Back to Blog

You Built a Google Gem. Here's How to Make It Actually Good — Then Share It

If you've built a Google Gem before, you know the first version is rarely great. It's close, but the tone's a bit off, it forgets your year level, or it keeps giving you six options when you asked for two. That's normal — a Gem isn't "done" the day you create it, it's done after two or three rounds of refining. Most teachers stop after round one and wonder why it feels generic.

Here's how to fix that, and how to get it in front of your whole team once it's actually good.

Step 1: Run it, then read it like a critic

Don't just glance at the output and move on. Ask yourself three questions every time:

  • Did it sound like me, or like a template?
  • Did it actually use the context I gave it, or ignore half of it?
  • What would I have to edit before I could use this as-is?

Whatever you'd edit — that's your next instruction to add.

Step 2: Update the instructions, don't start a new chat

Go back into your Gem's setup (Gemini → Gems → your Gem → edit) and add to the instructions field directly. Don't just correct it in the chat window — that fix disappears next session. Some examples of refinements that make a real difference:

"Keep feedback comments under 40 words. Never start a sentence with 'This student.' Use their first name."

"When I give you a rubric, mark against it exactly — don't add extra criteria I didn't mention."

"Write in NZ English (organise, not organize). Avoid American phrases like 'grade' — use 'mark' or 'assess.'"

Small, specific corrections like these compound fast. After three or four rounds, the difference between your first draft and the refined version is night and day.

Step 3: Test it on an edge case before you trust it

Before you call it finished, throw it a tricky example — your weakest writer, your most complex behaviour referral, your most confusing rubric. If it holds up there, it'll hold up everywhere.

Step 4: Share it with your department

This is the step most teachers skip, and it's the one with the biggest payoff. One good Gem, shared properly, saves your whole team the hours you just spent refining it.

To share a Gem in Google Workspace for Education:

  1. Open the Gem, click the share icon in the top corner.
  2. Choose specific people (your syllabus team, your Dean group) or anyone in your school domain if your admin allows it.
  3. Add a short note explaining what it's for and one example prompt to get them started — don't make colleagues guess.
  4. Pin it in your team's shared drive or Slack/Teams channel so it doesn't get lost in someone's inbox.

A shared Gem works best when it's narrow. "Year 9 Maths Marking Assistant" gets used. "General Teaching Helper" gets opened once and forgotten. Build for one specific, repeated task — feedback comments, referral write-ups, differentiated worksheet variants — and your team will actually reach for it on a Tuesday afternoon, not just admire it once.

Have a go — the worst that happens is you spend ten minutes refining something you were going to use anyway.

TeachSmarterAI helps New Zealand teachers use AI tools effectively. New posts every week.