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How to Access Gemini and NotebookLM
How to Use Gemini
How to Use NotebookLM
Gemini and NotebookLM are Google's AI tools that can be used for a variety of work-related tasks. The college officially endorses Gemini and NotebookLM as secure AI tools. Exercise caution with other online AI platforms, as the college has no agreements ensuring data privacy or FERPA compliance with them; your data may be used for their model training. The following article will cover how to access and use Gemini and NotebookLM, what they can be used for, and what they should not be used for.
Gemini and NotebookLM can be accessed by either clicking or typing into your browser the respective URLs below:
Gemini: gemini.google.com
NotebookLM: notebooklm.google.com
Gemini can also be accessed through your Google Apps menu, which can be opened by clicking on the square containing nine dots, found in the top right corner of the browser while on any Google webpage.
Once clicked on, you will see a list of all available Google Apps. From here you can click on Gemini (please note that the exact location of the Gemini logo may not be the same as in the screenshot).
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To use Gemini, simply type a prompt into the text box found at the bottom of the webpage, then click enter on your keyboard.
Gemini will then respond to your prompt in the center of the screen.
You can continue chatting with Gemini as you would in a text message conversation, by repeating the steps above. You can even ask it to refine it's answers by saying something like "answer again but make it simpler" since it remembers the previous messages in your current active chat. Gemini can also be used to generate images, as shown below.
Gemini Models
In Gemini, you can choose between a few different models for the AI. This can be changed by clicking the dropdown menu below the word "Gemini", found in the top left corner of the webpage.
Clicking the dropdown will show you a list of available models, and a quick summary of what each one is best suited for.
Simply click on the one you would like to use, and the AI will change to that model.
Uploading Files
Another feature of Gemini is the ability to upload a file, then ask the AI questions about it. The following file types are supported in Gemini:
- Document files: DOC, DOCX, PDF, RTF, DOT, DOTX, HWP, HWPX
- Documents created in Google Docs
- Plain text files: TXT
- Presentation files: PPTX
- Presentations created with Google Slides
To upload a file, click the "+" icon found on the left side of the chat box, then navigate to and select the file you would like the AI to access.
If you are choosing to upload a file from Google Drive for the first time, you will get a pop-up asking to connect your Google Workspace to Gemini. Click the "Connect" button in the right bottom corner to allow Gemini to access your Google Drive files.
Once a file has been uploaded, you can ask Gemini questions about it such as for a graph to be made if the file contains numbers, or for a summary of the file, as pictured below.
Disconnecting From Google Workspace
If you connected Gemini to your Google Workspace but would like to disconnect it, start by clicking the gear icon found in the bottom left corner of the webpage.
Then click the "Apps" button.
This will bring you to a new page. There will be a section labeled "Productivity" with the Google Workspace section within it. Click the blue slide button on the right side of the section to disconnect from Google Workspace.
Chat History
Your previous chats with Gemini are saved, and you can go back and access them by hovering your cursor on the left side of the screen, which will open a sidebar. There will be a section titled "Recent" where it will show you a list of your previous chats, with AI-generated titles based off your previous conversations.
After clicking on one of these chats, you can scroll up and down to read the messages between you and Gemini. You can also continue that same conversation by typing a new message to Gemini.
Gems
Gems are customizable versions of Gemini that users can program to answer their prompts a certain way. To view already created Gems, hover your cursor over the left side of the page to open the sidebar menu. There you can find a section with Gems. To use one, simply click on it and it will open the Gem, which can be interacted with by entering text in the chat box the same way normal Gemini is interacted with.
To create a new Gem, click on the Gem Manager option found in the sidebar just below the already created Gems.
To begin creating a new Gem, click on the "New Gem" button.
You will now see a page showing the options for your new Gem. These include, the name you would it to have, instructions for how the Gem should interact with you, and a knowledge section where you can add files for the Gem to be able to reference.
On the right side of the page, there is also a preview section, where you can test out your Gem before saving it by typing messages into the chat box as you would with Gemini normally. Once you have finished customizing your Gem, click on the "Save" button in the top right corner to finish.
