Google's Gemini Notebook is approved for use by all faculty and staff and is accessible within PAWS. Students in courses currently piloting Gemini and Gemini Notebook also have access.

What is Gemini Notebook?

Google's Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) is a source-grounded generative AI tool that turns selected materials, such as documents, websites, and videos, into interactive spaces for learning and exploration. Users can ask questions, compare sources, and generate resources such as summaries, study guides, audio overviews and podcasts, flashcards, and mind maps, with responses connected back to the original sources through citations.

For more information on what GenAI is and how it can be used to support teaching and learning, see the GenAI webpage.

What is the purpose of Gemini Notebook?

Gemini Notebook's primary purpose is for users to generate, interact with, and share source-based content like podcasts, infographics, flashcards etc., based on resources that are uploaded. Constraining the AI tool to the uploaded sources improves the validity and transparency of the outputs. Some examples of what Gemini Notebook can be used for include:

  • Explore and interact with uploaded information and resources.
  • Generate new formats and representations of source material.
  • Support research, writing, learning, and knowledge-sharing activities.

Gemini Notebook (Basic) is currently approved for use for all USask faculty and staff. Access by signing into Google Gemini (Basic), using your NSID@usask.ca credentials.

Not what you’re looking for?

Why use Gemini Notebook?

  • Gemini Notebook generates responses based on user-selected source materials rather than the open web.
  • It references the sources used when producing responses.
  • Users can explore information through chat-based conversations with their uploaded materials.
  • Users can engage with information in formats that best suit their needs and preferences.
  • USask has an enterprise license through Google. 
  • Your data is protected when logged into the enterprise license.
  • No history of conversations is kept. User inputs and outputs are not used to train GenAI models.
  • Google does not claim intellectual property rights to either the user input or the output.

Learning Technology Ecosystem (LTE) Principles

Gemini Notebook most directly address these LTE goals:

Designed for students who are remixing and/or creating - Learning is most effective when systems are designed to help learners find, create, and/or repurpose significant content for the value of themselves and others.

Designed for student control and ownership of learning - Learners create and control spaces for learning, understanding and retaining ownership, and purposefully choosing how and when they share.

Best Practices

  • Review the GenAI Literacy Framework to guide appropriate GenAI tool use for you and your students.
  • Complete the USask AI Literacy Tutorial and ask your students to complete it as well to develop a shared understanding of responsible and effective GenAI use.

DO

DON'T

Use Gemini Notebook with a deliberately selected set of relevant and trustworthy source materials.

Do not accept responses without verifying them against the source materials.

Be mindful of daily usage limits when planning learning activities that use Gemini Notebook.

 Do not rely solely on generated summaries or responses. Use Notebook as a tool to explore, question, verify, and synthesize information from source materials.

Use Audio Overviews, mind maps, reports, video, and other representations to provide multiple pathways into complex material.

Don’t upload copyrighted, confidential, sensitive, or restricted material unless its use is authorized.

Use the USask-managed account rather than personal Google accounts.

Do not use Notebook solely for quick answers. Use it to ask questions, explore ideas, test understanding, and deepen learning.

Take time to demonstrate effective uses of Gemini Notebook and discuss strategies that help users get the most value from it.

Don’t use Gemini Notebook-generated quizzes as secure or high-stakes assessment.

Use to compare, synthesize, and explore sources.

 

Use to create personalized learning resources and customized chats based on course materials, topics, or specific learning needs.

 

Support for Gemini Notebook

Technical Support

(Why isn't this working?)

USask IT supported

Vendor Supported

Training Support

 (How do I learn to use this tool?)

USask IT supported

Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning Supported

Vendor Supported
  • Email GMCTL for one-to-one consultations and related workshops.

Teaching Support

(How do I teach with this tool?)

Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning Supported
  • Email GMCTL for support with designing learning activities and assessments.

Tool Evaluation

Technologies are evaluated based on their alignment with the Learning Technologies Ecosystem Principles.  Click to see explanations of each principle and a justification of the rating. You can also view a complete blank rubric to see more details or read about the assessment process.

Learning must be found easily at any time, and all learners and teachers have equitable access, regardless of culture, language, ability etc. 
More Information

Rating: Moderate Concerns

  • Accessibility standards:
    • Gemini Notebook provides multiple modalities for sources and generated outputs. However, not every AI-generated artifact fully meets accessibility standards. For example, generated videos may not always include captions or transcripts.

