Welcome to the AI Ready Blog, where we explore the evolving world of Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI in education, fostering dialogue, experimentation, and research to enhance teaching, learning, and collaboration across disciplines.
Note: Features may change with future updates.
For the next four blog posts, we’re going to review some practical ways of using Google Gemini! Each post will focus on an activity that showcases the potential of generative AI in higher education, and thus be both practical and transformative. Rather than just theoretical reviews, we’ll engage in hands-on exercises that you can immediately adapt for your own use cases.
While this series focuses on Google Gemini, most of the prompting techniques and workflows we explore can be applied to other AI models like ChatGPT, Claude, or Microsoft Copilot (the exception being our third activity that focuses on NotebookLM, which, at this time, does not have an apparent equivalent on the other platforms). The key is understanding how to structure prompts effectively to get the best results—no matter which generative AI tool you’re using. So, whether you’re experimenting with Gemini or another platform, these activities will help you maximize generative AI’s potential in your academic or professional work.
The activities in these posts will guide you through:
- Strategic program development using AI-assisted analysis and planning
- Making complex academic content more accessible through intelligent text transformation
- Enhanced research workflows using NotebookLM’s source-grounded approach
- Interactive scenarios for teaching and assessment
Each activity is structured to build your confidence with AI tools while producing concrete, usable outputs for your academic work. By the end of today’s session, you’ll have practical experience with prompting techniques that you can apply to your own teaching, research, and administrative tasks
There will be a demonstration video for you to watch of the activity as well as instruction for you to follow along with either on your own in Gemini, or watching the video.
I hope you enjoy!
Activity 1: Advanced Prompting Activity (Prompt Chaining, Creative Brainstorming & Content Creation)
Objective
Learn how to use AI for strategic academic program planning
Note: At any step of this process, if you do not like the answers you’re getting, feel to push back against the AI, telling it to redo what it’s given you, explaining your concerns.
Video
Watch this demonstration and follow along with the instructions below as you use Gemini to do the same.
Step 1) Start with a Market Analysis
Open Gemini (gemini.google.com) and paste this prompt:
As an administrator at a prestigious higher education institution, I need to evaluate potential new interdisciplinary programs. Please help me:
Identify 3-4 emerging interdisciplinary fields combining technology with traditional disciplines that are projected to have high workforce demand in 2025-2035. For each field:
– Describe specific career paths and roles
– Note key industry sectors driving growth
– Suggest essential skills and competencies students would need
– Outline potential curriculum components
Consider factors like:
– Infrastructure and resource requirements for launching such programs
– Potential industry partnerships or experiential learning opportunities
– Ways to integrate these programs with existing departments
– Competitive landscape among peer institutions
Step 2: Conduct SWOT Analysis
Using the results from step 1, ask Gemini:
Given these emerging fields, help me conduct a SWOT analysis for a mid-sized higher education institution looking to launch new interdisciplinary programs.
Consider:
– Traditional university strengths and limitations
– Current higher ed market dynamics
– Resource implications
– Competition from both traditional and non-traditional education providers
Step 3: Develop Program Framework
Choose one promising program from your analysis and use this prompt:
Help me develop a comprehensive outline for [your chosen program]including:
1. Core curriculum areas
2. Required resources and infrastructure
3. Potential industry partnerships
4. Career pathways for graduates
5. Unique selling propositions compared to similar programs
Step 4: Finally, Create Marketing Content
Generate promotional materials with this prompt:
Create compelling marketing content for [your program name]:
1. A program overview for the university website (250 words)
2. Key talking points for dean presentations to potential industry partners
3. Student recruitment messaging highlighting career outcomes
Review
Hopefully, this demo flow demonstrated Gemini’s
- Strategic analysis capabilities
- Market awareness
- Program development expertise
- Content creation skills
- Practical administrative applications
Additionally, the benefit of this approach is that it showed how AI can support high-level strategic planning while remaining grounded in market realities and institutional contexts. It also demonstrates how multiple prompts can build upon each other to create a comprehensive program development roadmap.
Going further, you can give examples at any stage of this prompt chain, attaching files you want it to look at, etc..
Looking Ahead
In our next post, we’ll explore how AI can make academic content more accessible and understandable for diverse audiences. You’ll learn how to use Gemini to transform complex academic texts into clear, digestible content – particularly valuable for students with learning differences and non-native English speakers.
We’ll walk through a practical workflow that includes:
- Breaking down dense academic articles into clear, comprehensive summaries
- Rephrasing complex passages for specific reading levels while preserving key academic terminology
- Creating targeted study resources like definitions, timelines, and concept lists
This approach goes beyond simple summarization – it’s about making academic content truly accessible while maintaining its intellectual rigor. Whether you’re developing course materials, supporting diverse learners, or making research more accessible, these techniques will help you break down barriers to understanding complex academic content.
See you in the next post – and meanwhile, try out today’s program development prompts and let us know how they work for you! You can email our team edtech@fordham.edu or me directly at cafferkey@fordham.edu.
Hope that helps!
Sponsored by the Fordham Faculty AI Interest Group | facultyai@fordham.edu | www.fordham.edu/AI
AI Events sponsored by the Fordham Faculty AI Interest Group