Basics of AI

Content Introduction

What exactly is Generative AI?

By now, you’ve almost definitely come across the term, generative AI, often shortened to gen AI. At its core, gen AI is a prediction machine. Unlike a search engine that finds existing files, gen AI has been trained on a massive "library" of human output—text, images, video and code—to understand patterns. When you provide a prompt (instructions), the AI analyses the patterns it has learned to predict and assembles the most likely sequence of words, pixels, or code to create something entirely new.

Why is AI useful for Educators?

Because AI understands patterns, it acts as a powerful tool for your classroom, specifically in two ways:

Building Connections (Schema Building): If a student is struggling to understand a complex concept, you can ask the AI to instantly generate relatable analogies. For example, it can explain a physics concept by comparing it to a game of cricket, helping the student anchor new information to something they already know.

Multiple Formats (Representations): It allows you to convert one idea into many formats instantly.

To harness this, Google provides tools like Gemini and Gemini Notebook.

Safe and Responsible AI Use: The "Human-in-the-Loop" Approach

While these AI capabilities are transformative, they cannot replace an educator. Instead, they rely on your unique professional insights and expertise.

Because AI is a prediction machine guessing the "most likely" next word, it can sometimes reflect human biases or confidently present incorrect facts (a phenomenon known as "hallucinating").

To use AI ethically and safely, always follow the Human-in-the-Loop approach: The AI provides the first draft. YOU make the final decision.

Always read, audit, and edit the output using your pedagogical expertise before sharing it with your students.

When using your school-issued Google account, institution ID, your data has enterprise-grade data protection and is not used to train AI models.

For more on this commitment to safe technology, you can explore the Generative AI in Google Workspace Privacy Hub.

Demo

This step-by-step guide will walk you through your very first interaction with Gemini. You will learn how to access Gemini safely and learn how AI can assist you in your daily teaching preparation.

Practice

Now that you have seen how AI works, it’s time to try it yourself. For this practice session, we are going to look at how AI can help you manage your daily life outside of your institution—specifically, planning a relaxing family day.

Follow the exact steps below to complete your first independent AI session.

Step 1: Open and Secure Your Session

1. Open a new tab in your browser and go to gemini.google.com.

2. Ensure you are signed in safely.

3. Click "New Chat" to start with a completely clean slate.

Step 2: Copy and Customise the Prompt

We are going to ask the AI to act as a personal travel and time-management assistant. Copy the text box below, paste it into the Gemini chat window, and change the bracketed information to match your life.

Copy and customize this prompt: "Act as a local travel assistant. Help me plan a relaxing weekend itinerary for a family of four (including two kids aged 8 and 12) in [Insert Your City, e.g., Mumbai/Delhi/Bengaluru]. The plan should include a mix of outdoor time in the morning, a nice place for a traditional lunch, and a relaxing evening activity. Keep travel times short."

Protect your privacy by keeping information general (e.g., mention your city, like "Delhi" or "Bengaluru", instead of specific details like home addresses or family names).

Click the Submit (arrow) button after pasting.

Step 3: Evaluate Your AI Assistant

Watch the AI build your weekend plan from scratch. Once it finishes, take 60 seconds to review the output as a human expert:

• The Reality Check: Did the AI suggest places that actually exist in your city?

• The Logic Check: Is the timeline realistic, or did it try to cram too much into one afternoon?

• The Adjustment: Remember, this is a conversation! If you don't like a restaurant it suggested, you can simply type: "Replace the lunch option with a pure vegetarian restaurant instead" and press Enter.

Step 4: Clean Up

Once you are happy with the plan, click "New Chat" in the top-left corner to clear your virtual desk.

Congratulations! You’ve just used AI to solve a real-world, daily life problem safely and efficiently.

Reflection

Before you move to the next section of the module, think about this:

How much time would you have taken to research separate locations, check timings, and piece this itinerary together using traditional search engines vs. the 10 seconds it took the AI to synthesise it for you?