Faculty Support: Setting Up a Gemini Notebook

Challenge / Context

Our school recently discontinued Quizlet and suggested Gemini Notebook as a replacement tool. I had presented on Gemini Notebook during a professional development day the previous spring, and a faculty member who attended that session reached out individually for help getting her own notebook set up now that the tool was needed for her classroom use.

Approach

Part 1: Initial Setup

I recorded a short, personalized screencast walking her through setting up her Gemini Notebook, so she’d have a reference she could revisit on her own after our conversation.

Part 2: Using the Notebook

Design Rationale

This built directly on a prior whole-group PD session, following up with just-in-time, one-on-one coaching once the tool became immediately relevant to her practice — reflecting adult learning principles that prioritize timely, applied support over one-time training alone. Recording the walkthrough, rather than only working through it live together, gave her a self-paced resource she could return to independently as she got comfortable with a newly mandated tool.

Outcome / Reflection

The faculty member reported feeling more confident using Gemini Notebook after our session. This experience reinforced for me how valuable it is to pair broader PD presentations with accessible, on-demand follow-up support — especially during a tool transition — and it’s a model I’d like to build out further: short, reusable screencasts faculty can return to whenever a new tool rollout happens.