InSPIRE Workforce Development Team Advances STEM and Artificial Intelligence Initiatives with Training from Google AI Educator Academy
Florida State University’s Institute for Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Research, and Education (InSPIRE) is expanding its artificial intelligence education pathway for K-12 teachers following an invitation to participate in the AI Educator Series at the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Academy at Google headquarters.
The academy brought together InSPIRE’s workforce development team including Carrie Meyers, Jim Reynolds, and Robert Hanna with other higher education leaders to explore the transformational potential of AI in education. Through train-the-trainer preparation, strategic discussions, and collaborative planning, the team examined how InSPIRE can support educators in using AI thoughtfully, responsibly, and effectively. Their combined expertise in education, artificial intelligence, STEM content, and instructional design will help translate this unique experience into advanced professional learning for teachers throughout Northwest Florida.
“It was an incredible honor for the FSU InSPIRE team to be invited to Google headquarters and learn directly from leaders working at the forefront of artificial intelligence and education,” said Carrie Meyers, Director of Education and Workforce Talent for FSU InSPIRE. “This opportunity places FSU InSPIRE and Northwest Florida at the leading edge of AI education. By bringing this knowledge directly back to our teachers, we are giving Northwest Florida a distinct educational and workforce advantage over other regions in Florida and across the nation.”
The team will apply the knowledge, tools, and strategies gained through this immersive experience to the development of a next-generation AI pathway and enhance their existing advanced courses in AI for educators. Building upon AI101 and AI102, the next level of courses will integrate advanced AI applications, instructional pedagogy, STEM content, and Google’s Gemini tools to help educators design innovative, future-focused learning experiences.
New AI Courses are Being Developed so NWFL Educators can Make Informed Decisions about how AI can Best Support Teaching, Strengthen Learning Experiences, and Assist with Workforce Preparation
“Artificial intelligence becomes especially powerful when it moves beyond the screen and helps teachers create opportunities for students to investigate, design, build, test, and improve,” said Jim Reynolds, FSU InSPIRE’s Director of STEM Outreach. “We will combine what we learned through the Google AI Educator Series with meaningful, hands-on STEM activities that strengthen teachers’ content knowledge and help them connect AI to authentic problem-solving.”
The next series of courses will help educators use Gemini tools to enhance lesson planning, resource development, instructional differentiation, student inquiry, and creative problem-solving. Teachers will explore how AI can support the development of engaging student experiences while keeping educators’ professional expertise, subject-area knowledge, and instructional judgment at the center of the process. Responsible AI use, critical evaluation of AI-generated information, and the thoughtful alignment of instructional resources with Florida standards, local priorities, and emerging workforce needs will also be accentuated.
“Northwest Florida educators will benefit from direct access to advanced ideas and applications emerging from one of the world’s leading technology companies,” said Robert Hanna, FSU InSPIRE’s STEM Specialist and Associate in Research. “By helping teachers understand Gemini and other AI tools then apply that knowledge through purposeful, hands-on STEM activities, we can strengthen classroom instruction and provide students with richer learning experiences that build critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, and other skills needed for the future workforce.”
A central focus of the advanced courses will be helping teachers co-design locally relevant educational resources that extend beyond what is available through traditional curriculum materials. Educators will use AI as a collaborative planning tool to create standards-aligned lessons, hands-on investigations, and authentic learning experiences connected to Northwest Florida’s communities, industries, and workforce opportunities.
This localized approach is especially important as the region expands its capacity in aerospace, defense, advanced manufacturing, robotics, data science, and other technology-driven fields. Preparing students for these opportunities begins with ensuring that teachers understand the technologies shaping the future of work and can connect those developments to meaningful classroom experiences.
“Teachers are essential partners in workforce development,” Meyers added. “When educators can connect classroom learning with emerging technologies and regional career opportunities, students are better prepared to contribute to Northwest Florida’s future. This investment in our teachers strengthens our region’s ability to compete for talent, industry growth, research opportunities, and future economic development.”
The new courses will enhance FSU InSPIRE’s progressive AI pathway, which has already provided more than 350+ educators with AI-focused professional learning and continues to offer increasingly advanced opportunities to strengthen AI literacy, instructional practice, STEM knowledge, and ability to prepare students for an AI-enabled future. The pathway also supports InSPIRE’s broader mission to connect K-12 education, postsecondary pathways, university programs, and regional workforce needs.