AI guide · Google Gemini
If your centre runs on Google, Gemini is one click away in Gmail, Docs and the Gemini app. It writes quickly and it writes confidently, which is exactly why it needs care. What happens to a note depends on whether you are signed in with a personal Google account or a qualifying Google Workspace account, and the privacy regulators in New Zealand and Australia both recommend keeping children's personal information out of public AI tools.
Start with what actually happened: one action, quote, attempt, change, or question. A polished observation is never required.
StoryLoop drafts and checks. The educator reviews, edits, decides what is true, and chooses whether anything is shared.
Reviewed 27 October 2026 · Written by Leo, who builds StoryLoop, in Ōtautahi Christchurch
What StoryLoop does with a note
A real note an educator typed, and the start of the draft StoryLoop wrote from it, unedited, with the Te Whāriki links, learning and next steps to follow.
Aroha tried to put her shoes on before going outside. Velcro kept folding over. Asked 'help me' then pushed my hand away and did the second one herself. Stood up and stomped both feet.
Putting on her own shoes
Before going outside, Aroha tried to put her shoes on by herself. The Velcro kept folding over, making the job trickier. Aroha asked, "help me", letting us know clearly that she needed support.
When help was offered, Aroha pushed the adult hand away and did the second shoe herself. Once both shoes were on, she stood up and stomped both feet. This looked like Aroha checking that her shoes were on and feeling the result with her whole body.
Type what you saw today. StoryLoop writes the draft here, with Te Whāriki or EYLF V2.0 links, and shows you exactly what it is built on. Use first names only: demo notes are not saved to any account and are never used to train AI.
No signup for your first try. Use a first name or initial only.
Your draft appears here, with curriculum links that only claim what your note shows, usually in under a minute.
Tip: what the child did, one thing they said, and what happened next. Three lines is plenty.
Want to keep it? Start free: 3 stories a month, no card. You check every word before anything is shared.
Google's own Workspace help says that people using the Gemini app without a qualifying Workspace edition are covered by Google's consumer terms and the Gemini Apps Privacy Notice, and that their chats may be reviewed by human reviewers and used to improve Google's products and machine-learning technologies.
For qualifying Google Workspace editions, including Workspace for Education, Google says Gemini comes with enterprise-grade data protections: content is not reviewed by humans or used to train generative AI models outside your organisation without permission. Your administrator can confirm which terms apply to your account.
Gemini, like every general chatbot, adds what it thinks is likely: the child "beamed with pride", or links to four outcomes because they all sound right. A learning story should only claim what an educator saw.
If you open Gemini from a centre or school Google Workspace account, your organisation's agreement may give you Workspace data protections; your administrator can confirm. If you use a personal Gmail account, the consumer terms apply.
On a personal account, the Gemini Apps activity setting controls whether your chats are kept in your Google account. Check Google's current Gemini Apps Privacy Hub for exactly what it covers before relying on it.
Check your service's policy first. Some services do not allow general AI tools for anything about children, and that decision is theirs to make.
If it is allowed: describe what happened, not who it happened to. Use [child] instead of the name, leave out ages, family details, health information and anything distinctive, and never paste photos.
Ask for structure, not judgement, and name your framework: "Organise this note into a learning story with the moment, the learning, one Te Whāriki link the note supports, and a next step."
Then read every sentence against your note. Delete anything you did not see, anything about the child's feelings you cannot back up, and any link the moment does not show.
"Write a learning story for an early childhood teacher in [New Zealand / Australia] from the note below. Sections: the moment, the learning we noticed, [Te Whāriki / EYLF V2.0] links (only the ones the note clearly shows, at most two), where to next, and a family link. Keep the child's words exactly as written in quotation marks. Do not invent feelings, intentions or events. Avoid words like amazing, wonderful and journey. Note: [your note, with [child] instead of the name]"
If you write one learning story a month, a careful prompt and a careful read may be all you need. If you write ten a week, the checking adds up, and so does the risk of a child's details sitting in a chat history.
StoryLoop was built for that: your note goes in, the draft comes back with what every claim is built on, the child's words checked against your note, the right curriculum for your country, and a list of what to check. Notes stay in Sydney and are never used for training. Three stories a month are free.
Try it on a real note from your week. StoryLoop writes the learning story, usually in under a minute, with the child's words kept exactly. No signup.
Try a noteOfficial references
These sources inform this guide. StoryLoop is independent and does not claim endorsement.
FAQ
On a personal account, Google says Gemini chats may be reviewed by human reviewers and used to improve its products. On a qualifying Workspace account, Google says content is not human reviewed or used for generative AI training outside your organisation without permission. Check your account type and Google's current terms.
Removing names, ages, family details and anything distinctive lowers the risk a lot, and it is what the regulators' guidance points towards. In a small community a detailed observation can still identify a child, so keep it general, and follow your service's own policy.
It knows both frameworks, but it regularly overclaims links and mixes EYLF versions. Tell it which framework to use, ask it to link only what the note shows, and check every link yourself.
StoryLoop does one job. It checks the child's words against your note, uses the right framework for your country, shows what each claim is built on and what it had to assume, flags privacy risks, and keeps your notes out of AI training. Three stories a month are free, so you can compare it with Gemini on your own notes.
No. StoryLoop supports drafting and structure, while educators remain responsible for observation, interpretation, reflection, final editing, and sign-off.
Yes. Stories are editable after generation and saved in history, so educators can add context, adjust wording, copy, export, or regenerate from the original observation.
StoryLoop is designed to avoid generic, poetic AI wording. It asks for real observations, keeps claims evidence-based, and links curriculum only when the observation supports it.
The free plan includes 3 learning stories per month. Upgrade prompts are dismissible, and existing history remains available even if the free limit is reached.