Lance Eaton

In this episode, Priten speaks with Lance Eaton, Senior Associate Director of AI and Teaching and Learning at Northeastern University, about navigating the integration of AI and educational technology in higher education. Lance shares his 15-year journey through instructional design—from community colleges to Ivy League institutions—and offers practical wisdom on how educators can thoughtfully adopt AI without losing sight of pedagogy. The conversation explores everything from reflection bots and embodied learning to the tension between commercial tech platforms and educational values, ultimately landing on a hopeful note: we've navigated dozens of technological shifts before, and we can figure this one out too.Key Takeaways:Start small and ground AI in learning goals. Like any instructional design challenge, begin with what you want students to demonstrate—then find where AI fits naturally.Use AI to deepen reflection, not replace it. A "reflection bot" that asks follow-up questions can help students dig deeper than a one-time submission ever could.Pick two or three tools and stick with them. The app explosion taught us this lesson—chasing every new AI tool leads to burnout, not better teaching.AI literacy is discipline-specific. Every field will be impacted differently; the goal isn't generic AI skills but understanding what AI means for your particular context.We've been here before. Higher ed has absorbed 80+ technologies since the 1970s. The playbooks exist—we just need to adapt them for this moment.About Lance Eaton:Dr. Lance Eaton is the Senior Associate Director of AI in Teaching and Learning at Northeastern University. His work engages with the possibility of digital tools for expanding teaching and learning communities while considering the profound issues and questions that educational technologies open up for students, faculty, and higher ed as a whole. He has engaged with scores of higher education institutions about navigating the complexities and possibilities that generative AI represents for us at this moment. His musings, reflections, and ramblings on AI and Education can be found on his blog: AI + Education = Simplified | Lance Eaton, Ph.D. | Substack