OKAI GOOkanagan AI Growth Opportunities

Lesson 2 · Projects & notebooks

Projects and Notebooks

Give AI useful context. Save it, test it, and return to it.

Projects and notebooks let you save useful context and return to it across conversations. In this lesson, you will use them for work you expect to come back to, so you do not have to upload the same documents and explain the same background each time.

Why context matters

When you ask AI for help, it needs more than a task. It also needs the information that makes a useful answer possible: who the work is for, what has already been decided, which documents to use, and what a good result looks like. This is context.

Think of preparing an event invitation. The request tells AI what to do. Your event brief supplies the facts, your instructions set the tone, and a template shows the format. Together, they give it a much better starting point.

From context to a checked output Documents, instructions, templates, and resources provide context for an AI conversation. The conversation produces a draft output. You check and refine it, returning to the conversation as needed. CONTEXT Documents Instructions Templates Resources AI conversation Draft output You check and refine Refine
  • A Project is a saved workspace for a continuing body of work. In ChatGPT and Claude, it brings together related conversations, reference files, and instructions about how you want the AI to help.
  • A Notebook is a saved collection of sources you can explore through questions. In this lesson, we will use Gemini Notebooks to understand documents, compare ideas, find information, and develop useful outputs.

The two overlap. A Project can help you learn, and a Notebook can help you plan or draft. Here, we will use a Project to move work forward and a Notebook to understand and refer back to a collection of material.

Saving context does not retrain the underlying AI model or guarantee that every detail will be used. You still need to test the setup and check important answers.

Build and test a Project

Choose a course, committee, event, or other project you are working on. You will create a workspace where you can keep its documents and ask AI to help with the work. Then you will try a task, check the result, and return in a new conversation.

Use your own work or choose one of the supplied examples below.

What you will need

Start with a clear purpose, two or three relevant sources, and a task you can test. Useful sources include a course outline and schedule, meeting notes, a project brief, a style guide, or a template. Add more only when they help with the task.

The supplied example covers managing the OKAI GO learning series. Extract the example ZIP and follow its steps below; do not upload the ZIP or README.

Use ChatGPT or Claude for this activity. Start with the account you already have; the details below explain the file limits and where to find Projects.

Project tools: account limits and setup guides · October 4, 2026

ChatGPT: Projects are available on free and paid plans. Free accounts allow five files per Project; Go and Plus allow 25; Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu allow 40. Chat and upload usage limits still apply. Create a Project from the sidebar, add your files, and use the Project settings to save its instructions. ChatGPT Projects guide

Claude: Free accounts can create up to five Projects, with files and Project instructions. Paid plans support larger document collections through expanded knowledge retrieval; usage limits still apply. Open Projects, create a named workspace, and add its knowledge files and instructions. Claude Projects guide

Menus and availability can vary by account. Paid access can support larger collections or more use, but does not guarantee a reliable answer.

Bring your own: create a Project for your work

Ideas for your Project

Choose something you expect to return to. These examples suggest useful documents and a first task to try. Start with the files you have—you do not need everything listed.

  • Teaching a course: Bring your syllabus, course schedule, learning outcomes, or selected course content. Ask it to help plan an upcoming week or check whether an activity supports the learning outcomes.
  • Running a committee: Bring the terms of reference, recent minutes, and action list. Ask what remains outstanding or what the committee should discuss next.
  • Planning an event: Bring the event plan, budget, room details, and notes from a previous event. Ask what may have been overlooked or request a checklist for the week before the event.
  • Helping a new employee get started: Bring an orientation checklist, department guide, and relevant procedures. Ask what someone should do during their first week or where the instructions disagree.
  • Managing a project: Bring the project brief, meeting notes, and progress reports. Ask what has changed or which unresolved decisions are holding up the work.

Use documents you are permitted to upload, and leave out personal or confidential information.

1. Choose something that would be a useful project for you.

2. Choose your sources. Start with two or three relevant documents or templates. Check their dates and permissions, use recognizable filenames, and leave out outdated duplicates.

3. Create and name the Project. Follow the guide for your tool: Create a Project in ChatGPT or Create a Project in Claude. Add your files to the Project's shared source or knowledge area and confirm that each upload succeeds.

If you would like help as you go, you can also ask ChatGPT or Claude the following. Replace the tool name as needed, and describe what you see if its instructions do not match your screen.

Walk me through creating a Project in the browser version of ChatGPT (or Claude), adding files, and saving Project instructions. Ask what I see if my screen differs.

