Pre-Workshop Activities
Who this workshop is for
This session is designed for:
- Students working on essays, capstones, theses, or portfolios
- Instructors and staff preparing slides, handouts, or course guides
- Researchers and professionals who read long reports and need clear summaries
You do not need to be an AI expert. Basic comfort with web tools and text documents is enough.
What you’ll do in the workshop
During the live session, you will:
- Build a NotebookLM notebook from your own sources (PDFs, Docs, webpages, etc.)
- Generate summaries, study guides, and brainstorming prompts grounded in those sources
- Explore Studio tools such as Audio Overview, Video Overview, Reports, Mind Maps, Flashcards, and Quizzes
- Practice verifying AI-generated content by checking citations against the original documents
By the end, you should have at least one “real” notebook you can keep using for your studies or work.
What to bring
To get the most out of the workshop, please bring:
- A laptop (recommended for full NotebookLM features)
- A Google account you can sign in with
- 2–3 documents you can safely upload, such as:
- A course reading (PDF)
- An assignment brief or project description
- A publicly accessible article or webpage
- (Optional) Headphones, if you want to listen to Audio Overviews without disturbing others
If you don’t have your own documents, sample materials will be provided.
UVic Guidelines for Using Generative AI in Research
As a researcher it is very important that you carefully review UVic’s guidance on generative AI. Please read:
- UVic Guidelines for using generative artificial intelligence in research
- Tri-Agency guidance on the use of AI in research development and review
Pre-Workshop Videos & Activities
This workshop consists of a small amount of instruction followed by hands-on activities. To be ready to jump straight into NotebookLM, please:
- Review the UVic and Tri-Agency AI guidelines above.
- Watch at least one short GenAI overview:
- (Optional) Log in once to NotebookLM so your account is ready.
During the workshop, we may also mention other GenAI tools, including:
- Microsoft Copilot (general purpose)
- Perplexity (general purpose)
- ChatGPT (general purpose)
- Google Gemini (general purpose)