Engage Students
Computer Programming
In 2024, Teaching with AI Fellow and Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences student Tao Long created ProjectExplorer, an AI tool designed to act as an on-demand TA to support students developing Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) projects in Computer Science.
Tao’s prompt encourages students can solve real-world problems, beginning with either a rough sketch or a fully fleshed out plan. ProjectExplorer will help them refine those ideas in clearly defined stages and develop an actionable project plan. This prompt can also assist students with identifying their projects’ potential user groups, narrowing the project scope, and identifying feasible technical solutions.
Today, ProjectExplorer is available to faculty as a customizable Gemini Gem. Learn how you can adapt Tao’s prompt for your class below.
Engage Students
Browse ways that AI can deepen student engagement and critical thinking skills.
Note: This is a link to a Gemini Gem created with the ProjectExplorer prompt. You will need to be logged into a Google account to access the Gem.
Read the prompt on the back end of Hamlet AI and learn how to modify this tool for your class.
If uploading a document into the back or front end of a Gem, be sure to review its copyright. Documents that are often okay to use with AI, given an appropriate citation, include:
- Public Domain works
- Some Creative Commons licenses
- Openly-licensed works
- Fair use works
- Your original work, where you own the copyright
Commonly Asked Questions
What is Gemini?
Gemini is Google’s family of AI models that powers conversational AI experiences across Google products and services. It’s designed to be multimodal, capable of understanding and generating text, images, code, audio, and video.
What are Gemini Gems?
Gems are customized versions of Gemini that help you tackle repetitive tasks or get deep expertise in new areas. When you chat with a Gem, Gemini will tailor responses to save time on repeat goals and guidelines in your Gemini web app and Gemini mobile app prompts.
How do you create Gemini Gems?
Can I access Gemini through Columbia University?
Google Gemini is now available to the Columbia University community. This service provides access to Google’s most advanced AI models in a secure, education-focused environment. Gemini supports multimodal capabilities—working with text, images, and code—so you can handle diverse academic and research tasks in one place.
How do I add Gemini to my Lionmail account?
Our team has created the below document to help you access Gemini as a Columbia University community member.
Have additional questions? Email our team at columbiactl@columbia.edu.
Interested in using AI to engage students?
We invite Columbia University faculty and graduate students to connect with the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) team to discuss how AI can be used to enhance student learning. Schedule an in-person consultation with our team, visit our open Office Hours, or log in for our virtual chats to explore which approaches align with your teaching goals and how to implement them effectively.