Howdy Gemini! Meet Google’s AI Tools for Education
A few weeks into the fall semester, it becomes obvious to students and faculty alike which of their everyday tasks are the most time-consuming. On September 22, Google Gemini visited campus in collaboration with the Office of the Provost and Technology Services to inform and encourage the use of their AI tools for enhancing education.
Big Tech Meets Big Spirit
The line for the Google Pop-Up quickly grew as students waited to learn more about the advancing technology and get some free Google merch. Stickers, tote bags, posters and even Owala water bottles were handed out as free items for participants. Google members gave brief demonstrations on how Gemini and NotebookLM can be transformative to a students’ experience.
As AI becomes increasingly integrated into the Higher Education space, we're committed to introducing our products like Gemini and NotebookLM that'll enable effective, responsible and safe use of AI. We're grateful for collaborations like this to meet students and faculty where they are - on campus - to share more about our tools that are also provided by Texas A&M.
The pop-up facilitated an open dialogue on students’ use of AI and underscored the broad range of potential support it offers, including aspects students may not have previously considered. Gemini assistance doesn’t stop at listing synonyms and helping reword sentences, the tool can be used for a wide wide variety of other resources such as accelerated research, multimodal learning and organizing course materials.
Make the Most of AI
Beyond handing out merch and engaging with students, Google hosted interactive training sessions showcasing the powerful abilities of Gemini. The Lunch & Learn for faculty and the Gemini Academy for students were both focused on how Google Gemini and NotebookLM are designed to support teaching and learning. Googlers spoke about how to use these assets to enhance their learning and assist with tedious, time-consuming tasks.
Attendees of each event followed along and saw firsthand how different prompts, references and tones can be utilized for specific tasks. Googlers demonstrated how faculty could brainstorm example questions and syllabus points as well as how students could create flashcard sets and quiz their existing knowledge.
Since students have access to Google Gemini and NotebookLM through their Texas A&M email accounts, it’s vital that Aggies understand the importance of leveraging the tools available to them.
Google representative (Googler) shows off a "Gig 'Em" during the Google Pop-Up on campus.
For Texas A&M as a whole, events like this create opportunities to connect faculty, staff, and students with innovative technologies that are shaping higher education and the workforce. Bringing Google’s Gemini team to campus strengthens our commitment to preparing Aggies for success in a rapidly evolving digital world.
Googlers and Texas A&M teams who helped make this event possible, show a Gig 'Em with the Gemini Blob. From back left, Travis Triola, Event Services Manager; Meghan Southerland, Associate Director, Information Technology, Technology Services-Architecture and Engineering; Cassidy Bowman Suarez, Google Cloud Account Manager for Texas A&M; William Deigaard, Associate VP for IT Architecture & Design, Joshua Cook, IT Enterprise Architect; Dr. Debra Fowler, Executive Director of CTE; Dr. Jamie Thompson, Assistant Director of Digital Learning, CTE. From front left, Clarence Niel Ramos Manglal-Ian, Program Specialist II, CTE; Bret Ashby, Manager of Division Communications, Division of Academic Affairs; Stephanie Yoon, Senior Marketing Manager, Google for Education.
