End of Year Quick Tips and Updates
December 10, 2025

Meeting Notes

• Meeting Introduction and GEG Network Clare Willemse welcomed attendees to the final Sydney GEG event for the year, focusing on quick tips and updates for the remainder of the year and setting up for the next. Clare Willemse also acknowledged and paid respect to the Gadigal people, the traditional owners of the lands upon which they meet. Chris Betcher noted that the event is a collaboration between GG Sydney and GG Canberra, part of the emerging "Australian GEG network" (00:11:07).

• GEG Sydney Leaders and Goals The leaders of GG Sydney—Kelly Hollis, Chris Betcher, and Clare Willemse—were introduced. Clare Willemse stated that the main aim of GEG Sydney is for educators to come together to collaborate, learn about Google for education tools, and share, connect, and inspire each other (00:12:22).

• Accessing the Meeting Recording Chris Betcher confirmed that the event is being recorded and will be available on the ggscney.com website for attendees to revisit the content or share it with others. They also clarified that the session structure is informal, focusing on sharing tips and answering questions (00:13:48).

• Google Vids Timing and Animation Tip Chris Betcher shared a tip about controlling the timing and appearance of objects within Google Vids (00:14:31). They explained that instead of splitting video clips to introduce text, users can utilize the "show timing" feature to drag and set the start time for any object on the slide, such as text (00:15:24). Chris Betcher also demonstrated how to apply sophisticated entrance and exit animations to video clips within Vids (00:16:23).

• Vids Workflow and Efficiency Clare Willemse supported the use of Vids, sharing their experience of quickly creating videos for teachers by taking photos and videos on their phone and transferring them straight into a Drive folder, then dragging them into a Vids template (00:19:59). They noted that this workflow is much faster than using tools like iMovie. Chris Betcher confirmed the ease of Vids, mentioning they created a comprehensive training video entirely within the tool, finding the workflow simpler than professional editors (00:20:57).

• Vids Platform Limitations and Usage Guidelines Clare Willemse mentioned that for safety and compliance reasons, teachers are generally advised to quickly remove videos or photos of students from personal devices, highlighting the efficiency of quickly uploading content to Drive (00:21:57). Clare Willemse also shared that they have frequently encountered a limit of adding 30 to 50 videos within one entire Vids project (00:22:47).

• Google Classroom Rubric Conversion Chris Betcher demonstrated a new Google Classroom feature that allows teachers to convert rubrics from non-standard formats into the format required for import using Gemini (00:23:30). The new "convert from file" option leverages AI to process traditional teacher-created rubrics, which was noted as a significant time saver (00:24:22).

• Classroom Rubric Detail Export Query Tim Causer raised a question regarding the export of rubric data from Google Classroom (00:25:17). They explained that while all overall grades can be downloaded as a CSV, the specific, sub-level rubric details must be downloaded task by task, and there is currently no top-level export for all rubric sub-detail from an entire classroom (00:26:33).

• Utilizing Gemini Canvas for Report Comment Generation Clare Willemse shared a project where they used Gemini Canvas to create a custom comment bank generator for teacher reports (00:28:19). They uploaded previous report comments and prompted Gemini to categorize them (e.g., positive opener, English, Maths, next steps) into high, middle, and low performance levels. The generator included a character counter (between 700 and 800) to ensure compliance with report requirements (00:29:18).

• Sharing the Gemini Comment Generator via Google Sites To distribute the Gemini Canvas comment generator to teachers, Clare Willemse explained they set up a Google Site (00:31:19). The generated content from Gemini was copied and then embedded into the Google Site using the embed code feature, allowing teachers to easily utilize the tool for generating reports (00:34:17). Clare Willemse emphasized that this process greatly saved time while still maintaining the teacher's authentic voice, as it relied on their past approved comments (00:32:41) (00:35:32).

• Building Apps with Google AI Studio Chris Betcher introduced Google AI Studio (ai.studio.google.com) as the next level for making apps beyond Gemini's canvas feature (00:37:17). They showed a demonstration of an app created for a special needs school to track student progress against specific literacy and numeracy indicators over a 10-week period (00:38:00). This app could convert the indicators into smart goals using Gemini and generate a report comment based on the recorded progress (00:39:41) (00:41:19).

• AI Studio Data Security and App Development Tim Causer stressed the importance of applying an API key to AI Studio projects to ensure data security and prevent sensitive information, such as school documents, from seeding a public model (00:42:20). Chris Betcher also showed a simpler application built in AI Studio: a random name picker that allows names to be removed from the list after being picked (00:43:10).

