Gemini for Productivity

Lynn Girolamo

Assistant Director of Digital Innovation, Greece CSD

lynn.girolamo@greececsd.org

How might Gemini increase your productivity?

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What solves a problem you are facing right now?

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What is your new AI routine?

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AGENDA

When it comes to using Gemini as a productivity assistant, what is your current "campsite status"?

1. Still at home packing the car (I haven't started yet).
2. Wrestling with the tent poles (I'm trying, but it's a bit confusing).
3. Sitting by a roaring fire (I'm comfortable and making it work).
4. The Seasoned Park Ranger (I’m guiding others through the wilderness!).

Put your number in the chat!

What are the tasks that AI does well?

Synthesize Information

Generate Fast Responses

Creative Ideas

What are the tasks that AI does poorly?

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Empathy & Emotional Intelligence

Voice

Contextual Understanding

AI is like a vanilla ice cream cone

How might Gemini increase your productivity?

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Gemini can help manage the

daily cognitive load of being an educator:

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Supercharge Daily Workflows

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Streamline Administrative Tasks

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Organize Information Seamlessly

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Gemini in Workspace availability varies by

Google Workspace for Education edition

Gemini in Workspace

Google Workspace with Gemini brings together the power of Gemini with the collaboration and productivity benefits of Google Workspace – embedding generative AI into the tools you’re already using every day.

Available to users 18+ with a Gemini Education add-on.

Helps you connect

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Helps you create

Helps you organize

Google Sheets

Google Meet

Google Vids

Google Drive

Google Chat

Paid offering

Helps you plan

Helps you visualize

Helps you write

Google Slides

Google Classroom

Gmail

Google Docs

Improve productivity with Gemini

in the side panel of your apps

Access Gemini from wherever �you’re working

Quickly get help from Gemini right in the side panel of your apps – all without switching applications or tabs.

Unlock the power of your Drive files

Through the side panel, Gemini can assist you with summarizing, analyzing, and generating content by using insights gathered from your emails, documents, and more.

View suggested prompts and �automatic summaries

Gemini automatically summarizes the content you’re working on and provides contextually relevant prompts to help you get started.

Supercharge Daily Workflows

What are the daily workflows that AI can assist you with?

The "Emergency" Sub Plan Builder: "I’m out tomorrow. My 7th graders are in the middle of a short story unit on 'The Giver'. They need something they can do independently with a non-certified sub."

The Routine Planner: "Here are the common morning routines I have each week. Create a monthly plan for [this theme] for each morning routine for each day of this month. Be sure each Monday is [routine], etc."

Streamline Administrative Tasks

What are the non-instructional tasks that AI can assist you with?

The Report Card Comment Refiner: "Use these rough notes about student X to write a supportive, professional report card comment. Be sure to follow the structure: strength, area of growth, next steps."

The Event Logistics Planner: "I am organizing the 3rd grade field trip to the zoo. Create groups and name each group a fun, alliterative animal name. Create a checklist for each chaperone from this rough list."

Organize Information Seamlessly

How can AI assist you with synthesizing information?

The Theme Generator: "Categorize this data and create the top 3 trends. Create a list of the 5 most unique responses."

The Curriculum Organizer: "Using the attached pacing guides for science, ELA, and math, create a table that includes Week, Topic, Estimated Days, Suggested Assessments. Then create a calendar for September, October, and November that indicate important dates for each area."

Which direction will you explore with Gemini?

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bit.ly/CampAIGemini

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Let’s RAFT!

Let’s RAFT!

Role

Audience

Format

Topic

Let’s RAFT with AI!

Role

Audience

Format

Task or Tone

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How else might Gemini increase your productivity?

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Remember to RAFT!

Role

Audience

Format

Task or Tone

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Gemini can also accelerate instructional preparation with creative ideas. Use these prompts as starting points or examples to get you started with these common instructional tasks.

👥 Co-Create Engaging Lesson Structures

🪝The "Hook" Generator

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🏛️The Lesson Plan Architect

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👷🏽‍♀️The Real-World Scenario Builder

👥 Co-Create Engaging Lesson Structures

🪝Prompt 1: The "Hook" Generator

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“Act as an innovative 4th grade social studies teacher. I am teaching a lesson on GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK STATE: New York State has a diverse geography. Various maps can be used to represent and examine the geography of New York State. (Standard: 3; Theme: GEO). Give me 3 highly engaging, 5-minute 'hook' activities to start my lesson. One should be a surprising statistic or mystery, one should be a quick hands-on mini-challenge, and one should be a visual thinking routine (like 'See, Think, Wonder'). Keep the materials required very simple."

