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AI Goes to CollegeAuthor: Craig Van Slyke
Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) has taken higher education by storm. Higher ed professionals need to find ways to understand and stay up with developments in GAI. AI Goes to College helps higher ed professionals learn about the latest developments in GAI, how these might affect higher ed, and what they can do in response. Each episode offers insights about how to leverage GAI, and about the promise and perils of recent advances. The hosts, Dr. Craig Van Slyke and Dr. Robert E. Crossler are an experts in the adoption and use of GAI and understanding its impacts on various fields, including higher ed. Language: en Genres: Education, Technology Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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Human-AI Collaboration: Outsourcing vs Offloading and the Rise of Co-Produced Cognition
Episode 30
Monday, 2 February, 2026
Recording from the Deep Freeze: Craig broadcasts from snow-covered north Louisiana (running on generator and Starlink!), where AI helped him MacGyver a propane tank solution involving ratchet straps, a plastic bucket, and a shop light. Welcome to the wild world of practical AI applications.Featured TopicsOboe.com: The Future of Self-Directed Learning?Craig and Rob explore Oboe (oboe.com), a free AI-powered platform that creates customized courses on virtually any topic in minutes. Craig demonstrates by building a course on AI agents, and Rob becomes his first student. The hosts discuss:How the platform auto-generates quizzes with reasonable multiple-choice options and helpful feedbackThe potential to revolutionize textbook accessibility with low-cost or no-cost alternativesUsing Oboe to supplement existing textbooks (like adding blockchain content to their own textbook)The limitations: shallow sourcing and need for instructor vettingCredit to the AI and I podcast from Every.to (makers of Lex.page) for the discoverySecurity First: The Moltbot WarningNot all that glitters is AI gold. Rob raises important concerns about new tools like Moltbot that can automate processes but may introduce security vulnerabilities. Key takeaway: Educators must apply the same critical thinking they expect from students when evaluating new AI tools for classroom use.Craig's Three-Stage Hierarchy: A Framework for Human-AI InteractionThe centerpiece discussion introduces Craig's developmental model for understanding how we work with AI:Cognitive Outsourcing - AI does the task for you (the "easy" but often problematic approach)Cognitive Offloading - AI handles specific components while you maintain controlCo-Produced Cognition - True collaborative thinking that produces outcomes neither human nor AI could achieve aloneCraig shares his experience co-writing with Claude, comparing it to the collaborative process of updating their textbook with co-author Franz. The magic: AI enables 24/7 expert-level collaboration that would be impossible with humans alone.The Big Idea: This hierarchy should guide our teaching. Rather than telling students to "think critically" (a vague catchall), educators should actively move students from outsourcing toward co-produced cognition, where AI's power truly unlocks.Geeking Out on AffordancesCraig unpacks how AI is fundamentally "a bundle of affordances" - potential uses that only matter when actualized. Using the metaphor of a rock (hammer? erosion control? weapon? stepladder?), he explains:The same AI tool can be used to cheat on an assignment or to write a meaningless email nobody will readWhat matters isn't just what AI can do, but which affordances we choose to actualize
