Google launches Gemini Academy webinars

Google for Education has launched Gemini Academy, a free live webinar series for UK school staff built around classroom uses of Gemini and NotebookLM. (edtechinnovationhub.com) The first listed sessions run on May 13, June 9 and July 6, and each one lasts 60 minutes. Google for Education UKI community lead Luke Craig said schools can join as whole staffs during an after-school professional development slot. (edtechinnovationhub.com) Google’s format splits the hour into 40 minutes of live demos and 20 minutes that walk attendees into the Gemini Certified Educator exam. The May 13 session is scheduled for 15:30 to 16:30 British Summer Time and is co-hosted by Tim Morton, with later sessions featuring Devin Falvey and Aleks House. (edtechinnovationhub.com) The certification itself is part of a broader Google for Education program announced on November 17, 2025. Google said the exams are free, multiple choice and available in 12 languages, with a digital certificate for people who pass. (blog.google) Google’s help pages say the educator exam is designed for K-12 teachers globally and focuses on free Gemini features, so it does not require a paid Google Workspace with Gemini account. Google says the test is meant to validate basic generative artificial intelligence skills and classroom integration. (support.google.com) The company is pitching the training as educator-led rather than machine-led. Google’s education site says artificial intelligence “can never replace” an educator’s expertise, knowledge or creativity, and frames Gemini as a tool for saving time and personalizing lessons. (edu.google.com) This UK webinar push lands as Google and ISTE+ASCD expand a separate AI literacy effort in the United States. Google’s Google AI Educator Series is due to launch on May 13 with free, standards-aligned sessions for K-12 and higher education educators, delivered with ISTE+ASCD. (edu.google.com) (iste.org) ISTE+ASCD said its partnership with Google is aimed at helping schools move from “haphazard” artificial intelligence use to “intentional practice” grounded in teaching, policy and student-centered learning. Its professional development materials also call for district guidance that gives students, educators and families clarity on how artificial intelligence should be used. (iste.org) (iste.ascd.org) Gemini Academy’s live-only design fits that approach: schools are being asked to put staff in the same room, on devices, at the same time. Google is not selling it as a self-paced course so much as a scheduled schoolwide training hour. (edtechinnovationhub.com) For schools, the immediate question is less whether AI is arriving than who writes the rules for using it. Google is offering the tools and the badge; school leaders still have to decide how those tools fit classroom practice. (support.google.com) (iste.ascd.org)