📰 AI & Education: What’s New? – October 2025

Hello and thanks for reading! This is your October update from the Pedagogical AI team.

We bring you the latest AI-in-education developments from Finland and beyond to help you teach, lead, and learn with confidence in the age of AI.

🎯 Top AI News in Education

🇫🇮 Finnish News

• Yle survey shows uneven AI adoption in high schools. About 20 % of Finnish high schools lack an AI strategy, and one-third of teachers say they’ve never used AI tools. Read the survey

• AI-assisted homework spreads to primary schools. Teachers warn that students increasingly rely on AI to complete tasks, sparking concern about fairness and learning depth. Explore details

• Schools call for clearer national AI rules. OPH’s current recommendations haven’t yet translated into consistent classroom practice, creating inequality between students. Learn more

• Haaga-Helia University launches September “AI News.” The new multimedia newsletter shares faculty experiments, event recordings, and teacher-training updates (EN/FI). AI news from Haaga-Helia

🇪🇺 European News

• UNESCO’s Digital Learning Week spotlights explainable AI. European leaders stress the need for teacher AI-capacity building and transparent, human-centered systems. See more

• AI Act resources explain high-risk classroom AI. The European Commission has published practical guides and teaching materials to help educators understand and comply with the new EU AI Act, effective since August 2025. The law classifies AI systems used for grading or determining access to education as high-risk and offers guidance on transparency and ethical classroom use. AI Act – Regulatory & Teaching Resources

• Nordic ministers plan shared AI Education Centre. The initiative will connect regional universities and teachers to co-develop best practices and joint research. Get the full story

🌍 Global News

• U.S. teachers expect major classroom impact from AI. 87 % of K–12 educators say AI will affect their work, yet few states provide clear guidance or training. Read the poll

• White House launches Presidential AI Challenge. The program offers $1.25 million in grants and tech support for schools piloting AI-driven projects. See the announcement

• China mandates AI literacy from Grade 1. All pupils will receive at least eight hours of AI lessons per year, along with teacher-training programs. Read the policy

💡 Teaching Tip of the Month

Try an AI “exit ticket.”
At the end of a lesson, have students ask an AI tool (e.g. Copilot or ChatGPT) to summarize what they just learned — then compare its version with their own. Discuss what the AI got right, what it missed, and why. It’s a quick way to check understanding, practice critical thinking, and model AI literacy in just five minutes.

🔧 Recommended Resources

• eNorssi’s “Opettajan tekoälyopas 2.0.” A free Finnish guide packed with classroom-ready examples and short scenarios to help teachers integrate AI responsibly and creatively. Download here

• Google AI Literacy resources (new). A one-stop hub for teacher PD, student activities, and AI safety guidance. Browse the hub

• Generative AI for Educators (free, 2 h). Google’s self-paced course on saving time and personalizing learning with Gemini and NotebookLM. Start here

• Tekoälyä, try & erroria ja täysosumia (PDF). Finnish AMK publication collecting practical case studies on AI-supported learning and teaching. Download the PDF

• AI Literacy Review (Sept 9). A curated round-up of recent AI-in-education news and classroom ideas. Catch the issue

👩‍🏫 Teacher Insight

“Banning AI is impossible — we should teach ethical, responsible use instead.”
— Samuli Laitinen, high-school principal in Jyväskylä, speaking to Yle about AI literacy.
See context

📅 Upcoming Events & Training

• EU Code Week 2025 (Oct 11 – 26). Free AI and coding activities for teachers and students across Europe. View the programme

• DigiEduHack 2025 (Nov 7 – 16). A global series of hackathons tackling AI and digital-education challenges — schools can join or host their own. Get involved

• FCAI AI Day 2025 (Nov 13, Espoo). Finland’s flagship AI research event at Aalto University — educators welcome. Event page

• OEB 2025 (Dec 3 – 5, Berlin / online). Europe’s leading learning-tech conference focused on AI and digital skills. Plan your visit

🙌 Contribute to Next Issue

Tried an AI-related lesson, student project or tool that worked well?
Share it with us — we’ll feature select teacher stories and resources in the next issue.
Let’s keep learning from each other!