This weekly update covers exciting changes happening in education and learning around the world as AI agents become more common in schools and colleges.

What are AI Agents?

An AI agent is like a smart helper on a computer that can do tasks by itself without someone telling it every single step. Think of it like a student who can figure out how to do a project on their own. These AI agents can read information, make decisions, and do things to help people learn and work better. Schools are now learning how to use these helpers in classrooms and colleges.

Universities Testing New Ideas

Colleges and universities are trying different ways to use AI agents to help students. At the ASU+GSV Summit in the United States, there was a special show about how AI agents could be used in higher education. During this show, a company called Element451 showed schools how AI agents could help colleges do things better and faster. For example, AI agents could help colleges talk to many students at one time and give each student information that fits what they want to learn.

At Northern Arizona University (NAU) in the United States, teachers got money to study an important question: how do students learn best when they work with AI? This program is called TRAIL, which stands for Transforming through Artificial Intelligence in Learning. Teachers at NAU are learning about AI and how to use it in their classes to help students learn better.

Using AI to Help Students Think Better

Some schools are already using new AI tools to help students become better thinkers. One private university in Massachusetts in the United States is now using an AI chatbot called Claude for Education. This special chatbot doesn't just give students answers. Instead, it asks them questions to help them think through problems step by step. By asking good questions, Claude helps students build critical thinking skills. This means students learn to understand things more deeply instead of just memorizing facts.

What Schools and Companies Want from New Workers

Something very important is changing in how companies hire people who just finished school. Companies like Salesforce say they don't just want workers who know lots of computer skills anymore. Instead, they want workers who can think clearly, ask good questions, work well with AI agents, communicate their ideas clearly, and learn new things quickly. These skills help workers understand how AI tools work and make sure they are doing the right thing.

This is interesting because students who studied subjects like philosophy and art history are getting jobs more easily than students who studied computer science. Why? Because companies think these students are better at thinking critically and understanding difficult ideas. This shows that learning how to think well is becoming even more important than knowing lots of technical computer facts.

Schools are also changing how they teach young people. Instead of just telling students rules and facts to memorize, schools are teaching students to work on projects together and make decisions. Entry-level workers now get important jobs early on, like managing AI agents and checking if the AI is doing the right thing. This means graduates need to be curious, ask good questions, and be willing to keep learning new things.

Government Making Plans for AI in Schools

Governments around the world are paying attention to AI in schools and making plans. In the United States, the state of Tennessee made a big plan about how to use AI to improve services. Their plan focuses on four important areas: testing new ideas with AI, building the right computer systems, training workers about AI, and making rules about AI to keep everyone safe.

Other states are also taking action. Illinois and West Virginia are working on bills that would give more power to groups that make rules about AI. The state of Alaska is thinking about making a special group of lawmakers whose job is to help the state understand and use AI safely.

Some universities are also getting money to work on AI education. One university got five million dollars from its state to start a whole new academic department about AI. This new department will teach students about AI at different levels, from new students who are just starting to advanced students doing important research.

Teaching All Students About AI

Schools want to make sure every student knows about AI, not just students studying computers. A group called Digital Promise made a guide for schools about how to teach AI literacy. AI literacy means understanding what AI is, knowing how to use AI tools safely, and being able to decide if an AI tool is doing something right or wrong.

The guide suggests that schools should teach AI in a way that fits with what they are already teaching. Schools don't need to throw out everything they're doing or start over. Instead, they can add AI lessons to the subjects students already study like math, science, history, and language arts.

Real Examples of AI in Learning

One teacher named Tina Austin, who is a biologist and teaches at universities, is using AI agents and other AI tools to work across different subjects and different universities. She found that different AI tools are useful for different kinds of jobs and learning. This shows that AI agents are becoming real tools that real teachers use every day to help students learn better.

These changes show that education and learning are changing in exciting ways. Schools are learning to use AI agents to help students think better, work together, and understand the world around them. At the same time, companies are hiring people who can think clearly and work well with AI. And governments are making sure that everyone gets a chance to learn about AI and use it safely and correctly.