About the Episode
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About the Episode:
What does it look like when faculty lead the charge in building AI-powered learning tools—without losing their human-centered roots? In this live episode from the AI Show at the ASU+GSV Summit, Dustin speaks with UCLA professor Dr. Zrinka Stahuljak and PhD candidate Elizabeth Landers about their work developing a first-of-its-kind AI-assisted, human-guided textbook for a large general education class.
But this isn’t about replacing faculty—it’s about freeing them up. Freeing up time for deeper conversations. For more feedback. For actual teaching. You’ll hear how they partnered with Kudu to build an integrated learning experience that enhances accessibility, strengthens writing instruction, and makes space for meaningful, student-centered engagement.
Key Takeaways
- Human-driven, AI-assisted textbooks are transforming the learning experience by freeing up time for faculty to engage more directly with students.
- The Kudu platform empowers faculty to create fully customized, low-cost textbooks, integrating rich media, checkpoints, and an AI chatbot for student support.
- This approach fosters critical thinking and writing skills through structured, incremental assignments enhanced by AI-powered feedback loops.
- Students are engaging more deeply and consistently in large lecture courses, proving that thoughtful AI integration enhances—not replaces—human connection.
- The model is scalable and adaptable, with potential applications across disciplines and institutions nationwide.
- Responsible AI in education means co-creating ethical, expert-informed tools, not relying on generic solutions built outside the academy.
What is the AI-assisted textbook created at UCLA?
The textbook developed by Dr. Zrinka Stahuljak and Elizabeth Landers isn’t your typical AI-generated product. As they clarify early in the episode, this is a human-driven, AI-compiled resource built on over a decade of teaching materials, including lecture notes, PowerPoint presentations, and transcripts. The final product was then enhanced using AI tools on the Kudu platform, ensuring it aligned with the specific pedagogical goals of a large, general education course with a writing requirement.
The textbook is short, accessible, and integrates rich content—from podcasts to videos to conceptual learning checkpoints. This helps students engage more meaningfully and supports a variety of learning styles. What makes it revolutionary isn’t just the tech, but its commitment to human-centered learning that emphasizes critical thinking, dialogue, and interaction.
What are the real benefits for faculty and students?
This AI-assisted approach directly addresses many long-standing pain points in general education courses: student engagement, faculty burnout, and one-size-fits-all textbooks. With a fully customized and AI-supported textbook, faculty like Dr. Stahuljak can spend more time actually teaching—guiding discussions, fostering analytical thinking, and mentoring students on writing.
Meanwhile, students benefit from a textbook that reflects their professor’s actual teaching methods, is available in multimedia formats, and includes 24/7 access to an AI chatbot named CHI. This chatbot has become a safe, accessible support system, especially for students hesitant to ask questions in class. Teaching assistants, too, now focus more on meaningful learning rather than repetitive context-setting, making the entire course delivery more dynamic and efficient.
How is this AI approach changing the future of higher education?
What’s especially exciting is the scalability of this model. As Elizabeth Landers puts it, this textbook innovation could—and should—exist in every large lecture course across the country. Beyond the improved student experience, this model offers a new vision of education infrastructure where content is modular, nimble, and deeply inclusive.
Their next project? A course focused on comparative historical knowledges that bridges Western and Indigenous perspectives—a clear response to common critiques about AI bias. This next step demonstrates how AI can be a force for inclusion and representation, if developed with intentionality. Their advice to higher ed leaders? Embrace AI, shape the tools from the ground up, and be the ones to drive ethical, transformative change in the academy.
About the Show: The Higher Ed Geek Podcast explores the impact of edtech on the student experience by speaking with diverse leaders from institutions, companies, and nonprofit organizations. Each week we aim to provide an engaging, fun, and relevant dose of professional development that honors the wide range of work happening all across the higher ed ecosystem. Come geek out with us! The Higher Ed Geek Podcast is hosted by Dustin Ramsdell and is a proud member of the Enrollify Podcast Network.
Connect With Our Host:
Dustin Ramsdell
About The Enrollify Podcast Network:
The Higher Ed Geek is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too!
Some of our favorites include Generation AI and I Wanna Work There.
Enrollify is produced by Element451 — the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.
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