploring these options is a strong indication that AI-powered learning is headed in this direction, at least in the short term. It may end up integrated in other products and formats, but the operability of this technology already appears to be close.

In fact, Google states on their research website: "This work is just the beginning of our exploration. We envision many more ways to tailor content, moving towards systems that continuously adapt each learner's unique needs and progress. As we take our next steps toward personalized education, we will continue to ground our research in pedagogical principles, measuring the impact of AI on learning efficacy, so that in the future, every student might have access to a high-quality, engaging learning experience that is custom built for them."

If you'd like to try it out, go to learnyourway.withgoogle.com.

Paul Beckermann 0:24 There are 16 prototypes that you can work through. There's also an option to add your own PDF to a content waitlist.

To learn more about today's topic and explore other free resources, visit avidopenaccess.org. Specifically, I encourage you to check out the article collection, "AI in the K-12 classroom." And of course, be sure to join Rena Winston and me every Wednesday for our full-length podcast, Unpacking Education, where we're joined by exceptional guests and explore education topics that are important to you. Thanks for listening, take care, and thanks for all you do. You make a difference.