Here are some things you might want to include in a guide to help students get started with using NotebookLM for a research project:

Notebook Creation and Source Management

  • Explain the concept of Notebooks as project containers: Notebooks are like folders that organize information for specific research projects. Each Notebook is separate and doesn’t share information with others.
  • Instruct students on how to create a new notebook: Explain the process of creating a new notebook and uploading relevant sources.
  • Highlight supported source types: List the types of files NotebookLM accepts, including Google Docs, Google Slides, PDFs, text files, web URLs, copied text, YouTube URLs, and audio files.
  • Explain source limitations: Inform students about file size limits (500,000 words or 200MB) and restrictions on specific formats, like paywalled websites and copy-protected PDFs.
  • Emphasize the importance of source selection: Guide students on choosing diverse and reliable sources for a well-rounded research project. This is important because, as discussed previously, the quality of the source material directly influences the output quality, such as audio overviews.

Asking Questions and Interacting with NotebookLM

  • Demonstrate how to ask questions: Show students how to input questions or instructions into the chat box to interact with NotebookLM.
  • Encourage a variety of question types: Explain that NotebookLM can handle both factual and creative queries. Provide examples of different question types to broaden their understanding of the tool’s capabilities.
  • Explain the concept of focus: Teach students how to select specific sources for NotebookLM to focus on when answering questions. This allows for targeted information retrieval and analysis.
  • Teach them how to use citations effectively: Explain the importance of citations in verifying the accuracy of NotebookLM’s responses. Show them how to follow citations back to the original source material.
  • Introduce advanced chat settings: If using NotebookLM Plus, guide students on how to customize their chat responses by choosing different conversational styles and response lengths.

Note-Taking and Idea Development

  • Explain different note types: Describe the two types of notes in NotebookLM - saved model responses and user-written notes. Explain that saved responses often include citations.
  • Show how to create notes: Demonstrate the various methods for creating notes, including saving model responses, using existing notes as prompts, and writing new notes.
  • Guide students on using notes for synthesis and idea development: Explain how notes can be combined, summarized, organized into themes, or converted into source material.
  • Introduce the “Curate and Create” workflow: Explain how to use the “Curate and Create” features to transform notes into various structured formats, like outlines, study guides, blog posts, and marketing plans.

Additional Features and Resources

  • Introduce Notebook Guides: Explain how to use Notebook Guides to generate pre-formatted guides like summaries, FAQs, study guides, timelines, and briefing documents.
  • Show how to generate Audio Overviews: If applicable, teach students how to create and use audio overviews, highlighting their potential benefits and limitations.
  • Explain sharing options: Guide students on how to share their notebooks with others, highlighting the differences between viewer and editor access levels.
  • Provide troubleshooting tips: Offer solutions to common issues students might encounter, like failed source imports or unclear chat responses.
  • Direct students to support resources: Share links to relevant documentation, help articles, and support channels for further assistance.

By incorporating these elements into a comprehensive guide, you can effectively equip your students to leverage NotebookLM for their research projects, allowing them to efficiently gather, synthesize, and present information in a structured and organized way. This is important because, as discussed in our previous conversation, NotebookLM is very effective at synthesizing information from various sources, which can be a valuable skill for students to learn and utilize in their academic pursuits.

This assignment description is pretty clear, but here’s how we can make it even better, along with some questions I have as a student:

Improved Assignment Description

Dry Run Project: Exploring NotebookLM

AI tools like NotebookLM can be a game-changer for learning and completing projects like our company analysis. Think of it as your research superpower! NotebookLM can help you:

  • Answer tough questions: It searches across different sources like YouTube interviews, earnings calls, and even those dense regulatory filings (like DEF 14-A) to find what you need.
  • Make learning easier: It summarizes complex documents like 10-K reports in a way that’s actually understandable.

This assignment helps you get comfortable with NotebookLM before diving into the main project. Here’s what you need to do:

  1. Create a Notebook: Add relevant sections from the syllabus as sources, using a variety of formats:
    • Links
    • Empty notes (start from scratch)
    • Google Docs
    • Uploaded PDFs
  2. Question Time: Imagine you’re a student learning about this course for the first time. What questions would you ask? Use the chat interface to get answers.
  3. Save & Organize: Save helpful responses as notes and organize them into categories that make sense.
  4. Summary Power: Explore different summary formats:
    • Study guide
    • Audio overview
    • FAQ
  5. Experiment! See how you can change the structure and content of the summaries.

