When<\/strong>: Friday, September 18<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where<\/strong>: Room 250, Cabell Library<\/p>\n\n\n\n Time<\/strong>: 10:00am – 2:45pm\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n What to bring: <\/strong>Please bring your charged laptop or tablet to participate in the live exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Credentials: <\/strong>Completing a session earns you an official Google AI Educator Series digital badge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udcda Agenda:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 10:00 -10:45am | Teaching & Learning: Create process-based assessments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In this session, we’ll demonstrate how to use Gemini as a creative partner to generate frameworks and then create rubrics that can be used for evaluation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 11:00 -11:45am | Accelerate Research: Planning the Inquiry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Design a course activity using Deep Research\u2014an agentic feature in Gemini that automates comprehensive research and synthesizes complex, cited literature reviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1:00 – 1:45pm | Teaching & Learning: Create process-based assessments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 2:00 – 2:45pm | Accelerate Research: Planning the Inquiry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u26a1 Action Required Before Arrival:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To ensure a smooth, hands-on experience and enable instant badge issuing on-site, please create your free account and pre-enroll in the program at Google AI Educator Series Portal.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n REGISTER NOW<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To help Higher Education prepare for an AI-driven future, we are hosting the Google AI Educator Series. These interactive, bite-sized workshops bring this vision to life by demonstrating proven practices for leveraging Gemini to elevate teaching and enhance student outcomes in higher education. \ud83d\udcc5 Session Details: When: Friday, September 18 Where: Room 250, Cabell Library […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2250,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ai-resources"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2250"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102\/revisions\/104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":96,"date":"2026-09-01T14:12:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T14:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/?p=96"},"modified":"2026-09-01T14:15:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T14:15:34","slug":"ai-watermarks-what-new-policies-from-anthropic-google-and-adobe-mean-for-vcu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/2026\/09\/01\/ai-watermarks-what-new-policies-from-anthropic-google-and-adobe-mean-for-vcu\/","title":{"rendered":"AI Watermarks: What New Policies from Anthropic, Google, and Adobe Mean for VCU"},"content":{"rendered":"\n In August Anthropic announced<\/a> that all new Claude models will embed watermarks into generated text. This update helps meet European Union AI Act<\/a> requirements, which mandate that AI-generated content be detectable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other major tech companies are rolling out similar tracking methods:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Text watermarks are not visible logos or hidden letters you can highlight and delete. Instead, they make subtle, mathematical tweaks to word choices as the AI generates text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For VCU, this changes how we identify AI content in classrooms and administrative work. A watermark only proves that an AI model processed the text. For example, if a student simply uses AI to proofread or translate their own original writing, it may still trigger a watermark detection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s also worth noting that heavy editing, paraphrasing, or translating AI text can erase these watermarks altogether. And, in keeping with the arms race nature of AI, there are already free watermark removing tools<\/a> out there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n All this is to say that watermarks are indicators<\/em> of origin, rather than absolute proof of origin. As Anthropic explains, “A watermark can only determine that Claude was likely involved with the content at some point. It cannot distinguish ‘Claude wrote this’ from ‘Claude heavily edited this.'”<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In August Anthropic announced that all new Claude models will embed watermarks into generated text. This update helps meet European Union AI Act requirements, which mandate that AI-generated content be detectable. Other GenAI Tool Watermarking Other major tech companies are rolling out similar tracking methods: Why It Matters to Higher Ed Text watermarks are not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2250,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7,6,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ai-emerging-tech-policy","category-ai-resources","category-ai-risks","category-ai-workforce-impacts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2250"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96\/revisions\/100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":85,"date":"2026-07-28T14:37:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T14:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/?p=85"},"modified":"2026-07-28T14:37:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T14:37:30","slug":"risks-of-share-link-features-in-ai-chatbots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/2026\/07\/28\/risks-of-share-link-features-in-ai-chatbots\/","title":{"rendered":"Risks of “Share Link” Features in AI Chatbots"},"content":{"rendered":"\n Shared conversations from major AI platforms using the “anyone with the link can view” option are being indexed by public search engines like Google, according to recent reports.<\/a> When a user generates a shared URL to collaborate, that interaction is hosted on the open web. Search crawlers can discover these URLs, potentially exposing whatever data was included in the prompt and giving anybody access to your chats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Protecting institutional data is vital. Within the VCU community, faculty, staff, students, and researchers often use AI to manage operations, draft communications, and generate and analyze text. The use of native shared links can expose sensitive data or intellectual property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Users must avoid settings that grant open, public access to data. When utilizing the share functionality in AI tools, enabling “anyone with the link can view” can immediately move the data to the public domain and make it indexable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To protect data and maintain institutional compliance, users should utilize VCU-supported platforms like the VCU Google Workspace<\/strong>. Within this environment, users can share information securely with specific colleagues using a VCU eID, ensuring data remains within the university’s protected ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next Steps:<\/strong> Review any past links generated in consumer AI tools and remove those sharing permissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We strongly recommend conducting university business within Category 2<\/strong> tools like VCU’s licensed Gemini, which have a Data Protection Agreement (DPA) in place. Even within a Category 2 tool, keep your inputs limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn more about appropriate data types with our Data Classification