This year It feels like educators have come to grips with the reality that AI is here and it isn’t going anywhere. The key question is now “How do I use AI in useful, productive ways?”

This year Google has added so many new features to the Gemini AI platform. These advanced features are FREE and available to anyone with a Google Workspace for Education account.

To truly get the best out of Gemini, you should be using these advanced Gemini features to personalize and deepen the quality of your responses. Here are five advanced features of Gemini you should definitely check out.

Deep Research: your AI assistant

Gemini’s “Deep Research” feature is like a personal research assistant, allowing you to dig deeper and understand complex topics. This is NOT a regular Gemini search.

First, you need to select “deep research” from the Gemini search box. Next, type in the topic you would like to learn more about with any specific instructions or details. The more specific your request, the more targeted the results.

Note: Education users can generate 10 deep research reports per month for free. Upgrade to Gemini for Education for unlimited access.

Deep research is not fast. It can take 10-20 minutes to compile your research report. The result will be an impressive overview of your requested topic filled with citations and primary sources to review.

How you can use deep research with Gemini

• When preparing a lesson on genetics, you could ask Gemini to “explain the process of DNA replication in simple terms, highlighting key vocabulary.”
• Generate a career overview for a high school student and ask for a summary of local colleges and universities that specialize in that degree field along with admission suggestions.
• For a social studies lesson on climate change, you might ask Gemini to “summarize the key findings of the latest IPCC report on the impact of rising sea levels.”

Audio Overviews: Learning by Listening

Google has developed an incredible technology that generates fascinating audio summaries from written material. This feature first appeared in NotebookLM about a year ago, and now it is available directly in Gemini!

A particularly useful strategy is to create an audio overview of the results from a deep research query. This allows you to listen to the audio summary of a lengthy deep research report.

I recently did this with my daughter when we were discussion career options. Together we generated a deep research report on CAD careers and then listened to the audio summary in the car while we drove together.

How you can use audio overviews with Gemini

• After conducting a Deep Research query, listen to the audio overview to gain background knowledge on a complex topic.
• Use audio overviews for lengthy articles, student research papers, or even your own lesson materials to support students with reading difficulties or those who benefit from auditory input.
• Use audio overviews to evaluate the effectiveness of written content. If Gemini can’t figure out the main ideas, perhaps the thesis should be refined!

Note: Audio overviews summarize information, they do not provide a word-for-word narration.

Gems: tailored AI assistance

Think of “Gems” as your personalized AI assistants within Gemini. You can create Gems for specific tasks, tailoring their responses and focus to match your teaching style and curriculum.

If you ask “regular” Gemini for a lesson plan, you are going to receive a generic response. Gems as an advanced Gemini features that allows you to provide detailed instructions and context so that your results are consistently tailored to your needs.

Note: Access to Gems is FREE for all education domains!

Creating a Gem takes time. You will need to adjust your description, upload additional examples, and continue to refine your instructions until you are satisfied with the responses you are receiving. Check out this blog post for more information on working with Gems.

How you can use Gemini Gems:

• Create a “Discussion Starter” Gem. Input the topic of your next class discussion and ask the Gem to generate a variety of open-ended questions to encourage student participation.
• Design a “Project Idea Generator” Gem. Input a subject area and grade level, and ask the Gem to brainstorm innovative and engaging project ideas for your students.
• Build a “Text Summarizer” Gem that can quickly condense articles or lengthy documents into key takeaways for you or your students.

Canvas: Co-Write with Gemini

Think of “Canvas” as a new, dynamic workspace where you can collaborate with Gemini to develop and refine longer pieces of text. Unlike single-turn interactions, Canvas allows you to work iteratively with Gemini, editing and building upon its responses to create more comprehensive content.

I really like this new feature! I have struggled using Gemini to write longer pieces of content. Every time I make a suggestion, it re-writes the entire piece. With Canvas, I can select a sentence or paragraph, and work with Gemini to refine that small section. I can add my own, personal updates, or ask Gemini to rephrase, shorten, or expand a section.

How you can use canvas in Gemini

• Developing Detailed Lesson Plans: Start a Canvas with a broad topic and work with Gemini to generate detailed sections, learning objectives, activity descriptions, and assessment strategies, editing and refining the content as you go.
• Crafting Comprehensive Project Guidelines: Use Canvas to outline all aspects of a student project, from the initial prompt and required elements to grading rubrics, collaborating with Gemini to ensure clarity and completeness.
• Creating Engaging Learning Resources: Co-write informational texts, study guides, or even short stories for your students within the Canvas, leveraging Gemini’s ability to generate content and your expertise to tailor it to your classroom needs.

Gemini Apps connect your “Google Stuff!”

The last advanced Gemini feature I want to share is Gemini Apps which allow you to connect Gemini to other applications like Gmail, Drive, and Calendar. You can enable this app by clicking on settings > apps in Gemini.

Note: If you can’t enable apps from within Gemini, you will need to ask your IT admin to enable this feature.

Once apps are enabled, type the @ symbol and select the tool you want to work with.

How you can use Gemini Apps:

• Instead of searching through your mess of folders, you can ask Gemini to “find the lesson plan I created last month on the water cycle in my Drive.”
• Ask Gemini to “summarize the key points from the email thread about the upcoming field trip in my Gmail.”
• Without opening your Calendar, you can ask Gemini, “What are my meetings scheduled for this afternoon?”
• You can ask Gemini to “find the document in my Drive where we discussed accommodations for IEP students.”

Gemini: your teaching assistant

These advanced Gemini features will improve your ability to use AI as a teaching assistant. AI will never replace the role of the teacher, but it can enhance our efforts. Start exploring these tools and see how they can streamline your work and enrich your students’ learning experiences.

And don’t forget to stay in the loop with the latest Google for Education tips and tricks by signing up for my free monthly email newsletter, the Google Edu update!

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