Course: Using Artificial Intelligence (AI 101) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Quinn
Module: Week 13 of 16 · Fall 2026 · in-person, two 75-minute sessions
Objective covered: Objective 6 — Automate real tasks with scheduled tasks and dispatch, and operate cross-app workflows safely.

This file holds two pieces: (A) the Module 13 Overview page ("Start Here") and (B) the Week 13 Announcement. Week 13 begins Mon Nov 23 (Thanksgiving week — campus closed Thu Nov 26 and Fri Nov 27); lectures meet Mon Nov 23 and Tue Nov 24 only. All work is due Sunday Nov 29, 11:59 p.m.

(A) Module 13 Overview — Start Here

Welcome to Week 13: AI That Works While You Don't

This is your home base for Week 13. Read it first, then work the checklist from top to bottom.

You've spent three weeks building on the Claude Cowork platform: Week 11 introduced you to what an agent is, how to set up projects and connected folders, and how to run tasks that read and write your files. Week 12 added skills, connectors (MCP), live artifacts, and plugins. This week we cross a new line — instead of you starting the work, Claude starts it for you.

Scheduled tasks are Cowork tasks set to run automatically on a recurring or one-time basis. You describe the task once — a morning study briefing, a weekly digest of your notes, a reminder to review flashcards — and Claude delivers the output on your schedule. That's the promise. But there's a critical constraint that every real Cowork user has to know, and that the quiz will test you on: scheduled tasks only run while your computer is awake and the Claude desktop app is open. If your computer is asleep at the scheduled time, the task is skipped until you wake it up.

Dispatch is the companion feature: a persistent cross-device thread where you can assign Cowork work from your phone or desktop, step away, and receive the finished output when Claude is done — with a push notification. Same underlying constraint applies: your desktop must be awake and the app must be open for the work to happen.

The week's big question

"What does it mean to trust AI to act on a schedule — and what do you need to know before you set it and walk away?"

By Sunday you'll be able to create a scheduled task, explain exactly when it will and won't run, explain what dispatch is and how it differs from a regular Cowork chat, and catch an AI that over-promises what scheduled tasks can do.

By the end of this week, you can…

• [ ] Create a scheduled task in Cowork using /schedule or the Scheduled sidebar, with the correct cadence and prompt.
• [ ] State the awake-and-app-open constraint accurately — and explain what happens when a scheduled run is skipped.
• [ ] Explain dispatch — what it is, how it differs from a normal Cowork session, and which plans it requires.
• [ ] Catch an AI over-promising on scheduled task behavior, and correct it by citing the official documentation.
• [ ] Evaluate an automation plan for flaws — including unrealistic reliability assumptions — and propose fixes.

What's due this week, and when

All work due Sunday Nov 29, 11:59 p.m. (Thanksgiving week — plan ahead).

Reminder: you are required to use AI on the tutorial, discussion, assignment, practice, and Studio — that's the point. AI is not allowed on Quiz 13, which checks that you personally understand the constraints. Every week you catch the AI's mistakes — this week's catch is an AI claiming your scheduled task will run even if the computer is asleep.

Late policy: 10% off per day. Thanksgiving travel is predictable — plan ahead and reach out before the deadline if you need to.

How to succeed this week

• Learn the constraint first. The most important sentence in this week's documentation is: scheduled tasks run only while your computer is awake and the Claude desktop app is open. Lock that in before the quiz.
• Run the Studio early. Configuring an actual scheduled task (or designing one carefully if you don't yet have a paid plan) takes time; don't do it at 11 p.m. on Sunday.
• Catch the AI. When you ask an AI to help you configure a scheduled task, watch what it says about reliability. It may over-promise. That catch is the Studio's required verification step.
• Read the official docs. This week's readings link directly to Anthropic's support documentation for scheduling and dispatch — the only authoritative source for these feature details.

(B) Welcome Announcement — Module 13

Release setting: post on the module's start day, Mon Nov 23, 2026. Thanksgiving week — lectures meet Mon–Tue; campus closes Thu–Fri.

Subject: Week 13 — your AI now works on a schedule (with one catch) ⏰

Hi everyone,

Week 13 is a big one: we're crossing from "you start the work" to "the AI starts the work for you."

Scheduled tasks in Claude Cowork let you describe a task once — a daily morning briefing, a weekly summary of your notes, a reminder-and-compile routine — and have Claude deliver the output automatically. That's powerful. But here's the catch that will be on Quiz 13: scheduled tasks only run while your computer is awake and the Claude desktop app is open. If your machine is asleep when the clock strikes, the task is skipped until you wake up. This is not a cloud service running on a distant server — it runs on your machine. Worth knowing before you plan anything around it.

Dispatch is the companion feature: a persistent thread where you can message Claude tasks from your phone or desktop, walk away, and get the result pushed to you when it's done. Same constraint: your desktop needs to be on.

A heads-up about this week's AI-policy inversion (as always):
1. AI is required on the tutorial, Studio, discussion, assignment, and practice.
2. AI is not allowed on Quiz 13 — it checks that you know the constraints.
3. The Studio's required step this week: catch the AI over-promising. Ask an AI to help you configure a scheduled task and watch whether it correctly states the awake/app-open constraint — or whether it says the task will run "whether your laptop is open or not." That's the catch.

Three things not to miss this week:
1. Lecture Tutorial 13 — work through the scheduling concepts with your AI tutor; submit the share link. Due Sun Nov 29.
2. AI Build Studio 13 ("Automate a Real Task") — configure a scheduled task, verify it, and catch the AI over-promise. 50 pts, due Sun Nov 29.
3. Thanksgiving note: campus is closed Thu–Fri (Nov 26–27). All work is due Sunday Nov 29, so plan accordingly.

Next week (Week 14) is the most ambitious Cowork layer yet: computer use, Claude in Chrome, Claude in Excel, and chaining multi-step cross-app workflows. Build your scheduling knowledge this week — it feeds directly into that.

See you Monday,
Prof. Quinn