Exploring Google's NotebookLM: Reviewing the Evidence Around Phonics

This blogpost aims to show teachers and those interested in reading outcomes how one can use Google's new NotebookLM to create and digest relevant information.

By ReadingWise team on

Google’s new NotebookLM is turning heads (perhaps more 'pricking ears') with its innovative features. Its ability to create podcast-style audio files, transforming static notes into a dynamic, spoken-word format, is quite impressive. I've put this to the test by using the familiar topic of 'the effectiveness of phonics instruction in reading development.'

Process

The whole process took less than 15 minutes. I first asked ChatGPT to identify the top 10 most cited studies on the impact of phonics teaching in primary education. This is the list it came up with:

  1. National Reading Panel (2000), "Teaching Children to Read"
  2. Rose, J. (2006), "Independent Review of the Teaching of Early Reading"
  3. Torgerson, C., Brooks, G., & Hall, J. (2006), "Systematic Review of Phonics in Reading and Spelling"
  4. Johnston, R.S., & Watson, J. (2005), "The Effects of Synthetic Phonics Teaching on Reading and Spelling Attainment"
  5. Walker, M., et al. (2015), "Phonics Screening Check Evaluation: Final Report"
  6. Suggate, S.P. (2010), "Meta-Analysis on Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Instruction"
  7. Hatcher, P.J., Hulme, C., & Snowling, M.J. (2004), "Explicit Phoneme Training with Phonics Reading Instruction"
  8. Seidenberg, M. (2017), "Language at the Speed of Sight"
  9. Mullis, I.V.S., et al. (2017), "PIRLS 2016 International Results in Reading"
  10. Torgerson, C., Brooks, G., & Hall, J. (2018), "Phonics: Reading Policy and Evidence of Effectiveness"

What do you think of that list?

I then downloaded these studies. Seven were readily available, the others would have required a little more time so I skipped them. (The aim here is testing NotebookLM rather than a rigorous review).

Next step was to upload these documents into NotebookLM. Note that you could add links to youtube vidoes, your own handwritten notes, audio files...

From Research to Audio: The Magic of NotebookLM

Once the documents were uploaded, NotebookLM created a "Briefing Document" (an option readily available with one click). NotebookLM generated a short briefing that covered some findings and implications of the research. You can read the first page of this two-page summary by clicking the button below.

Briefing Doc: Reading Development and Instruction


The Highlight

Now the feature that is really making people take notice. The audio feature. In a few minutes NotebookLM produced this 20-minute 'discussion' of the research and evidence.

Do have a play around, skip ahead, digest how students might use this to reinforce their learning...

Read the transcript here

Conclusion

NotebookLM is pushing the boundaries of traditional note-taking. The author of NotebookLM, Steven Johnson, has kept 8,000 quotations from books he has read since the 90's. He has integrated these quotations into NotebookLM and can now interrogate his own understanding of the world.

You can listen to him discuss Notebook in this entertaining podcast on youtube - recommended.

Arrange your 20-minute demo at a time to suit you.

Arrange your demo

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