Gemini Is At Your Fingertips!

@LisaBerghoff

If you are still wondering whether or not AI will catch on, that train has long left the station. Want to believe it's not true? Go ahead, but you will be doing yourself and your students a massive disservice. Our students are soon to be launched into the world and eventually the workforce with technology that we could not even imagine when we were studying to become educators. The reality is that today's AI is the worst version we will see. It will only get better and it will become more and more embedded into the technology we currently use. I'm sure you have noticed that when you Google something you are now presented with an AI summary of an answer before you see links to click. AI is becoming less and less about chatbots and more about being the hidden engine behind many tools and objects we use everyday. 

I have written several posts about Google's Gemini and NotebookLM in the past twelve months because we have new features and capabilities available to us on a regular basis. One of the major selling points on using Gemini is that all of our data is protected and not used to train the models. That makes Gemini the perfect AI tool to use to teach our students about responsible AI use. 

Now, Gemini can be found embedded into many Google products that we use so you no longer need to go to Gemini in a new tab. Let's take a look.

Gemini in Google Docs

While in Google docs, you will now see several Gemini options.

First, in the upper right corner you will see the Gemini symbol. click it to open Gemini in a side panel and get questions answered about the content of you document. You can also use it

to brainstorm, get suggested edits, and generate content.

• Next, when creating a new document, at the top you will now see  a "Generate Document" icon. Click here and a window will open up where you can enter a prompt and Gemini will help you format and create a document for a specific purpose. You can also click on "Help Me Write".  Explain what you are trying to write and let Gemini be your writing assistant. 

Gemini In Google Slides: 

Go to create a new slide deck and you will now see that you can use Gemini to get started. 

If you open an existing slide deck, you can click the Gemini symbol to open in a side panel. Just describe what it is that you want and Gemini will attempt to create it for you.

On some slides, you will see the NanoBanana symbol and the ability to "beautify this slide". Click on it and you will be presented with some options. 

NOTE: The slides that are generated using NanoBanana are images and you are currently unable to edit the text. I predict that this will change in the future.

Gemini in Google Forms:

Go to create a new form and you will now have the option of having Gemini take a stab at creating it for you. If you skip this step and decide you want it back, just click the icon that looks like a piece of paper with a baby Gemini symbol on it.

What about Google Sheets? Gmail?

I am told that Gemini within Google sheets and Gmail will be rolling out in the coming months.

The takeaway here is to recognize that more and more, AI is not going to be a separate thing. It is going to be embedded in the tools we use, much in the way AI is already embedded in so many of our day to day components like Netflix, Google Maps, smartphones, smartwatches, and smart thermostats. 

Are you feeling hesitant but curious about using AI tools in school? Good! I would love to have conversations and also show you how to leverage AI to help you help students. Feel free to reach out!