Google Added AI Avatars and the Image-to-Video Veo 3 to Its 'Vids' Video Editor

Google added AI avatars, the image-to-video Veo 3 tool, and automatic transcript trimming capabilities to its video editor, Vids, in the Workspace productivity suite this month. Another feature automatically detects and removes long pausers and filler words, such as "um" or "ah." These new AI-powered features will be available to Workspace Business or Enterprise Starter users, a Google AI Pro or Ultra subscriber, or a Workspace for Education customer. In competition with startups like Synthesia and D-ID, Google also released a free-to-use version with basic controls, access to Google's template, font collection, and stock media libraries, but no AI features at this time. In this segment, where users post a script, select an avatar from a range of voices and personas, and create a video, the core pitch is "use our AI tools to create videos if you don't have enough budget."

OpenAI Releases Realtime API for Building Voice Agents

An Anthropic and Northeastern Show How Faculty Use AI to Automate Tasks

Elon Musk's xAI Releases Its First Coding Assistant "Grok Code Fast 1"

China’s Leadership In Open-Source AI Technology Raises Alarm in the U.S.

China’s adoption and leadership in open-source AI technology is worrying U.S. policymakers and Silicon Valley companies, who are keeping the models proprietary. Chinese advances in open source are coming one after another this year, with DeepSeek, Alibaba’s Qween, Moonshot, Z.ai, and MiniMax. The open source or open weight models all have versions that are free for users to download and modify. In the past, Microsoft’s Windows operating system for desktops, Google’s search engine, and the iOS and Android operating systems for smartphones were a few of the examples of proprietary models’ dominance. In its AI action plan released in July, the Trump administration acknowledged that open-source models “could become global standards in some areas of business and in academic research.” The report called on the U.S. to build “leading open models founded on American values.” For now, open-source initiatives have had slim gains. Proprietary models have spent hundreds of millions of dollars developing free access to models. • Many businesses like open-source AI because they can freely adapt it and put it on their computer systems, keeping sensitive information in-house. Moreover, they can avoid being locked into any one model. • Researchers have long embraced open source as a way of accelerating the development of emerging technology, since it allows every user to see the code and suggest improvements. • Fearing being cut off from American technologies, the Chinese government has encouraged open-source research and development not only in AI but also in operating systems, semiconductor architecture, and engineering software. • Meanwhile, the Trump administration worries that if Chinese AI models dominate the globe, Beijing will figure out a way to exploit it for geopolitical advantage. • Engineers in Asia said Chinese models were often more sophisticated in understanding their local languages and catching cultural nuances, as they are trained with more data in Chinese, which shares similarities with some other Asian languages. WSJ: China’s Lead in Open-Source AI Jolts Washington and Silicon Valley

Instructure Launched 'Canvas Career', a Platform for Non-Credit, Continuing Education and Workforce Development Programs

Instructure announced last month the launch in beta for select customers of its workforce-aligned, employee-centric, skills-first LMS named Canvas Career. General availability of the platform is expected in January 2026. This platform is oriented toward upskilling and reskilling adult learners, helping them build in-demand skills, advance in their careers, and stay competitive in a rapidly changing job market. A recent survey conducted by The Harris Poll, commissioned by Instructure, stated that 73% of U.S. workers reported feeling unprepared to adapt to changes or disruptions in their careers over the next five years. Additionally, about 50% expressed uncertainty about which skills, certifications, or credentials employers value. Canvas Career is explicitly built for non-credit, continuing education, career switchers, and training for internal workforces and external customers, including short courses and skills-based learning programs. With built-in AI tools, credentialing, video content, and enterprise integrations, Canvas Career focuses on what to teach and how to deliver it effectively. The antecedent of this platform was Bridge, which Instructure finally sold.

Anthropic Creates a Higher Ed Advisory Board and AI Fluency Courses

Grok 4 Was Made Freely Accessible to All Users

Google Teams Up with University System of Maryland to Train Students

As ChatGPT and Claude, Gemini Will Remember Users' Past Chats

Google rolled out an update for its Gemini that allows its chatbot to remember users' past conversations and chats. The new feature matches OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude memory feature. With the setting turned on, Google's Gemini automatically recalls users' key details and preferences and uses them to personalize the output, with more natural and relevant conversations. In addition, the Gemini app also introduced a new privacy feature called Temporary Chats, which gives more control over data. At I/O, Google introduced its vision for a Gemini assistant that learns and truly understands the user, not one that just responds to your prompt in the same way that it would to anyone else’s prompt. At first, personalized conversations will be available when using our 2.5 Pro model in select countries, and Google plans to expand the feature to our 2.5 Flash model and more countries in the weeks ahead. Also, Anthropic has introduced a similar feature for Claude solves the problem of referencing information from other conversations with the AI chatbot. Anthropic said Claude users can toggle the behavior with this setting. Claude’s memory feature is only available for Enterprise, Team, and Max subscribers for now.

Claude.ai Introduces a "Learning Style" on Its Chatbot

Anthropic's Claude.ai chatbot introduced a Learning style this week, making it available to everyone. When users turn the Learning style feature on, the Claude.ai chatbot employs a Socratic approach, guiding students through questions instead of providing them with straight answers. The experience here is similar to the one Anthropic offers with Claude for Education. OpenAI features a similar solution, called Study Mode, and Google does so with the Guided Learning functionality. In addition, Anthropic is offering on Claude Code an Explanatory mode, which generates summaries as it works, allowing the user a chance to better understand what it's doing. Drew Bent, education lead at Anthropic, explained, "Learning mode is designed to help all of those audiences not just complete tasks, but also help them grow and learn in the process and better understand their code base." In practice, a "really good engineering manager" won't necessarily write most of the code on a project, but he will develop a keen eye for how everything fits together and what sections of code might need some more work.

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Today's Summary

Sunday, November 23, 2025

Education technology today is marked by rising AI adoption among educators and innovative personalized learning approaches.

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Today in AI & EdTech

Sunday, November 23, 2025

AI is transforming the education technology landscape as more teachers adopt intelligent tools, driving forward and adaptive learning experiences.

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OpenAI Launches Educational GPT Model

Adaptive Learning Platforms Show 40% Improvement

Microsoft Education Copilot Beta Launch

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