ROLE AUDIENCE FORMAT TONE/TASK

👥 Co-Create Engaging Lesson Structures

🪝Prompt 1: The "Hook" Generator

Hook 1: The Mystery & Surprising Statistic

🕵️‍♂️ "The Giant Hiding in New York"

The Vibe: Mysterious, mind-blowing, and competitive. Materials needed: Just your whiteboard and a marker.

• Step 1 (0–2 mins): Write the number 6,000,000 on the board in massive numbers. Ask the kids to whisper to a neighbor what they think this number represents in New York. (Population? Dollars? Hot dogs eaten?)
• Step 2 (2–4 mins): Reveal the secret: It’s 6 million acres—the size of the Adirondack Park in Upstate NY. Drop this bombshell statistic: The Adirondack Park is bigger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, and Glacier National Park COMBINED. It is bigger than the entire state of Vermont!
• Step 3 (4–5 mins): Pose the mystery question to the class: "How can our state have the biggest, most crowded city in America, but ALSO host a wild, protected forest that is bigger than actual states? Today, we are going to use maps to solve the mystery of New York’s split personality."

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👥 Co-Create Engaging Lesson Structures

🪝Prompt 1: The "Hook" Generator

Hook 2: The Quick Hands-On Mini-Challenge

⛰️ "The 60-Second Paper Watershed"

The Vibe: Tactile, fast-paced, and a little chaotic (in a good way). Materials needed: One piece of scrap/recycling paper per student, one blue marker or crayon.

• Step 1 (0–1 min): Pass out a piece of scrap paper to every student. Give them 10 seconds to crumple it into a tight ball.
• Step 2 (1–3 mins): Tell them to gently unfold it, but do not flatten it completely. It should look like a miniature, rugged landscape with ridges, peaks, and valleys on their desks.
• Step 3 (3–4 mins): Give them 30 seconds to take their blue marker and draw where "rivers" would flow if it rained on their paper landscape. (They will naturally trace the deep creases/valleys).
• Step 4 (4–5 mins): Bring it back together: "Look at your desks. You just created a 3D physical map! New York State isn't flat—it is covered in these exact kinds of wrinkles (mountains like the Catskills) and creases (river valleys like the Hudson). Today, we’re going to look at how real mapmakers show these shapes."

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👥 Co-Create Engaging Lesson Structures

🪝Prompt 1: The "Hook" Generator

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Hook 3: The Visual Thinking Routine

🌌 See, Think, Wonder: "NY at Night"

The Vibe: Analytical, visual, and awe-inspiring. Materials needed: Projector showing a satellite image of "New York State at Night" (where city lights glow brightly and rural areas are pitch black).

• Step 1 (0–2 mins) - SEE: Project the image without giving any context or title. Ask students to silently look at it for 30 seconds. Ask: "What do you literally see? Just the facts." (Expected answers: bright white blobs, a glowing line, a giant dark empty space in the north).
• Step 2 (2–4 mins) - THINK: Ask: "What do you think is happening here? Why are some parts glowing like a galaxy and other parts completely dark?" Lead them to realize the bright spots are cities (NYC, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo) and the dark spots are mountains/forests. Notice how the lights form a perfect "L" shape across the state.
• Step 3 (4–5 mins) - WONDER: Ask: "What does this map make you wonder about how people live in New York?" (e.g., Why did everyone build cities in a straight line across the state? Hint: It's the Erie Canal/Mohawk River valley!). Transition into the lesson by explaining that different maps tell different stories, and tonight's map tells the story of where New Yorkers live based on the land.

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🔄 Instantly Differentiate Learning Materials

🪜The Reading Level Staircase

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🌎 The ELL/ENL Scaffolding Assistant

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❓The Multiple Modalities Choice Board

📄 Design Comprehensive Rubrics

🎯 The Targeted Single-Point Rubric

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💬 The "Student-Friendly" Translator

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🤝🏼 The Group Work Rubric

📝Draft Effective Communications

📫 The "Tough Conversation" Drafter

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🗞️ The Bullet-to-Newsletter Converter

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📋 The Clear Logistics/Field Trip Explainer

Which direction will you explore with Gemini?

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bit.ly/CampAIGemini

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Level Up Your Productivity!

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Think of it like RAFTing only once!

Role

Audience

Format

Task or Tone

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A Gem is a customized version of Gemini that you can create with specific instructions to act like an expert on a certain topic or follow particular guidelines every time you use it.

What is your next direction with Gemini?

How will Gemini assist your

productivity tomorrow?

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bit.ly/CampAIGemini

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Thank you!

bit.ly/CampAIGemini

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Lynn Girolamo

Assistant Director of Digital Innovation, Greece CSD

lynn.girolamo@greececsd.org