4. Add Project instructions. These are directions you want AI to follow every time you work in this Project: who the work is for, what help you want, and how responses should be written. For example, a committee Project might ask for short action lists that identify who is responsible for each task.

Write the instructions yourself or ask AI to interview you using one of the options below. Save the finished text in the Project's instructions area so that it applies to later conversations.

Option A — adapt this yourself:

You are my assistant for [body of work]. Help me [main tasks] for [audience].

Use the supplied documents for facts and background. Write in [tone and format]. Follow [named template or guide] when relevant.

Separate confirmed information, proposals, and missing information. Name the source and passage for important claims. If sources disagree, show the difference and ask what needs confirming.

Ask me when missing information would change the result. Do not invent dates, decisions, or completed actions. I will make the final decisions about [decisions or approvals].

Option B — ask AI to help you write the instructions:

Help me write reusable instructions for an AI Project. Ask me one question at a time about the work, who it serves, the sources I will provide, the tasks I need help with, my preferred writing style, and decisions that must stay with me.

When you have enough information, draft concise Project instructions. Flag any assumptions and ask me to review them before I save the final version.

Read the draft carefully. Remove invented responsibilities and rules you do not want. Keep the instructions specific enough to guide the work without turning them into a long manual.

5. Try a real task. Ask for something small, such as an agenda, a short briefing, or a draft message. Explain the audience and purpose. Before reading the answer, name one fact you expect it to get right. Then check that fact and another important claim against your files.

6. Test reuse. The point of saving the background is to use it again without explaining everything from the beginning. Open a fresh conversation inside the same Project and ask for a related output. Check whether it follows the saved instructions and uses the correct information without another upload.

7. Improve the setup. If the answer misses something, decide whether to improve your request, clarify the instructions, or replace a source. Try the task again. Note what you will use this Project for next.

Use the OKAI GO example: manage a workshop series

This example uses the real Okanagan AI Growth Opportunities course for the project. This is a simplified version of what I use to help prepare workshops, explain the series to newcomers, and identify work still to do.

Download the OKAI GO Project example

The pack contains a README, five PDFs, and a Project-instructions file:

  • Program overview: purpose, audience, outcomes, and program commitments.
  • Pathway and schedule: the lesson sequence and the status of scheduled offerings.
  • Developed content: an inventory of existing material and upcoming lessons.
  • Complete Lesson 1 content: the full learner page as a PDF.
  • Lesson 2 working plan: an earlier, dated planning snapshot.
  • Project instructions: the AI's role, source-use rules, and decisions that remain with the instructor.

1. Extract the ZIP and read the README. Create a Project named OKAI GO in ChatGPT or Claude.

2. Save the instructions. Open s2-ocai-go-05-project-instructions.txt and paste its text into the Project instructions area. Read it so you understand what the AI is being asked to do.

3. Add the sources. Begin with the program overview, pathway and schedule, and developed-content PDFs. Add the complete Lesson 1 lesson and Lesson 2 working plan if useful and your account allows it. Do not upload the README as teaching content.

Some documents reflect earlier planning: I have since made decisions or moved on with the lessons they describe. They show how I use a Project, but they are not a fully current account of the series.

4. Try a preparation task:

Using these OCAI GO documents, help me prepare for the next listed workshop after October 1, 2026.

Explain its purpose, what material already exists, and the three most important things still to prepare. Separate confirmed information, tentative plans, and missing information. Name the file and section supporting each important claim.

Do not assume a workshop happened because its date has passed, or that a draft has been approved.

5. Check the answer. Compare it with the schedule and content inventory. Does it preserve tentative bookings and distinguish a draft from finished teaching material? Check whether it notices outdated or conflicting plans.

6. Test a fresh conversation:

Draft a short explanation for someone considering joining the series. Explain who it is for, what they might build, and how they can catch up after missing a session.

Keep it under 150 words. Flag any access or preparation details the documents do not settle. Do not invent attendance requirements or promise a credential.

Create and test a Notebook

You have used a Project to help with a piece of work. Now use a Notebook to explore a collection of material you want to understand or look things up in. You can reuse the sources from your Project to see the difference, or choose another topic.

A Notebook keeps that reference material together so you can return to it with new questions. In this activity, you will add your sources, ask a useful question, and check the answer against the original material.

Getting Started

Choose your own documents or one of the examples below. For your own collection, start with two or three relevant sources; long documents are fine. Add more when they help answer your questions.