• Generating and Beautifying Slides with Gemini and Nano Banana Kelly Hollis demonstrated using Gemini Canvas to generate a complete slide deck based on a prompt, which can then be exported to Google Slides for editing (00:43:55) (00:50:33). Kelly Hollis also showcased the "beautify this slide" feature (Nano Banana button) available in Slides, which uses AI to quickly transform text-heavy slides into visually appealing images, even though collaboration on the feature from different accounts can sometimes result in inconsistent themes (00:46:58).

• Accessing Advanced Gemini Features via Language Settings Tim Causer provided a tip for accessing advanced features, such as building blocks in Slides, that may not appear in some regional versions. They advised users to set the US language as the top language preference in their Google account settings to ensure all available buttons and features appear (00:52:42).

• Recording Narration for Google Slides Chris Betcher demonstrated the built-in feature in Google Slides for recording narration directly onto a presentation, noting that Mary McKibbly Butler had prepared this tip (00:54:22). Users can record their voice over slides multiple times, and the recordings are saved directly to Drive and associated with the slide deck (00:56:04).

• Using Google Classroom for Safe YouTube Video Viewing Sharon Cooper shared the tip of embedding YouTube videos directly into Google Classroom posts or assignments. This practice ensures that videos are played without ads, end screens, or distracting elements, providing a safer viewing experience for students in the classroom (00:57:50).

• Introduction to Workspace Studio Agents (Flows) Chris Betcher introduced Google's new product, Workspace Studio Agents (formerly flows), accessible through a "studio" button in Gmail, which allows users to automate frequent tasks and set up notification flows using Gemini (00:59:58). Examples provided included creating a task when a change occurs in a spreadsheet or automating responses to specific emails (01:00:57). Tim Causer noted that the decision-making process within Agents can utilize Gemini to flow an action only if a condition is met (01:02:56).

• Automating Tasks and Utilizing Variables in Workspace Studio Tim Causer highlighted the capability of Agents to use variables to pass elements of a response to subsequent steps, such as pulling an email address from a sheet to add them to a group (01:04:38). Tim Causer noted that while the product is new and still has some limitations, such as issues with Calendar integration, it represents a significant step forward in automating workflows (01:02:56) (01:05:35).

• Tab Management in Chrome Chris Betcher shared a tip about a new tab management feature in Chrome called "add tab to split view" (01:06:41). This feature allows users on smaller screens to split a single window into two half-tabs, essentially displaying two different tabs side-by-side within that single window (01:07:23).

• Upcoming GEG Sydney Events Clare Willemse concluded the session by thanking attendees and announcing upcoming GEG Sydney events (01:08:10). The next planned event is a "back to school power up" toward the end of the January school holiday break to prepare for 2026 (01:09:00).

• Upcoming GEG Events and Engagement Opportunities Chris Betcher outlined future GEG Camber events, including a Google Meets deep dive in February and a "feed your curiosity" session in May focusing on tools for engaging learning, with plans extending through September. Chris Betcher noted that while many events are online for accessibility, they are seeking schools in the Sydney or CRA regions to host in-person, after-school GEG events to include live gatherings alongside online offerings (01:09:54). Clare Willemse expressed their interest in hosting an event at their school, which has a five-level building (01:11:06).

• Getting Involved and Staying Informed Chris Betcher directed people to the websites ggsydney.com and gegcamber.com for information on upcoming events, background details, and a form to fill out to become a GEG member at no cost (01:11:06). To ensure they receive notifications, Chris Betcher advised members to add the GEG email to their contacts to prevent messages from going to spam. Clare Willemse confirmed that their social media presence is tagged with #ggSydney across platforms including Blue Sky, YouTube, Facebook, Insta, LinkedIn, and Ticky, and encouraged followers to share with others (01:12:01).

• Group Activity and Future Collaborations Clare Willemse, supported by Kelly Hollis, thanked attendees for their support, noting that the GEG had just launched again in June after Edgitech and had now held a few events (01:12:01). Chris Betcher declared the group the "Most active GEG in Australia" (01:12:52). Sharon Cooper expressed that their school might be interested in hosting an event, particularly because they are a reference school and need to do something at least once a year as part of changes to the program. Chris Betcher and Kelly Hollis agreed that this reference school requirement could be a way for the GEG to gain access to more schools and provide support (01:13:49).