Getting Started (FAQ)

AI literacy refers to the foundational knowledge and skills needed to understand, interact with, and critically evaluate artificial intelligence tools and their impact. It includes knowing what AI is, how it works at a high level, its potential benefits, and its ethical considerations.

AI literacy helps students, faculty, and staff use AI tools effectively while recognizing their limitations and ethical implications. In higher education, it supports academic integrity, enhances learning experiences, and prepares students for careers in a technology-driven world.

USD faculty, staff, and students are approved to use generative AI tools provided under the university’s secure Google Workspace for Education license. These include Google Gemini (Web/App, Canvas, Live) for brainstorming, drafting, and collaboration, Gems for creating custom AI workflows, and Notebook LM Plus for research and writing support using only uploaded sources. All these tools operate within USD’s enterprise-grade, FERPA-compliant environment that protects user data and does not use prompts for model training.

In addition, USD supports Zoom’s AI-powered features, such as real-time and post-meeting summaries, smart recording with highlights, searchable transcripts, and AI-generated notes, as well as Instructional Media Services’ AI-enabled audio, video, and imaging tools available at the Media Lab. These approved tools ensure that the university community can benefit from AI responsibly, securely, and in alignment with academic integrity and privacy standards.

See USD’s Proper AI Use tools for more information about these products.

All faculty, staff and students are highly encouraged to complete AI@USD: Introduction to AI Literacy course. This 20 minute learning module provides critical information on how to use generative AI tools appropriately for academic and professional work. In addition, we provide face to face training for faculty. Along with job aids and resources on how to get started the suite of Gemini tools offered through our education workspace.

All these resources are located at the AI@USD website.

Yes, you can use Google Gemini and other USD-approved generative AI tools for your academic work, as long as you follow your instructor’s guidelines and the university’s academic integrity policies. These tools can help you brainstorm ideas, organize notes, draft outlines, and summarize materials, but they should serve as a support tool, not a substitute for your own thinking and writing.

You should cite and disclose any generative AI tools you use in your academic work the same way you would acknowledge other sources, like books or websites. If you use tools such as Google Gemini, Notebook LM, or Grammarly to brainstorm ideas, summarize material, or polish your writing, include a clear note in your assignment (for example, in a footnote, acknowledgments section, or references list) describing which tool you used and how it contributed.

Follow the citation style required by your instructor or discipline — for example, APA now offers guidance for citing AI-generated content. Being transparent helps maintain academic integrity, allows your instructor to understand your process, and shows that you’ve used AI responsibly as a supplement to your own work.

Hallucinations are instances when an AI tool—like Google Gemini—produces information that is false, misleading, or entirely fabricated, even though it appears confident and convincing. For example, an AI might invent a citation for a research article that doesn’t exist or give an incorrect definition of a concept. These errors happen because AI models generate responses by predicting patterns in language, not by verifying facts.

Hallucinations can impact your academic work by introducing inaccurate data, unreliable citations, or misleading explanations into your assignments. To avoid these issues, always double-check AI-generated content against trusted sources such as textbooks, peer-reviewed articles, or the library’s databases, and verify all citations before including them. Remember that AI is a helpful support tool, but you remain responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the work you submit.

All faculty, staff and students have access to the following:

• Gemini Web/App: Chat with Gemini directly, analyze Gmail and Drive content, and access AI support trained on learning science and pedagogy.
• Gemini Canvas & Gemini Live: Collaborate in shared spaces for drafting, brainstorming, and group editing.
• Gems: Create and share custom AI workflows (similar to custom GPTs) for personalized learning or productivity tasks.
• NotebookLM Plus: Organize readings, notes, and course materials into connected “notebooks” for deeper study and research support.

USD’s Zoom license includes several AI-powered features designed to make meetings, lectures, and study sessions more efficient and accessible. Zoom’s AI Companion provides real-time or post-meeting summaries, highlights, and key takeaways so you don’t miss important points. Use features like…

• Smart Recording with Highlights: Automatically generates chapters, highlights, and searchable transcripts for recorded classes or meetings.
• Notes: Joins meetings as a virtual participant to capture notes, summarize discussions, and assign tasks.
• Smart Chat Summaries: Compiles in-meeting chat messages into concise summaries so key details aren’t lost.

At USD, we use Google Workspace for Education because it provides secure tools for email, file storage, and collaboration. The system is set up to protect your information under USD’s privacy policies and meets important standards such as FERPA and GDPR, which help keep student and employee data safe.

Gemini integrates directly with Gmail, Google Drive, Canvas, and other Workspace apps, making it easier to use their generative AI tools while also keeping your information private. All use of Gemini at USD is supported by ITS, ensuring that data is handled responsibly and stays within the university’s secure system.

No. When using Google Workspace for Education, your customer data is not used to train or improve the underlying generative AI and LLMs that power Gemini, Search, and other systems outside of Google Workspace without permission. And prompts entered when interacting with tools like Gemini are not used without permission beyond the context of that specific user session.

NotebookLM is a Google Workspace AI tool available at USD that acts like a virtual research and study assistant. Instead of pulling information from the internet, it works only with the documents, notes, readings, or files that you upload. This means it can summarize, explain, or organize material based on your own trusted sources, helping you focus on what’s most relevant for your course or project.

For teaching and learning, Notebook LM offers several benefits. It can help students organize class readings, create study guides, and generate summaries or key points from their uploaded materials. Faculty can use it to analyze course documents, prepare lecture notes, or create questions and discussion prompts. Because it’s part of USD’s secure Google Workspace, Notebook LM keeps data private and provides accurate, source-grounded answers, reducing the risk of misinformation common in public AI tools.