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Gemini
| #206
Google Gemini: Hidden Quiz Trick I Used at Google
(you can easily filter previous issues by application!)
Hey friends,
In case you missed it, I announced my departure from Google yesterday! To celebrate the end of my 9-year tenure, you can grab my Workspace Academy for 35% off in the next 72 hours using "JEFFSELLOUT" at checkout. (Sorry, but I no longer have a stable income anymore 😉)
Now, let's dive into today's productivity tip: creating quizzes with Google Gemini.
Quizzes in Gemini…huh?
Here's something most people don't know: when you start a prompt with "Create a quiz on" while Canvas is enabled, Gemini generates a complete quiz with an answer key at the bottom.
Teachers discovered this feature immediately, but I struggled to find workplace applications - until I stumbled upon a brilliant use case.
The Problem That Led to My Discovery
During my time at Google (still feels weird to write that), I managed one of our largest marketing campaigns called "Start on Android." This campaign involved coordinating content from five different product teams. As the Product Marketing Manager, I couldn't possibly master the technical details of all five products.
I had to rely heavily on product team representatives to provide content for our events, which sucked, because, well, I was am a control freak.
The content requests ranged from presentation slides to interactive elements. And you know what audiences love during long presentations? Interactive quizzes that break up the monotony and test their understanding.
Solution: Let Gemini Do the Heavy Lifting
Here's where it gets interesting. Instead of begging five different teams to create quiz content, I discovered I could feed our entire keynote presentation into Gemini. The presentation already contained detailed information about all five products, carefully crafted by each team.
My prompt was simple:
- "Create a quiz on [Google Ads/AdMob/Play/Cloud/Gemini] based on the attached presentation."
Gemini analyzed the slides and generated relevant, accurate quiz questions for each product - questions I couldn't have written myself without weeks of product deep-dives.
Pro tip: Make your quiz interactive
Click the "Create" dropdown on the right side of the Canvas and select "Quiz." This simple action transforms your static text into a fully interactive quiz. Each question becomes clickable, and when users select an answer, they receive immediate feedback explaining why their choice was correct or incorrect.
This feedback mechanism is crucial for learning. Instead of just knowing they got something wrong, participants understand the reasoning behind the correct answer. It's the difference between memorization and comprehension.
Why This Matters Beyond Education
Think about your own workplace scenarios:
- Onboarding new team members with product knowledge checks
- Creating engaging content for company training sessions
- Testing understanding after technical presentations
First, you leverage existing content (presentations, documents, web pages) as your knowledge base. Then, you let Gemini extract and structure that information into quiz format. Finally, you transform it into an interactive experience that actually engages your audience.
The beauty of this approach? You don't need to be an expert in every topic. You just need access to good source material and the knowledge of how to prompt Gemini effectively.
Give it a try with your next presentation or training material. Your audience (and your sanity) will thank you.
When you’re ready, here are all the ways I can help.
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