Basic setup:

Open Google Notebooks directly. Create a new notebook, name it, and add your files or links as sources.

Wait for uploads to finish and confirm that each source appears without errors. If your screen differs, follow the on-screen instructions; features can vary by account and rollout.

Bring your own: explore a topic or set of documents

1. Pick a topic. Choose something you want to learn about, or work documents you want to keep together for easy access. For example:

  • Learn about growing vegetables in the Okanagan, the history of a place you plan to visit, or how electric vehicles work.
  • Collect readings about a subject you are studying or teaching.
  • Keep your department's procedures, forms, and guides together so you can find information when you need it.
  • Bring together a committee's terms of reference, minutes, and decisions so you can catch up on its work.

2. Select two or three sources to start. Use relevant readings, public guidance, or permitted working documents. Include recognizable titles, dates, and original links. Different perspectives can be useful, but avoid outdated duplicates and unrelated files. Leave out personal or confidential information for this practice activity.

3. Create the Notebook and add the sources. Follow the basic setup above and confirm that each source loads successfully.

4. Ask for an explanation:

I am new to [topic]. Using the sources I have added, explain [question] in plain language. Define unfamiliar terms and give one practical example.

Point to the source and passage behind important claims. Label any example you invent. Tell me when the sources do not answer part of my question.

5. Check and follow up. Find one cited passage in the original document or webpage. Does it support the answer, including any exceptions or qualifications? Ask the Notebook to correct a mismatch, explain a confusing point, or compare two sources.

6. Optional: practise using what you have learned. A Notebook can also help you apply the information to a situation. If you want to check your understanding, try:

Give me one short situation where I would need to use this information. Ask what I would do and why. Wait for my answer, then use the sources to explain what I understood and what I missed.

Save the Notebook and note your next question. You should leave with a checked explanation and a clearer idea of what you still need to learn.

Explore AI and education: compare frameworks

What should teachers and students learn about AI? These sources offer different answers. Use this Notebook to find common ideas, compare the frameworks, and look up examples that relate to your work.

1. Create a Notebook named AI and education.

2. Add these five PDFs. Download each file below, then upload it as a separate source. These are complete publications, not summaries. You do not need to read them all before starting.

3. Add the webpage and video. Paste each link separately using your Notebook's website or YouTube source option, where supported.

The full collection has seven sources: five PDFs, one webpage, and one video. Confirm that each loads successfully. Check an important claim about the video by watching the relevant part yourself. If your Notebook cannot import YouTube, try the written lesson as a webpage source and watch the video separately. Say which sources are missing when asking for a comparison.

4. Compare the frameworks:

Compare the AI and education frameworks in this Notebook. Make a table showing who each framework is for, its purpose, the knowledge and skills it covers, and how it describes progress or different uses of AI.

Then explain three ideas they share and three important differences. Use plain language and cite the source and passage for each point. Keep differences in audience and purpose visible. Do not treat a level of permitted AI use in an assignment as a level of a person's skill.

Use the Discernment video to explain the 4Ds framework, not as a separate framework. Tell me if any source is missing or unreadable.

5. Check one comparison. Open the passages cited from two different frameworks. Do they support the claimed similarity or difference? Check whether the answer has confused different terms for the same idea, or treated two different ideas as equivalent.

Compare what UNESCO's teachers framework, the DEC framework, and the 4Ds say about evaluating AI answers. Show a supporting passage from each, explain what they share, and identify what each adds. If one does not address a point, say so rather than filling the gap.

6. Apply what you find:

I want to help colleagues or students learn to use generative AI. Ask me who they are and what they need it for. Wait for my answer.

Then suggest three things they should learn, drawing on these frameworks. Explain why each matters and suggest a short activity for practising it. Separate your activity suggestions from what the sources actually say, and cite the relevant passages.

Save a comparison you have checked and note one question to return to. These sources address AI more broadly as well as generative AI; check which kind of AI each recommendation concerns.

Before moving on: You should have a saved Notebook, at least one answer you checked against a source, and a useful follow-up question. Share one safe observation about what worked or needed correcting; you do not need to share the underlying documents.

Keep the work reusable

Think about the next time you will need this work. You should be able to find the workspace, recognize what it is for, and tell whether its sources are still current. The questions below will help you decide how you will use it again and what you will need to check.

For each workspace, record four short notes:

  • What useful task did it support?
  • Which original passage did you check, and what did that check show?
  • What decision or action still belongs to a person?
  • When will you use the workspace again, and what source might need replacing?