If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by unread professional articles or wished families actually read your weekly newsletter, Google’s Notebook.LM might be the tool that changes everything. Notebook.LM is an AI tool designed to learn from the sources you upload — whether those sources are articles, PDFs, Google Drive documents, YouTube videos or copied text. From there, it creates podcasts, summaries, mind maps, quizzes, flashcards and more.
Each Notebook can hold up to 50 sources, which makes it a perfect companion for professional learning and school communication. Here are four ways we’ve been using Notebook.LM at Saline High School, along with some tips if you want to try it in your building.
1. Making Professional Learning Actually Manageable
I love learning. I also subscribe to numerous professional newsletters and publications, including MASSP, NASSP, ISTE/ASCD, EdWeek, and others. I want to stay current, but I don’t always have the time or mental focus to read everything as it arrives in my inbox.
Once a week, I take about 20 minutes and open every article that catches my eye into separate tabs. I scan each one and paste only the ones I genuinely want to learn from into a new Notebook.LM notebook. Then, I choose “Audio Overview Deep Dive” and set the podcast to Long. The result is an in-depth, conversational audio overview of the articles, which I can listen to during my commute or during a walk. It’s professional learning that finally fits into real life.
You can even download the podcast or share it with colleagues, making PLC discussions more focused and grounded in shared learning.
2. Supporting Students with Clearer Explanations
While I have administered the PSAT/NMSQT many times, I try to remind myself that for students, this is brand new. Notebook.LM helps me create clear, student-friendly explanations — quickly.
For example, I uploaded the PSAT/NMSQT Student Guide and National Merit Scholarship Overview into Notebook.LM and selected “Video Overview” to share with the students. By clicking the pencil icon, I could prompt the AI to:
– Adjust to student-friendly language
– Highlight key takeaways
– Keep it brief and accessible
One pro tip: Always watch or listen before sharing to ensure accuracy and alignment with your messaging.
3. Helping Families Actually Receive the Information We Send
We work hard on weekly newsletters — and they are full of important updates. But we all know what happens when parents open Facebook before opening their email.
To help, I’ve begun attaching an audio “brief” of the newsletter — usually 1 to 2 minutes long — created through Notebook.LM. This allows families to get the highlights while driving, waiting in pickup lines, or cooking dinner. It doesn’t replace the written newsletter, but it does increase engagement with it.
Even parents who do read everything appreciate the convenience.
4. Empowering Teachers and Students
One of our AP English Language teachers uploaded her unit overview sheet and used Notebook.LM to generate a video overview to introduce the unit. The video provided a shared starting point, and the teacher helped students connect what they saw to their prior knowledge and assignment expectations.
Notebook.LM also offers:
– Interactive mind maps
– Summary sheets
– Notes
– Flashcards
– AI-generated quizzes
– Reports
– And even interactive podcasts (students can ask follow-up questions!)
Imagine students asking, “Can you explain #7 again?” and actually receiving a tailored explanation — instantly.
Final Thought
Notebook.LM doesn’t replace teaching, relationships, or communication — it enhances them. It helps us spend less time repeating information and more time engaging in meaningful conversation, feedback and connection. In a school environment, that’s the work that matters.