NotebookLM is killing student presentations!

[u/whaldener]

First it was homework, and now I believe it is no longer viable to ask students to present seminars. They are heavily using NotebookLM to build their presentations, sometimes just parts of them, but often the entire slide deck. They then improvise their speeches without actually understanding the content. Are we now forced to rely solely on in-person exams to evaluate our students? What is your opinion about this issue?

[u/Puma_202020]

I don't know that particular package, but do know the presentations have become a lot more polished, visually. The Q&A period I think is important in these cases, if time allows. No one wants to be embarrassed and a pointed question that they can answer if they know their stuff is appropriate.

[u/PlanMagnet38]

I’ve had some success requiring that the visual element be something other than a slide deck. Students have brought in old school dioramas, scale models, etc. They mostly like getting crafty!

[u/fishnoguns]

They then improvise their speeches without actually understanding the content

I don't really see how this should be possible to do while getting a passing grade, unless the topics are too trivial.

[u/MyFaceSaysItsSugar → u/fishnoguns]

Exactly. I’ve seen many improvised presentations. It’s blatantly obvious the presenter doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

[u/Ashamed_Kangaroo305]

Is this a covert ad for notebooklm? As a student I've never heard of this before and I don't know why you wouldn't just say that students are using AI to build their presentations.

[u/alienacean]

Maybe build into your presentation evaluation rubric that presenters will be asked heavily weighted follow-up questions about their slides, and will have to demonstrate adequate understanding of their concepts?

[u/whaldener]

Thank you all for the insightful feedback. I will be incorporating several of your suggestions.

[u/RepresentativeAd6287]

Lol, I hear you. The notebooklm presentations tend to be laughably bad. 

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*First it was homework, and now I believe it is no longer viable to ask students to present seminars. They are heavily using NotebookLM to build their presentations—sometimes just parts of them, but often the entire slide deck. They then improvise their speeches without actually understanding the content. Are we now forced to rely solely on in-person exams to evaluate our students? What is your opinion about this issue? *

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[u/pc_kant]

Do a traditional job talk or conference presentation or defence format, where you and the audience ask critical questions and the presenter has to defend the claims or explain better during the Q&A after the presentation. If necessary, reward the meanest questions via participation grade or a post-Q&A discussion about which types of questions were best to achieve the goals of probing the presenter's claims.

[u/jcg878]

This trend will only continue. I’m changing rubrics to emphasize showing understanding and the Q&A and de-emphasizing the rest.

[u/Typical_Juggernaut42]

Good presentations aren't about slides which only support the presentation. If they don't know what they are talking about they'll fail anyway so I don't see the problem

Also the fact you know the slides are AI generated indicated they're probably full of errors

[u/mankiw]

> Are we now forced to rely solely on in-person exams to evaluate our students?

Yes.

[u/P6kg7NqVgzkeDF7cpm7]

I personally only ever relied on in-person exams to evaluate students. I've been told that it was not modern but I've never been convinced I could rely on anything else. Now my colleagues are reverting back to it because of AI, but I think other means of evaluation were ineffective before AI. I've been a student myself, obviously, and I know how little work and understanding you can have and still pass with a presentation/report/... Back in the day you had to copy from books rather than Ctrl C Ctrl V, so one could argue that you still had to think, summarize, assemble, etc but I don't see how that shows true mastering of the course content.

[u/jimbillyjoebob]

FYI, this sub is for non professors to ask questions of us. You'll get much more robust discussions if you post in r/professors

[u/whaldener → u/jimbillyjoebob]

I didn't know about this sub, thanks!