NotebookLM's Video Overview Now Supports Japanese! The Day AI Becomes a Teacher's Right Hand in the Classroom

Hello everyone! This may be sudden, but some shocking news has just come in. The video overview feature of the AI note-taking app "NotebookLM" provided by Google has finally added support for Japanese!

When I heard this news the other day, I couldn't help but slap my knee and think,
“The day has finally come when AI can easily create useful videos.”
Until now, Google's latest AI features were often released in English first, and we were frequently left waiting for a Japanese rollout. This time, however, it was updated to support Japanese in about a month.
After all, I just wrote an article about this last week.

In this post, I would like to propose specific ways to utilize NotebookLM, exploring the possibilities its Japanese support brings to the educational field. Come on, why not open the door to a new kind of education together with AI?

What exactly is NotebookLM?

Now, some of you may be hearing the name NotebookLM for the first time. To put it simply, it is an AI-powered note-taking app developed by Google. When you upload materials you have (PDFs, Google Docs, web pages, etc.), the AI understands the content, summarizes it, answers questions, and even generates new content—it is truly like having a "smart secretary."
Please refer to the article above for more details.

Shocking! An Era Where You Can Hear Video Overviews in Japanese!

NotebookLM has evolved even further this time.
The "video overview" feature, which was previously mainly in English, has finally added support for Japanese!
The AI creates an audio summary video with slides based on your materials, you know?
And it does so in fluent Japanese!

By using this feature, complex content becomes easier to understand through both sight and sound, which will undoubtedly boost the learning efficiency of children and students significantly.
※Some users may not have access to it yet, but please wait as it will definitely be available to everyone.

Results of Trying It Out

I converted a video that I previously made in English into the Japanese version.

Video from textbook screenshots [6th Grade Social Studies: The Fall of the Edo Shogunate]

It is perfect for summarizing after studying the textbook. It is summarized very clearly.
The content is almost the same as what I made last time, but the level of understanding is several times higher when the screen is displayed in Japanese.

Staff Training Material [Guidelines for the Utilization of Generative AI in Elementary and Secondary Education]

It seems like it could be used as is for staff training materials.
Let's use NotebookLM to turn difficult materials sent from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology or prefectures into videos before holding training sessions.

Let's Prepare for Class

Video from textbook screenshots [6th Grade Social Studies: Genpei War: The Dawn of the Samurai Era]

I made this for home study as a preview of the textbook.
“Read the textbook.”
Isn't this easier to understand than that homework assignment? After all, you don't even have to open the textbook. Also, it only takes about 7 minutes, so it shouldn't be a burden.
In class, you can start from a stage where they already have preliminary knowledge.
Of course, you could also play it again at the beginning of class. (Maybe at 1.5x speed.)

Interesting Teaching Material for Class [History Figure 'Shikujiri Sensei' (Blunder Teacher): Minamoto no Yoshitsune]

In TV dramas, stories, and even history education, "Minamoto no Yoshitsune" has been told as a hero. Not surprisingly, I used to treat "Minamoto no Yoshitsune" as a hero in my Genpei War classes, making him look incredibly cool. I would spend an entire hour on it in class.
However, the more specialized books I read, the more I began to think that was suspicious. Even in the TV drama "The 13 Lords of the Shogun," Yoshitsune's "nonsense" and "blunders" were depicted.
I believe that for history class, “fun is everything,” so I thought it would be interesting to focus on Yoshitsune's blunders.
The hint for this is my favorite program, "Shikujiri Sensei" (Blunder Teacher).
And so, I started working on the creation of "History Figure Shikujiri Sensei: Minamoto no Yoshitsune Edition." (I don't actually have plans to teach it, but I just wanted to make it.)
I used AI to do the research, finished the scriptwriting and audio script generation, and just as I was about to proceed to generating the animation video, the Japanese version of the video overview arrived.
I left the research to NotebookLM (using 'Find Sources'),“Talk about yourself in the style of Shikujiri Sensei,” customized it, and just pressed the button.
The video was completed in just 20 minutes.
And it's so well-made that I find myself thinking, 'What was all my hard work until now for?'

This is also just 8 minutes long.
Rather than the teacher talking, this will likely grab the children's attention better.

Turn materials for staff meetings into videos

Staff meetings where explanations drag on and on.
You hate those, don't you?
To keep them short, you should distribute materials in advance and start the meeting under the assumption that everyone has read them. However, it's always the people who don't have much work to do who make the excuse,
"Sorry, I was busy..."
Well, I have good news for those lazy folks.
What if you could prepare by watching a video instead?
"I don't want to read text, but I'll watch a video."
There are people like that, right?
At the beginning of the first staff meeting in April, I explain about five pages of
"Basic Policy for School Management."I used to spend nearly 30 minutes explaining it. Even I knew it was long, but I tend to get carried away when I'm passionate. Naturally, some people would fall asleep.But with this "video summary" feature, you can be kind to those staff members too.
I tried turning the Basic Policy for School Management into a video.

When you leave it to NotebookLM, a 30-minute explanation becomes just9 minutes.
It even includes visuals and the explanation is easy to understand.
For people who talk or explain things for too long, it's a good idea to make them use this.
In fact, why not turn all meeting materials into videos?

Turning materials for parents into videos

"Entrance Orientation for Parents"I tried feeding the parent handbook directly into NotebookLM.

Without any effort, an 8-minute video was created.
The content is well-summarized, too.
There seem to be various ways to use it, such as having them watch it in advance, at the beginning of the meeting, or after it ends.

How you use it depends on your ideas

"It's like a dream that AI can explain things on behalf of teachers!"
You might think that, but this is already reality.
Teachers will be able to focus on more essential discussions and communication with participants. AI helps improve the quality of training and deepens teachers' learning.

NotebookLM's video summary support for Japanese has the potential to bring major changes to the educational field.
By making good use of AI, teachers can reduce their daily workload and provide more creative, high-quality education.

I have presented a few ideas here, but I am no longer working in the field.
How it can actually be utilized in the educational setting depends on the teachers' ideas.
Let's enjoy the trial and error and share ideas among teachers.