How I Used AI to Turn My Study Notes into a Podcast: A Student’s Journey from Illinois

With all the new technology changing education lately, imagine if I told you there's now an AI that can turn your written notes into a full podcast episode. Sounds pretty cool, right? Well, it actually exists!

It's called NotebookLM, developed by Google Labs, and it's changing how students study and remember what they learn for exams. NotebookLM is an AI tool that helps with research and note-taking. One feature that's getting a lot of buzz on social media is called audio overview, which lets you create a podcast from your notes.

Here’s how it works

First, you type your notes into a document and save it as a PDF file. Once you have the PDF on your computer, you upload it to NotebookLM. In just a few minutes, the program takes all your information and turns it into a podcast version of your notes. But it’s not just reading your notes back to you. Instead, the program creates a conversation where AI “hosts” discuss the content of your notes.

After watching so many videos of students using AI to create podcasts for studying, I decided to give it a try. I used notes from an old class about the history of radio broadcasting, and I was surprised by how well it worked! The program sounded like a real conversation between two experienced podcast hosts, making my notes much easier to understand.

This way of studying could really help a lot of students, especially those who learn best by listening. If you’re someone who needs to hear things multiple times to remember them, you can easily replay sections of the podcast.

Plus, you can download the podcast episodes, which makes it simple to fit studying into your busy life. You can listen while you’re in the library, walking between classes, at the gym, or even on your way to campus.

NotebookLM also offers other features, like creating FAQs, study guides, tables of contents, timelines, and summary documents based on your notes. This means you can customize your study materials in the way that works best for you. You can even share your notebooks with friends using a link, which is great for sharing notes in different formats.

The best part? This program is free for everyone, making it a fantastic tool for students! .