What's New In Google Forms?

*image created by Gemini

@LisaBerghoff

Sometimes, while we are using the tools we use everyday, we forget that there are engineers pouring over pages and pages of feature requests and they are working to make the tools better. They quietly add features, or move buttons, or subtly make adjustments and these can be easily overlooked. Google Forms has recently gotten enough upgrades that I thought it would be a good idea to call out some of these that you might not know are there. Here are my favorites.

1. Automatically close a form on a specific date/time or when the responses have reached a limit.

I used to use an add-on for this and I'm thrilled that it is now built-in. Once your form is published, click the lines next to the published button to see the options. Here you can turn the form on or off to responders. You can also determine when the form should close. Choose a date and time or you can choose an amount of responses after which your form will no longer receive responses. 

2. Response Summary For Open-Ended Questions

Asking open-ended questions is a common way to get feedback and suggestions. The format of reading those in a spreadsheet is kind of a drag. Now, when you click the responses tab, you will first see an AI summary of the responses, with the actual responses below. Seeing a summary can be a real time saver for you. It will recognize patterns and trends in the responses. If you are not happy with the AI summary, you can click "retry" and give it another go. 

3. Help Me Create With Gemini

When you start off creating a form, you are now directed to a Gemini page where you can enter a prompt and have it get started on your form. You can also include the @ symbol to include content from your own files. If you have an assignment in your Google drive and want it to create a quiz, or an exit ticket, just write a prompt and include the file. This feature also supports multiple languages. 

4. Granular Sharing And Access Control

You can now specify exactly who can respond to your form. Instead of just limiting to inside vs. outside your organization, you can now indicate specific people you want to be able to respond to your form. The "send" button has been replaced with a "publish" button. This allows you to manage access to both responders and editors. Also, the responder link is already shortened for you.

5. Set Form Defaults

If you find yourself consistently going in and changing the settings in your forms and wondering how you can get your forms to start out the way you want them, this is for you. In the "settings" tab, scroll to where it says "defaults". These settings will be applied to your current form AND new forms that you create in the future. You can determine that it will always (or never) collect email addresses. You can also make all questions required by default. 

What are your favorite uses for Google forms? Want some help getting up and running with your forms? I'm here to help!

Mix And Match For Best Results!

NotebookLM and Gemini Together

@LisaBerghoff

I'm so curious about how various digital tools get used in schools. When I ask questions, I am often introduced to new ideas that are so exciting, energizing, and innovative and that pushes me to continue to try new things and stay curious.  I have been using Gemini quite a bit lately and recently noticed that you can now add a NotebookLM notebook as a resource. Like most new features, I looked at it and thought, why would someone want to use that? 

Why Would I Want To Integrate NotebookLM With Gemini?

That was my question too! I did a bunch of research so you don't have to. Here's a list for you.

• NotebookLM can't connect across notebooks on its own.
• NotebookLM has no other access beyond your sources. That's typically the point, but sometimes you want both: the accuracy of your own materials AND the general knowledge of the internet.
• NotebookLM is brilliant at answering questions and summarizing but when you want to create new content, it can be clunky.
• The chat in NotebookLM is not as interactive as Gemini's
• Make NotebookLM your library, while Gemini is your assistant.  This gives the assistant access to your library.
• Gemini's gem: learning coach is designed to help you learn. It comes up with a learning plan and provides a socratic style of interaction. By uploading a notebook, you can have this experience with your specific class materials.
• Gemini is VERY broad and NotebookLM is VERY specific. This gives you a happy medium.

How Do I Integrate A NotebookLM Notebook With Gemini?

1. Make sure you have a notebook ready to go in NotebookLM
2. Go to Gemini and click the + button
3. Find and add the notebook you want to use
4. Type your prompt into Gemini

I created a NotebookLM notebook with the UDL guidelines along with Blooms Taxonomy. I then loaded it into Gemini and asked it to create activities for me for a biology class. Check it out:

Is There Any Concern With Using These Two Tools Together?

As long as you are logged in using your school account, your data is safe. That said, always make sure you are using these tools for school appropriate activities. 

Ready to get started with NotebookLM AND Gemini?

Want some help? Let me know.

 

 How Do We Know The AI 

Isn't Making Stuff Up?

*Image created with NanoBanana2

@LisaBerghoff

I was working with our freshman advisory classes, teaching them about the ethical considerations when using AI, and also teaching them how to use some of the AI tools we have available to us in school.  At the end of one of the presentations, a student asked if there was any way to tell how much of an AI response output was made up by AI and how much of it was real. This was an excellent question. Frankly, I was a little embarrassed that I had not thought of addressing this with the other classes. I was excited to show the students the Double Check Response feature in Gemini. 

What Is Double Check Response?

Double Check Response is a feature that is built into Gemini. After you enter a prompt and receive an output, you can click on Double Check Response to help validate the response. It uses Google search to verify and cite claims that it makes. These links can then be used to go deeper and do more exploring of a topic or concept. They can also be used to help you do the critical thinking task of deciding whether or not to believe what the AI has given you.

How Do I Use Double Check Response?

1. Go to Gemini.google.com and enter a prompt. 

2. When you get your output, scroll to the end and click the three vertical dots. 

3. Click Double Check Response

Count to 5, then take a look, the pieces that can be cited will show up in green. 

The items that are in green will also have an arrow that you can click to see the source. 

Why Should I Use This Or Show It To My Students?

We are trying to teach our students how to be critical thinkers in the world of AI. This tool can help open the conversation beyond just saying- Make sure it's valid. Ask your students to look at the sources, evaluate them. Also, have them look at the parts of the output that are not in green. Is there anything there that should be questioned or researched further? Using this tool, especialy in front of students is a wonderful way to model how we want our kids to interact with AI moving forward. 

Are you ready to use Double Check Response? How about teaching this tool to students? If you want some help, please reach out. I'm happy to assist you.