Gemini at Work (Staff)

Gemini at Work

This 50-minute hands-on session helps Clark School staff put Google Gemini to work on everyday tasks in Gmail, Docs and Sheets. We start with a quick refresher on UMD’s rules for using AI at work. Then you’ll set up and personalize Gemini with your UMD account, build a reusable Skill with guardrails, and use Gemini on real work: triaging email, turning meeting notes into action items, and checking a spreadsheet. You’ll leave with Gemini set up the way you work, a tested Skill, and a practice plan for the next two weeks. No prior Gemini experience is needed.

Objectives: 

By the end of the workshop, you will be able to:

  1. Decide whether a piece of work data can go into Gemini (Level 2 and below) and apply UMD’s five rules for AI at work.
  2. Set up and personalize Gemini: sign in with your UMD account, connect the Google apps you need, and save standing instructions.
  3. Build a Gemini Skill with written guardrails, then test it with a prompt designed to break it.
  4. Use Gemini in Gmail to summarize a thread, find email that needs a reply, and draft a reply that you review before sending.
  5. Use Gemini in Docs or Sheets on a real task and check the result by hand.
Target Audience: 
Staff
Lab Responsible: 
AI Makerspace
Topics Covered: 
  • UMD data levels and AI rules: what can and can’t go into Gemini
  • Your UMD account vs. a personal Gemini account
  • Gemini settings: connected apps, standing instructions, model choice and chat history
  • The 1,000-use monthly cap and how to make it last
  • Building a Skill: description, instructions, rules and reference text
  • Four layers of guardrails: data, settings, skill rules, and your own review
  • Gemini in Gmail: summaries, triage, Help me write, Refine and Proofread
  • Gemini in Docs and Sheets: turning notes into action items, cleaning and checking data
  • Verifying AI output, and when to disclose AI use
Materials Needed: 
  • A laptop, charged, with Chrome
  • Your UMD (@umd.edu) Google account login and your Duo device
  • Before the session: sign in once at gemini.google.com with your UMD account
  • Optional: 2–3 emails you need to answer and one office document (Level 1 or 2) to work on
  • Provided at the session: slide deck, activity guide with sample files, and a quick-reference handout

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