Large volumes of reading have always been a challenge across my learning journey.

Two pages into a book and I’m falling asleep. Good for moments when insomnia hits. But not so good when you’re a Year 12 student trying to absorb Macbeth, or an adult learner undertaking an MBA!

For years, podcasts and audio books became a go-to for any professional development. But what happens when you start a postgraduate degree, have countless prescribed readings to get through in a short space of time and you’re struggling?

Turns out, this lived experience was due to ADHD. I need to think outside the norm when it comes to MBA readings. That’s why a meeting with UNSW Equitable Learning Services was the best decision I’ve made so far, where we discussed equitable learning plans, strategies and assistive technologies.

As an auditory, visual and kinesthetic learner, several tools were suggested to help with absorbing information. Cue Google NotebookLM.

The power of NotebookLM is profound.

As an experiment, I add a Moodle unit ebook, all prescribed readings and any website sources to a new notebook. A brief summary was developed by the Google AI tool, and notes can be added to the learning studio from the chat panel. From there, an audio overview or mind map can be generated, along with options for a study guide, FAQ, timeline or briefing doc.

Robotic voices are like fingers on chalkboard. However, NotebookLM audio files are two realistic AI agents debriefing via podcast format. No mechanical voices here, it’s quite good.

Additionally, users can ask questions via the chat function, and information is outputted with AI referencing any sources loaded to the notebook. This could be good when generating ideas for essays or blog posts, for example.

This is honestly the most mind-blowing AI development I’ve experienced as a student, and I thought Miro was good! Not only can written materials be converted into an assistive format that’s digestible, the content can be scrutinised over the lifetime of the course through prompts and questions.

Personally, NotebookLM became a strategic learning tool for me practically overnight.  

Over to you… Do you use assistive technologies for work or study? If so, have you tried NotebookLM?