Don’t Sell Gemini’s Canvas Short
Two months ago, Google released two new features for its Gemini AI chatbot. Audio Overviews, the ability to create a podcast-like overview of a set of documents, seemed to get most of the attention. Audio Overview is fine for what they are and the technology is amazing, but it’s a bit of a one-trick pony. To me, the second new feature, Canvas, has considerably more potential for those of us in higher education.
Frankly, I didn’t pay much attention to Canvas when it first came out. Claude has had its Canvas feature for quite awhile, so I thought Gemini’s Canvas was nothing new. Google touted Canvas as allowing you to use Gemini to “Code with Confidence.” Since I don’t code anymore, I just kind of ignored Gemini Canvas. That was a mistake.
Discovering Canvas: More Than Just an Editor
This morning, I was testing the new integration of LearnLM into Gemini (more on that next week), and after creating the requested tutorial, Gemini asked me if I wanted to open it in Canvas. I thought, “Sure, why not?” and clicked on the appropriate button. What I saw was no big surprise at first, then I saw the create dropdown box.
Creating Multiple Resources in Minutes
The main point of Canvas is to allow you to edit Gemini’s output, which is kind of handy (especially if you’re coding), but not that big a deal to me. But the create button offers some intriguing possibilities. So, I tested each feature. In less than 30 minutes, I had created:
The original tutorial
A decent infographic, and
A 10-question multiple-choice quiz
(The audio overview didn’t work; in fact, I’ve tried multiple times and it’s just not working at the moment. Hopefully, Google will resolve this soon.)
The original tutorial was on a fairly niche topic, relational database normalization, so I decided to try to create similar resources on a more mainstream topic, using AI to enhance critical thinking. To ensure that Gemini uses Canvas, just click on the Canvas pill in the chat textbox.
After creating the tutorial, I used “Create” to develop:
I created the slide deck using the text box “Describe your own app,” into which I simply entered “Create a slide deck.” (By the way, Audio Overview didn’t work.)
With the exception of the tutorial itself, the resources are created in HTML. I strongly suggest saving the code in a text document to preserve the output. The creations seem a bit ephemeral. A couple of times I went back to try to look at a Canvas creation again and it was gone from the chat session. So, be careful. You can also share the creations, which is how I created the links above. There are some additional features of Canvas. I’ll experiment with those and report back later.
The Bottom Line
Gemini's Canvas is a powerful tool that deserves more attention from educators. In just minutes, you can transform a simple chat response into a variety of teaching resources—tutorials, infographics, quizzes, and slide decks—all without any coding knowledge. While there are some limitations (like the occasionally unreliable Audio Overview feature and the ephemeral nature of some creations), the efficiency gains are substantial.
For busy faculty looking to quickly develop supplemental materials or create multiple formats of the same content, Canvas offers an impressive solution. Whether you're preparing for an upcoming class or developing resources for an entire course, Canvas can significantly reduce your preparation time while maintaining quality. Don't make my mistake of overlooking this feature—it's worth exploring what Canvas can do for your teaching toolkit.
Want to continue this conversation? I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you're using AI to develop critical thinking skills in your courses. Drop me a line at Craig@AIGoesToCollege.com. Be sure to check out the AI Goes to College podcast, which I co-host with Dr. Robert E. Crossler. It's available at https://www.aigoestocollege.com/follow.
Looking for practical guidance on AI in higher education? I offer engaging workshops and talks—both remotely and in person—on using AI to enhance learning while preserving academic integrity. Email me to discuss bringing these insights to your institution, or feel free to share my contact information with your professional development team.