Once saved, the Gem can be found under the Gem section on the left sidebar. Click on it to begin interacting with it. Or if edits need to be made, the Gem Manager should be opened again, and you will be able to edit the Gem from there.
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NotebookLM is an AI tool that allows you to feed it documents and weblinks, then assist you with note taking and idea organization.
If you are opening NotebookLM for the first time, you will get a pop-up welcoming you to the website. Keep the box found in the left bottom corner unchecked, then click the "Okay" button.
Next, click the "Create new notebook" button found at the bottom of the page.
Once on the new notebook page, you will want to start off by adding a source. This can be done by clicking the "Add" button in the Sources panel found on the left side of the screen. Alternatively, you can also click the "Discover" button to the right to use a built in search function for web sources.
Clicking on the "Add" button will bring you to the Add sources page where you can choose from a variety of options. In the center of the screen, you can drag a local file from your computer or click on the upload logo to open your computers File Explorer and choose a file from there (1). At the bottom of the page there are also options for choosing a file from Google Docs or Google Slides (2), pasting either a website or YouTube link by clicking on those respective options (3), or an option to paste text (4).
Up to 50 total sources can be used for a single notebook.
Chat Function
In the center of the screen there will be an AI generated summary of the sources, along with a textbox below where you can type messages to interact with the AI.
The AI will respond back with an answer sourced from the sources you provided, including citations for the information in your sources, as shown below.
The citations appear as numbers after the text (1) and can be hovered over or clicked on to open the source material in the Sources panel to the left. To close the source material, click the "Close source view" button in the top right corner of the Sources panel (2).
Turning Off or Removing Sources
In the Sources panel on the left side of the page, there are options to either turn off a source, or completely remove it from your notebook. Turning off or removing it will make it so that the AI will no longer be able to draw information from it.
To turn off a source, uncheck the box to the right of it. Click it again to turn it back on. The checkbox at the top of the list can be used to check or uncheck all sources.
To completely remove a source, place your cursor over the logo found to the left of it.
Then click the three vertical dots, and you will see an option to remove source. Click it, then confirm the deletion in the following pop-up, and the source will be completely removed from your notebook.
Adding Notes
Your notes can be found at the bottom of the Studio panel on the right side of the page. You can add notes in a couple different ways. The most basic way to add a note is to click the "Add note" button at the top of the Notes section, as shown below.
The Studio panel will now display an area where you can create the note. You can set a title for it (1) and add text to the body of it (2) similarly to an email. When you are finished creating your note, simply click the "Close note view" button in the top right corner to close it (3), it is automatically saved as your work on it.
Below the "Add note" button there are also four buttons you can click to have the AI generate notes for you:
Study guide - Will generate a note summarizing your sources in the style of a study guide, with a section of quiz questions and a corresponding section with the answers, an essay format question section, and a glossary of key terms section.
Briefing doc - Will generate a note that summarizes your sources into the following sections: main themes, most important ideas/facts, and key quotes.
FAQ - Will generate a note that summarizes your sources in the style of an FAQ, with multiple questions and answers below them.
Timeline - Will generate a timeline of main events and a cast of characters from your sources.
You can also save a chat message from the AI as a note by clicking the "Save to note" button below a message in the Chat panel, found in the center of the screen.
You can find your previously created notes in the Notes section of the Studio panel, on the right side of the screen. To delete a note, simply put your mouse cursor over the logo to the left of it, click the three vertical dots, then click "Delete note".
Audio Overview
In the Studio panel, there is also a section at the top called Audio Overview. To use this, simply click the "Generate" button and the AI will generate a podcast-like summary of your sources, with two hosts discussing the contents of your sources. It may take a few minutes to generate.
Before generating a clip, you can also click the "Customize" button, which will open a text box where you can type in some directions about what you would like the AI to focus on from your sources.
Once it has finished generating, press the play button on the left to listen to it. You can also click the three vertical dots on the right to change the playback speed, download the audio clip, or delete it.
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