Pacific has an agreement with Google that allows secure use of its chatbot, Google Gemini. Correctly used, an AI chatbot like Google Gemini can offer tailored, on-demand, interactive tutoring to suit a student’s particular needs. You can go to gemini.google.com when logged in with your Pacific account to access Google Gemini.
At the time of writing, Google Gemini for Pacific offers two options for models, which you can select from the drop-down beneath the title ‘Gemini’:
- 2.5 Flash
- 2.5 Pro
Read about their capabilities and differences on Google’s Gemini Models page.
Google Gemini is very versatile and can be turned to a wide variety of purposes with proper prompting. It can behave as a tutor, write materials like emails and rubrics, generate images, and much more. To read more about crafting a good prompt, visit our Introduction to Prompting. Google Gemini is a very versatile tool, and this means that students may need support to develop the right prompts to get the best out of it.
Google Gemini offers the ability to upload study materials into the Google Gemini chat window, and ask the AI to use those as its primary source. This will often lead to more reliable outcomes and also allow students to easily check the source to confirm the interpretation offered by the AI.
Gems
Google Gemini offers the ability to create your own ‘Gems’: custom-built, user-created chatbots that can be set up by providing specified source materials and instructions, and saved for future use. This means that students can set up their own Gems for different purposes:
- Retrieval practice: A bot to be used for daily practice recalling a list of medications and their contraindications
- Conceptual tester: A bot that will prompt the user to write their own definitions of key terms, and give them feedback on the answers based on pre-provided documents
- Exam questions: Working from specified materials, a bot that can provide questions according to specifications and assess the answers.
To create your own Gem, expand the menu on the left-hand side of the Gemini window, and click on ‘Explore Gems.’ You will see a ‘New Gem‘ button, and this will take you to a console in which you can give the Gem a name, instructions, and ‘knowledge’ (documents from which to work). It could be beneficial in some cases to work with individual students to set up chatbots to help them with specific skills. You can read more about applications in Student-Made Bots: An Educator’s Toolkit from CUNY Academic Works.
For more guidance on using this tool, visit:
General Considerations for Using AI in Teaching and Learning
Course Policy Guidance
Introduction to Prompting
Applications for Student Learning
Assignments in the Context of AI
Labor-Saving Tips for Educators