Tag Archives: Google

Explore Google Gemini & NotebookLM with Your Simmons Account

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As we begin the new academic year, we’re excited to share that Google Gemini—Google’s advanced generative AI platform—is available to all faculty, staff, and students through your Simmons University Google Workspace account.

Gemini gives you access to powerful large language models (LLMs) through a simple web interface, helping you research, brainstorm, and generate ideas—all while keeping your data protected under Simmons’ Google-managed environment.

Getting Started

You can start using Gemini today:
🔗 Try Gemini (log in with your Simmons Google account)

Once signed in, you can explore Gemini’s capabilities for writing support, summarizing information, developing ideas, and more.

What You Can Use Gemini For

Gemini offers a range of possibilities to support your teaching, learning, and professional work:

  • Research Assistance – Summarize articles, papers, or reports and explore related topics quickly.
  • Brainstorming & Ideation – Generate creative ideas for courses, projects, or communications.
  • Drafting Content – Create first drafts of lesson plans, presentations, or outreach materials for refinement.
  • Learning Support – Ask Gemini to explain complex concepts, clarify definitions, or outline processes.

All of these capabilities are available through the Gemini web interface when you log in with your Simmons account.

Data Privacy & Security

When you sign into Gemini using your Simmons credentials:

  • Your data stays protected – Gemini runs within Simmons’ Google Workspace environment.
  • Your content isn’t used for training – Google does not use your Workspace data to improve public AI models.
  • Compliance built-in – Access through Simmons Google accounts supports our privacy and security policies, including FERPA obligations.

For more details, see Generative AI in Google Workspace Privacy Hub.

Try NotebookLM: Your Personal AI Research Assistant

In addition to Gemini, you also have access to NotebookLM — a Google tool designed to help you organize, analyze, and synthesize information.

With NotebookLM, you can:

  • Upload documents and notes
  • Ask focused questions based only on your uploaded materials
  • Generate summaries, timelines, and outlines
  • Connect insights across multiple sources

NotebookLM is especially useful for research, academic writing, and project planning.

Learn More & Get Support

For tips and support on using Gemini and NotebookLM:
📘 Gemini Apps Help

 📘 NotebookLM Help

Or contact the Technology Service Desk: [email protected] | ☎ 617-521-2222

Using Google Sites for ePortolios

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google-sites-logoThere’s a lot that you can do with Google Apps for Education. We all use it for email and our calendars, and many people use it for writing papers, creating spreadsheets and presentations, and making websites for projects and student organizations.

A less obvious feature that might be very helpful is using Google Sites to create an ePortfolio. Whether you’re a business major or a fine artist, creating a portfolio that reflects your skills and achievements is important for grad school applications and job hunting. Not only do ePortfolios showcase all that you’ve done during your time at Simmons, but they also encourage you to improve your writing and web design skills.

Google Sites makes it easy to collect and present your personal, professional, and academic experiences with customizable templates and an easy-to-use interface. You can upload images, embed documents, presentations, and YouTube videos, and link to other sites.

To get started, visit Google Sites at Simmons and click createto begin building your ePortfolio. There are many online guides to using Google Sites, but this PDF and this presentationprovide great introductions to the elements you’ll use to create an ePortfolio.

Of course, you’ll also need to collect everything you want to include in your portfolio. For more information about constructing a portfolio that reflects your goals, contact theCareer Education Center.

Coming Soon: Unlimited Storage in Google Drive

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google_drive_logoIn the near future, Google will be rolling out Drive for Education, which will include unlimited storage and support for individual files up to 5 terabytes in size. If you work with large video or audio files or massive data sets, this will be a significant change. The switch to unlimited storage will roll out automatically across campus and you won’t need to make any changes to Google Drive or your account.

In addition, there’s a new Google Drive interface available. The new version will eventually become standard, but you can opt to switch to it now if you’d like to try out the new features. To switch, click the gear icon in the upper right corner of your Google Drive screen, then click Experience the New Drive.

After switching, you’ll immediately notice some changes: improved speed and performance, the option to use a grid or list view, one-click file previews, and drag-and-drop capability.

The toolbar at the top of the screen has also undergone an upgrade. Once you’ve single-clicked on a file, the toolbar allows you to preview, share, delete, or copy a direct link to the file without opening it.

Along with upgrades to the desktop version, there are new Drive apps for both Android and iPhone/iPad.

Using Advanced Search in Gmail

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Remember that email with the attached Word document that had an article listed in the works cited section that you could really use right now? It was sent by your classmate from two semesters ago whose name you can’t quite remember at the moment, and it had something to do with statistical anomalies in urban demography or maybe statistical models of emerging democracies? You know, that one?

First, take a deep breath. Then, use advanced search in your Simmons Gmail to find it. To access the advanced search options, click on the small triangle on the right side of the search bar.

Gmail search box

From there, you can use the fields in the dropdown menu to search your email by who sent it, when it was sent, if it contained an attachment, or even how large the attachment is.

Gmail advanced search options

Use these advanced options to quickly narrow down your search and find that one email you’re looking for. To learn more about how to use advanced search, click here.