Tool<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Shared conversations from major AI platforms using the “anyone with the link can view” option are being indexed by public search engines like Google, according to recent reports. When a user generates a shared URL to collaborate, that interaction is hosted on the open web. Search crawlers can discover these URLs, potentially exposing whatever data […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2250,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ai-emerging-tech-policy","category-ai-risks","category-google-gemini-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2250"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85\/revisions\/90"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":80,"date":"2026-07-10T16:51:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T16:51:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/?p=80"},"modified":"2026-07-10T16:52:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T16:52:36","slug":"delete-and-temporary-chat-now-available-in-vcu-gemini","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/2026\/07\/10\/delete-and-temporary-chat-now-available-in-vcu-gemini\/","title":{"rendered":"Delete and Temporary Chat Now Available in VCU Gemini"},"content":{"rendered":"\n Google has updated Gemini within VCU\u2019s licensed environment, introducing new features that allow users to delete specific chats and work in “Temporary Chat” mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These features enhance the usability of VCU\u2019s licensed Gemini environment, which remains a data Category 2 tool. As always, within this university-supported environment, user data is protected and not used for model training. VCU users can access these features by signing in to Gemini with their VCU eID or via the app menu in their VCU Google Workspace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Users can now remove individual conversation threads from their “Recent” activity list, decluttering the workspace after completing a task or for removing specific discussions. To delete a chat, users can locate the conversation in the left-hand sidebar, hover over the title to reveal the options menu (represented by three dots), and select the delete\/trash icon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Figure 1 (Above):<\/strong> Visual guide to the new chat management controls. The left panel demonstrates how to locate the ‘Delete chat’ icon within the specific chat options menu. The right panel shows the location and function of the ‘Temporary chat’ toggle switch.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The new “Temporary Chat” feature provides a way to interact with the model without saving the conversation to history. When activated, Gemini will not remember previous prompts from that session once the window is closed, and the conversation will not appear in the “Recent” list. This is ideal for quick, one-off inquiries or brainstorming sessions that do not require documentation. The toggle for Temporary Chat can be found near the user profile or settings menu within the Gemini interface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These new controls offer practical benefits across various VCU functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instructors can use Temporary Chat for rapid-fire exploration of potential exam questions or alternative assignment phrasing without cluttering their saved prompts. Deletion allows for the removal of practice sessions after a final version is established in a separate document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Research teams can use Temporary Chat for quick literature reconnaissance or keyword brainstorming. Deletion helps manage distinct research project threads, allowing users to remove exploratory conversations once they have served their purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Staff can utilize Temporary Chat for drafting short, non-sensitive communications (like a quick routine email) or generating a meeting agenda outline. Deletion provides a method for tidying up recurring administrative workflows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These controls empower faculty, staff, and students to handle short-term tasks more efficiently, while maintaining the data security standards of VCU’s licensed Category 2 environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Google has updated Gemini within VCU\u2019s licensed environment, introducing new features that allow users to delete specific chats and work in “Temporary Chat” mode. These features enhance the usability of VCU\u2019s licensed Gemini environment, which remains a data Category 2 tool. As always, within this university-supported environment, user data is protected and not used for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2250,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-google-gemini-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2250"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80\/revisions\/83"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":74,"date":"2026-04-24T19:14:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T19:14:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/?p=74"},"modified":"2026-07-31T17:08:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T17:08:22","slug":"gemini-gems-one-of-the-more-practical-ai-features-in-vcus-licensed-gemini-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/2026\/04\/24\/gemini-gems-one-of-the-more-practical-ai-features-in-vcus-licensed-gemini-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Gemini Gems – One of the More Practical AI Features in VCU\u2019s Licensed Gemini Environment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n Gemini Gems are customized versions of Gemini that can be tailored for a specific role, task, or workflow. Gems are useful because they move AI beyond one-off experimentation and into repeatable practice. In VCU\u2019s licensed Gemini environment, which is a data Category 2 tool<\/a>, Gems offer a practical way to save time, improve consistency, and support recurring work across teaching, research, and operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n VCU users can access Gemini by signing in at Gemini with their VCU eID or via the app menu in their VCU Google Workspace. Within this university-supported environment, user data is protected and not used for model training. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once inside Gemini, Gems can be found through the \u201cExplore Gems\u201d area of the web app. Users select \u201cNew Gem,\u201d give it a name, and write instructions that define what the Gem should do. The strongest Gems are specific rather than broad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The video below features Gem creator Lisa Huang and gets into the weeds of developing powerful Gems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Other GenAI Tool Watermarking<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
Why It Matters to Higher Ed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Why This Matters at VCU<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Risk to Avoid<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Preferred Workflow for Secure Collaboration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1489\/2026\/07\/image.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nDeleting Specific Chats<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1489\/2026\/07\/Gemini_Generated_Image_xakotuxakotuxako-1024x559.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nTemporary Chat Mode<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
General Use Cases<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
For Teaching<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
For Research<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
For Organizational Tasks<\/h4>\n\n\n\n