My Questions as a Student

  • Deadline: When is this assignment due?
  • Grading: How will this assignment be graded? Is there a rubric?
  • Notebook Sharing: Should we share our Notebook with you (the instructor) or anyone else?
  • Specific Topics: Are there any specific syllabus sections you want us to focus on?
  • Length: Is there a minimum or maximum number of questions we should ask, or notes we should create?

By clarifying these details, you’ll help us understand the expectations and get the most out of this dry run with NotebookLM.

Of course! Here’s the rubric adjusted to a 100-point scale:

Rubric for NotebookLM Dry Run Assignment (100 points)

Criteria Excellent (25 pts) Good (20 pts) Fair (15 pts) Needs Improvement (10 pts)
Notebook Creation & Source Integration Notebook is well-organized with clear headings and sections. Sources are diverse (links, notes, Docs, PDFs) and integrated seamlessly. Notebook has a basic structure. Sources are included but may lack variety or integration. Notebook organization is unclear. Limited variety of sources. Notebook is missing key elements or sources are not properly integrated.
Question Generation & Exploration Questions are thoughtful, relevant to the course, and demonstrate curiosity. Answers are explored thoroughly through the chat interface. Questions are relevant but may lack depth or exploration. Questions are basic or limited in scope. Minimal use of the chat interface. Questions are irrelevant or demonstrate little effort. Chat interface is not effectively used.
Note Organization & Categorization Notes are comprehensive, clearly labeled, and organized into logical categories. Notes capture key information and are organized with some attempt at categorization. Notes are incomplete or disorganized. Categorization is unclear or absent. Notes are minimal or irrelevant. No attempt at organization.
Summary Exploration & Manipulation Multiple summary formats (study guide, audio, FAQ) are explored. Clear evidence of experimentation with structure and content manipulation. At least two summary formats are explored. Some attempts to manipulate structure and content are evident. Limited exploration of summary formats. Minimal attempts to manipulate structure and content. Only one summary format is used. No evidence of experimentation with structure or content.
Overall Impression Assignment demonstrates a strong understanding of NotebookLM’s capabilities and thoughtful engagement with the tool. Assignment shows good effort and understanding of basic features. Assignment meets basic requirements but lacks depth or creativity. Assignment is incomplete or shows minimal effort.

Total Points: 100

Grading Scale: You can use your usual grading scale for your course, as the points now align with a standard 100-point system.

Here are some common NotebookLM workflows that could be helpful for your company analysis project:

Using Sources

  • NotebookLM will use all the sources you upload in the current notebook to formulate an answer to a question in the chatbox.
  • You can select specific sources in the left-hand sidebar if you want to focus on a single source or a subset of sources.

Reading

  • NotebookLM provides a source guide with a summary and a list of topics to help you understand the source material.
  • It also generates suggested questions.
  • You can select passages to get suggested actions from NotebookLM.
    • You can save quotes.
    • You can ask for a summary.
    • You can get a simpler explanation.
    • You can get related ideas.

Taking Notes

  • You can save responses from NotebookLM as notes.
  • You can write your own notes.
  • You can ask questions about the content in a group of your own notes.

“Curate and Create”

  • You can select notes to get a menu of suggested actions that help you transform the information in the notes.
  • You can combine notes.
  • You can summarize the content of your notes.
  • You can organize notes into categories.
  • You can create a study guide from your notes.
  • You can create other formats based on your notes by typing instructions in the chatbox, such as blog posts, marketing plans, or email newsletters.

Writing

  • You can write in an empty note.
  • You can use notes and suggested actions to create outlines or drafts.
  • You can select a note and ask for a critique.
  • You can select a note and ask for related ideas.

Tips

  • Focus the AI’s attention on different elements by selecting sources or notes.
  • Save findings that capture your attention as notes.
  • Select a group of notes and use the suggested actions to organize them into a structured format.
  • Review the original quotes in the citations.
  • Ask questions about images in slides and docs.
  • Avoid asking NotebookLM to perform mathematical calculations.

NotebookLM is a powerful tool that can help you with many aspects of company analysis. It can help you read and understand sources, take notes, generate ideas, and write reports. By using the workflows described above, you can get the most out of NotebookLM and make your project a success!