Week 13 — Readings & Resources · Claude Cowork III: Scheduled Tasks, Dispatch & Automation

Course: Using Artificial Intelligence (AI 101) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Quinn
Objective covered: Objective 6 — Automate real tasks with scheduled tasks and dispatch.

How to use this page

Everything here is a link to an external resource — open it in your browser. Nothing is downloaded. The official Anthropic documentation links are the primary resources for this week — they are the authoritative source for every Cowork feature claim, and they are what you will cite in your Studio and assignment.

This week's load: 2 official Anthropic doc articles (required for the Studio and quiz) + 2 supporting readings + 1 broader context piece. Total time: roughly 30–45 minutes depending on how much you explore. Read the two official docs thoroughly; the rest can be skimmed for context.

Order that matches the lecture: ① scheduled tasks (the core feature) → ② dispatch (cross-device background work) → ③ safe use of agentic tools → ④ broader context: push technology and the automation future.

① Scheduled Tasks — Official Anthropic Documentation (required)

Maps to Lecture Segments 2–3. This is the authoritative source for every claim about when scheduled tasks run and how to create them. Read it before the Studio.

Article — "Schedule recurring tasks in Claude Cowork" (Anthropic Help Center)
🔗 https://support.claude.com/en/articles/13854387-schedule-recurring-tasks-in-claude-cowork
Why it's required: this is the primary official source for Week 13's load-bearing fact: scheduled tasks only run while your computer is awake and the Claude desktop app is open. It also covers both paths for creating a scheduled task (/schedule and the Scheduled sidebar), the cadence options, and how to manage tasks. Every quiz item and Studio step on scheduled tasks traces back to this article.
⏱ ~10 min (read thoroughly)

② Dispatch — Official Anthropic Documentation (required)

Maps to Lecture Segment 5. Dispatch is the cross-device background-work feature. This article explains what it is, how it differs from a scheduled task, the requirements, and the safety considerations.

Article — "Assign tasks from anywhere in Claude Cowork" (Anthropic Help Center)
🔗 https://support.claude.com/en/articles/13947068-assign-tasks-from-anywhere-in-claude-cowork
Why it's required: the only authoritative source for how dispatch works — the persistent cross-device thread, the push notification model, the requirement for both the desktop and mobile apps, and the current limitation that your desktop must be awake. Pay attention to the Safety considerations section.
⏱ ~8 min (read thoroughly)

③ Safe Use of Claude Cowork (recommended)

Maps to Lecture Segments 4 and 8. Safe-use guidance for agentic tools — relevant every time you give an AI the ability to take actions, especially automated ones.

Article — "Use Claude Cowork safely" (Anthropic Help Center)
🔗 https://support.claude.com/en/articles/13364135-use-claude-cowork-safely
Why it's here: as automations become more capable — reading your files, sending messages, interacting with connected apps — understanding where the approval checkpoints belong becomes more important. This article gives Anthropic's official safe-use guidance. Skimming the approval and permissions sections is enough for this week; Week 14 goes deeper on safety for computer use and browser automation.
⏱ ~8 min (skim)

④ Broader Context — The Claude Cowork Get Started Guide (background)

Maps to the whole Cowork unit. If you want to see the full picture of how scheduled tasks and dispatch fit within Cowork, the get-started guide is the canonical overview.

Article — "Get started with Claude Cowork" (Anthropic Help Center)
🔗 https://support.claude.com/en/articles/13345190-get-started-with-claude-cowork
Why it's here: this is the master Cowork reference — projects, connected folders, tasks, scheduling, and dispatch are all introduced here. You've seen it referenced in Weeks 11 and 12; this week it provides context for how scheduling and dispatch fit into the larger picture. Skim the sections on scheduling and dispatch; you've read the detailed articles above.
⏱ ~8 min (skim)

⑤ Context: the Automation Future (optional background)

Maps to Lecture Segment 8. If you want to read more about where AI automation is going — and why the trust boundary matters — these are good starting points.

Claude Cowork product page (Anthropic)
🔗 https://claude.ai/cowork
Why it's here: the product page describes what Cowork is at a high level, which is useful for explaining it to people who haven't used it. Quick read.
⏱ ~5 min

Pick-one quick path (≈18 min total)

In a hurry? Read these two and you'll be ready for the quiz and the Studio:
1. Read "Schedule recurring tasks in Claude Cowork" (group ①) — the load-bearing constraint is here.
2. Read "Assign tasks from anywhere in Claude Cowork" (group ②) — covers dispatch.

Heads-up (links rot): these point to official Anthropic support articles that may be updated or reorganized as the product evolves. If a link ever fails, search for the article title at support.claude.com. Nothing here is downloaded or redistributed — all resources stay as links to their original sources. For Claude/Cowork features specifically, the official documentation is the only authoritative source; if any other source (including an AI assistant) conflicts with it, trust the official doc.