TL;DR
What did u/Crisper77 use NotebookLM for?
With course materials that often weren't enough, a student uploaded each lecture video for a subject into NotebookLM, dated and in order, so the transcript and explanations of everything the professor said were easy to search. They say the transcription, while not perfect, is good enough, and they have everything the professor said easily at hand. In one course it could output whole proofs from audio alone, though the professor tended to say passages aloud while writing them.
What they did
They import each lecture recording of a subject into one notebook in order, with dates. They upload the video as is, or convert it to MP3 first if it's over 200 MB, and NotebookLM transcribes it. The recordings are ones the university makes downloadable to students on its official platform.
How it went
They say the transcription, while not perfect, is good enough, and they have everything the professor said easily at hand. In one course it could output whole proofs from audio alone, though the professor tended to say passages aloud while writing them.
Worth knowing
- Commenters stress that lectures are the professor's material, so check your university's rules or ask before uploading. Blackboard-only content can be missed because the tool 'listens' rather than 'sees'. One commenter suggests transcribing long lectures to text first for accuracy.
Try it yourself
Paste this into a chatbot, then add your own details underneath.
Using only the lecture recordings in this notebook, make a study guide for [topic]: the key definitions in the professor's words, every example worked through in class, anything the professor said would be on the exam, and the date of the lecture each point came from. Flag anything where the transcript looks unclear.
More people who did this
- u/js-sey (Reddit, Jul 23, 2026): Does the same for a biology degree, reads NotebookLM's detailed summary alongside rewatching each lecture, then has it make flashcards for active recall.
Original post
See u/Crisper77's original post on Reddit → (Jul 23, 2026)
Sources
- u/Crisper77 on Reddit, Jul 23, 2026 — the original post