180 Questions, Two Hours, Proctored. I Studied in the Car.

I just got certified as an HOA manager after a proctored 180-question exam. I turned my course PDFs into audio and studied on the drive. Here is how, and what Google's tool is called now.

I just got certified as an HOA manager. The exam was 180 questions over two hours, proctored, and there was no looking anything up. There was a long gap between my classes and the test, so I forgot most of it and had to relearn all of it.

I'm an audio learner, and I drive all day. Instead of listening to something mindless in the car, I turned my course PDFs into a podcast. I listened to it all weekend, and I did well on the test.

The tool is Google's NotebookLM. Google renamed it Gemini Notebook in July 2026, and the class page uses that name now, so you'll see both here. It's free to start with a Gmail account.

## How I set it up

You make a notebook and add your sources. Mine were the PDFs from the course. Then you tell it what you want. In class I said it plainly: "just make me an audio overview of this material." You don't need a special prompt.

I asked for a podcast format. Downtime in the car used to be wasted time, and now it's study time. It was entertaining enough that I kept it on the whole weekend.

## Free, and what the limits are

Google's plan page says the free tier costs nothing to start and lists the limits on notebooks and sources. Those limits are marked as subject to change, and the daily audio overview allowance is set by Google, so don't build a study schedule around a single number. Check the plan page before you plan a week of listening.

## Privacy, briefly

Google's Gemini privacy page says files you add as a source are not used directly to train its generative AI models. Chats are different. They follow your Keep Activity setting, and Google says chats can be used to improve Gemini with help from human reviewers.

So keep client names, addresses and financial details out of your notebooks. Use course material, not client files.

Every tool from the class, with its link and free notes, is on one page: huntermason.com/ai20.

Tony Self

Harcourts Hunter Mason Realty, CA DRE 01906720

Sources (checked October 28, 2026. These pages change, so check them before you rely on them):

• Google, Learn about Gemini Notebook's plans: https://support.google.com/gemininotebook/answer/16213268

• Google, Gemini Notebook Help: https://support.google.com/notebooklm/answer/16269187

• Google, Gemini Apps Privacy Hub: https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/13594961

• Android Authority, on the July 2026 rename: https://www.androidauthority.com/gemini-notebook-3688235/

Google, NotebookLM and Gemini are trademarks of Google LLC. This post is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google.