Many of us teachers and educators use Google Docs almost on a daily basis. The tool is simple to use and offers a plethora of features. With the integration of AI, Google Docs becomes even better. You can now draw on the power of Google’s flagship AI model, Gemini, right within Google Docs. You can quickly write emails, get help writing feedback for students work, generate quizzes, and many more. In this post, I share with you some practical ways Google Docs AI can help you in your teaching.
1. Write Email Drafts
Using Gemini in Google Docs, you will be able to write a draft of your email and preview and send it with a single click. To do so, open a Google Doc, click on Gemini icon on top right corner, and from the suggestions featured in the document click on Email draft. Type in receiver email address, subject line, then for the body of the email click on ‘Help me write’ and provide instructions for Gemini on what you want to include in your email. Once done, click on the gmail icon on the right hand side and preview and send your email.
Prompt:
“Write a professional email to parents informing them about the upcoming parent-teacher conference. Include the date, time, and location, and ask them to confirm their attendance. Mention the option for virtual meetings if needed.”
2. Brainstorm Ideas for Lesson Plans
You can use Gemini within your Docs document to brainstorm ideas for lesson plans. To begin, open a Google Doc and click on the Gemini icon. From the suggestions menu, select ‘Brainstorm ideas’. Next, provide Gemini with specific prompts related to your lesson plan such as grade level, subject area, learning objectives, etc. Gemini will generate various suggestions for activities, assessments, and learning resources. For better results, make sure to provide detailed instructions.
3. AI summary
Another practical way to use Gemini in Google Docs is to generate summaries of long articles such as research papers, blog posts, or any other educational material. My favourite way to do it is to copy and paste the text into a Google Doc, then select ‘Summarize text’ from Gemini’s options or write a prompt instructing Gemini to create a summary of the text. For better results, provide clear instructions and let Gemini know the outcome format you want such as bullet list, numbered list, table, etc. If you want the summary to be in a specific length, include that in your prompt “e.g., write a summary of โฆin no more than 300 wordsโฆ”
4. Create Rubrics
You can use Gemini in Google Docs to create a custom grading rubric tailored for your own teaching and assignment needs. Open a Google Doc and type in your prompt or if you can locate it within the suggestions, click on ‘Create Rubric’. Provide Gemini with criteria or categories you want to include in your rubric such as content, presentation, effort and weight each section accordingly. Using Gemini to create rubrics will definitely save you so much time and will also enable you to keep consistency across various assignments.
5. Generate Quiz Questions
Another helpful way to use Gemini in your Docs is to generate quiz questions. To do so, open a Doc where the content of your quiz is located then click on Gemini icon and type in your prompt. Provide it with specific instructions including the question formats you prefer (e.g., multiple choice, true/fals, short answers, etc.). Once generated, you can further tweak the questions to match the level of difficulty and learning needs of your students.
6. Generate Feedback Suggestions for Student Work
Get Gemini to help you come up with feedback suggestions for your students work. Here is how to do it, open your student’s document, go through it then select or highlight a section, and click on Gemini icon and type in your prompt. Try to provide as much context as possible on the kind of feedback you are looking for (e.g., focus on writing structure, content clarity, or grammar). Once generated, you can then personalize the suggestions to your student’s specific learning needs.
7. Translate Classroom Materials
For those of you working with multilingual learners, the AI-powered translation feature in Google Docs will prove helpful. You can use it to translate assignments, lesson plans, meeting notes, feedback, or even parent communication. Simply highlight the text you want to translate, click on Gemini, and type in your prompt.
8. Overcoming Writer’s Block
Writer’s block can be crippling to your creativity. Using Gemini in Google Docs, you can easily overcome this problem by enlisting AI’s help. Simply write your custom prompt like to let Gemini provide suggestions for more ideas to keep you writing forward. You can edit or build on what it generates, helping you break through those moments when the words just wonโt flow. This hack is especially useful for when writing reports, crafting student feedback, working on lesson plans and more. Check out this Google Help article to learn more on how to Write in Google Docs using AI.
Related: Here Is An Excellent Google Docs AI Tool
Final thoughts
I hope you have found these insights helpful. Embrace AI and let it propel you forward in your teaching. The Google Docs AI features I covered above are only a small sample of how you can leverage the power of AI to enhance your overall productivity. As always, your feedback and suggestions are welcome!