  • Cost of use for USask students:
    • Currently, Gemini Notebook (basic) is available for free, but higher usage limits come at a fee.

  • Platform/device:
    • Gemini Notebook works well with Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. There may be issues when accessing Gemini Notebook on Edge. Gemini Notebook can also be accessed through Canvas app and mobile apps.

  • Offline Access:
    • The core Gemini Notebook functionality depends on online access, although some generated resources can be downloaded for later use. For example, slide decks can be downloaded, and Audio Overviews support offline listening through the mobile app.

Learning is a process of meaning-making, constructed through learning with others, and as a part of an intentional, deliberate system within a course and across experiences.
More Information

Rating: Serious Concerns

  • Collaboration:
    • Notebooks can be shared and users can be given viewing or editing access, providing opportunities for collaborative work and knowledge sharing. However, Gemini Notebook is principally designed around user-to-source and user-to-AI interaction rather than rich group collaboration.

  • Sharing:
    • Notebooks and individually generated artifacts can be shared with individual USask accounts.

Learning is refined and extended through prompted and supported opportunities to focus on understanding and next steps.
More Information

Rating: Works Well

  • Reflection and revision:
    • Users can ask follow-up questions and request alternative explanations while maintaining a bounded source context. Its value is strongest when users compare, question, verify, and revise their understanding rather than simply consume AI-generated summaries.

Learning is most effective when systems are designed to help learners find, create, and/or repurpose significant content for the value of themselves and others.
More Information

Rating: Works Well 

  • Creating:
    • Gemini Notebook can transform existing sources into numerous new representations, including reports, mind maps, Audio and Video Overviews, quizzes, flashcards, infographics and slide decks.

  • File format:
    • Several outputs can be exported into commonly used formats and applications. Reports can be exported to Docs, tables to Sheets, and slide decks can be downloaded as PDF or PowerPoint.
    • AI transformation of a source is not necessarily evidence of meaningful knowledge creation. The value of generated outputs depends on how users interpret, evaluate, and apply them.

Learners create and control spaces for learning, understanding and retaining ownership, and purposefully choosing how and when they share.
More Information

Rating: Works Well

  • Archiving, saving, and exporting data:
    • Several generated artifacts can be downloaded or exported to standard Google Workspace and common file formats.

  • Data privacy and ownership:
    • Google states that for Workspace for Education users, uploads, queries and model responses are not reviewed by human reviewers and are not used to train AI models.
  • Bias:
    • Generative AI can reproduce biases or produce inaccurate interpretations. Source grounding reduces some risks associated with unconstrained generation but does not remove them.
  • Sign Up/Sign In:
    • Gemini Notebook is available through Single Sign On and through Canvas.
  • Customization:
    • Users can select sources, customize prompts, change output language, determine the focus and format of generated artifacts, and control aspects of generated learning resources. Customization may not be available to shared notebooks.

Learners need to work in a system that is fluid and requires a minimum number of steps in systems that are intuitive and integrated.
More Information

Rating: Works Well

  • Interface:
    • The workflow is organized primarily around Sources, Chat, and Studio, reducing the complexity involved in moving from source material to AI-supported exploration and generated resources.

  • Additional Downloads:
    • Does not require additional software or browser extensions.

  • Functionality:
    • Core functionality is available across platforms.
  • Environmental Impact:
    • Generative AI is computationally intensive.

Learners exist in accessible networks, and connect to the experiences, concepts, people, and ideas that they need.
More Information

Rating: Moderate Concerns 

  • Scale:
    • Shared notebooks can be distributed to multiple users and support access to common source materials and generated resources.

  • Communcation flexibility:
    • Gemini Notebook supports text, images, audio, video and other forms of representation, with output available in more than 80 languages.

  • Representation and inclusivity:
    • Multilingual and multimodal functionality supports information access and engagement across diverse user needs and contexts.

Learning and feedback are iterative, and assessment comes from multiple sources, including self, peers, teachers, and outside experts.
More Information

Rating: Serious Concerns

  • Feedback:
    • Gemini Notebook supports conversational feedback and can generate quizzes, flashcards, and other resources that users can employ for self-assessment and knowledge checking.

  • Sources for Feedback:
    • The platform strongly supports AI-mediated and self-directed feedback.
  •  Learning Data:
    • Gemini Notebook provides some information about notebook engagement and usage. However, the platform offers limited insight into how users interact with content, develop understanding, or act on generated outputs.