Online Learning in the Second Half Podcast By John Nash & Jason Johnston cover art

Online Learning in the Second Half

Online Learning in the Second Half

By: John Nash & Jason Johnston
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In this podcast, John Nash and Jason Johnston take public their two-year-long conversation about online education and their aspirations for its future. They acknowledge that while some online learning has been great, there is still a lot of room for improvement. While technology and innovation will be a topic of discussion, the conversation will focus on how to get online learning to the next stage, the second half of life.

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Episodes
  • EP 42 - Einstein: How a "cheating bot" started the conversation we needed with developer Advait Paliwal

    EP 42 - Einstein: How a "cheating bot" started the conversation we needed with developer Advait Paliwal
    Mar 7 2026
    Einstein: How a "cheating bot" started the conversation we needed with developer Advait Paliwal In EP 42, John and Jason talk with Advait Paliwal, the young entrepreneur behind "Einstein, "an (OpenClaw) AI agent that went viral for claiming to autonomously complete college coursework. Together, they unpack the intentional provocation behind the product, the legal fallout that followed, and what it all reveals about the urgent need for higher education to rethink assessment, relevance, and the human role in learning as agentic AI reshapes the world. See complete notes and transcripts at www.onlinelearningpodcast.com Join Our LinkedIn Group - *Online Learning Podcast (Also feel free to connect with John and Jason at LinkedIn too)* Guest Bio: Advait Paliwal is a a 22 year old founder who is passionate about building technology that makes a meaningful impact on people's lives. He recently created the Einstein bot at companion.ai Connect with Advait https://www.advaitpaliwal.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/advaitpaliwal/ Resources: Michael G Wagner: The Einstein AI Panic https://www.theaugmentededucator.com/p/the-einstein-ai-panic USDE Meta study on Online Learning: https://www.ed.gov/media/document/evaluation-of-evidence-based-practices-online-learning-meta-analysis-and-review-of-online-learning-studies-revised-september-2010-107159.pdf Theme Music: Pumped by RoccoW is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial License. Transcript We use a combination of computer-generated transcriptions and human editing. Please check with the recorded file before quoting anything. Please check with us if you have any questions or can help with any corrections! [00:00:00] Jason: So, tell us who are you and why are you single-handedly trying to destroy education? [00:00:07] John Nash: I'm John Nash here with Jason Johnston. [00:00:09] Jason: Hey John. Hey everyone. And this is Online Learning in the second half, the online learning podcast. [00:00:14] John Nash: We're doing this podcast to let you in on a conversation we've been having for the last three years about online education. Look, online learning has had its chance to be great, and some of it is, and a lot of it still isn't. [00:00:27] Jason: Mm-hmm. [00:00:27] John Nash: Jason, how are we going to get to the next stage? [00:00:31] Jason: That's a great question. How about we do a podcast and talk about it? [00:00:34] John Nash: I think that's a great idea. And what do you want to talk about today? [00:00:39] Jason: Well, today we have a guest, and we'll introduce our guest in a moment. Maybe we'll have Advait say hello. Just so people know that we're not just making up this guest advent's actually with us. Hey, Advait, how are things today? [00:00:55] Advait: Thanks for Great. Went on a run had some food, did some work, and yeah, ready to have this conversation. [00:01:01] Jason: Alright. Yeah, that sounds like a good day so far. And John, it's good to see you again. You know, any day I get to have a conversation with John is a good day. We had a lot of conversations this last weekend because we were working on a writing project together. The deadline happened to be yesterday, and we were working on it quite a bit yesterday, so, so, but it's nice to see you again as well. so, tell us a little bit about you. It sounds like you have an interesting educational background. Just love to hear more about it. [00:01:26] Advait: I'm Advait Paliwal, I've been in many schools throughout my life and I've transferred. In and out of many schools as well. I was born in India ended up moving to Japan when I was two. That's where I did my kindergarten. And I moved back to India in a different city in Mumbai where I did my first through seventh grade. And in the middle of seventh grade, I ended up moving to Texas and where I did my eighth grade to a bit of ninth two different schools and. the middle of my ninth grade, I moved to Michigan where I completed my high school. Then I went to Wayne State for my first year of college. Then I transferred to Michigan State for my, last two years where I graduated early and I started at Brown for master’s from where I ended up dropping out. But between my graduation and my start date at Brown, I spent a lot of time at Stanford. For a month crashing at my friend's place. Then I spent a lot of time at Harvard and MIT, just spending a lot of time around teachers, students, educators, researchers, and just trying to understand what separates the best and the like the most high, highest caliber educational institutions from what we perceive as not to be and what can they offer that we can learn from and can AI democratized the the learning experiences between different institutions. 'Cause every place I went to it was a completely different experience. I had to transfer credits. People just wouldn't understand me. I had different ways of speaking, and it really caused lot of harm and. And I think that I was okay because I ended up ...
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    1 hr
  • EP 41 - Moving Beyond Copy-Paste AI Syllabus Policies with John Nash & Jason Johnston

    EP 41 - Moving Beyond Copy-Paste AI Syllabus Policies with John Nash & Jason Johnston
    Jan 22 2026
    In EP 41, John and Jason discuss the evolving challenge of moving beyond 'copy-paste' AI policies to create syllabus guidelines that encourage students to engage in the 'productive struggle' of learning. See complete notes and transcripts at www.onlinelearningpodcast.com Join Our LinkedIn Group - *Online Learning Podcast (Also feel free to connect with John and Jason at LinkedIn too) Host Bios: Walk into schools today and generative AI is on the agenda—and many leaders aren’t sure what to do with it. John Nash helps them figure it out. An associate professor at the University of Kentucky and founding director of the Laboratory on Design Thinking, he makes AI practical and useful, not just theoretical. He’s on two generative AI advisory boards at the University of Kentucky and one at MidPacific Institute in Honolulu, advising educators from local superintendents to teachers in international schools. He teaches courses in design thinking, leading deeper learning, and mixed methods research, and his research interests study the application of human-centered design in organizational leadership. Jason Johnston is the Executive Director of Online Learning & Course Production in Digital Learning at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His background includes developing and launching online degree programs, directing educational technology, teaching, and working as an audio engineer. Holding a PhD in Educational Leadership, an M.Ed. in Educational Technology, and an M.Div., Jason advocates for humanity and equity in online education while helping educators leverage technology for the future. He co-hosts the podcast Online Learning in the Second Half (www.onlinelearningpodcast.com) and enjoys playing guitar, building Lego, and traveling with his family. Resources: University of Kentucky Syllabus Policy: https://celt.uky.edu/ai-course-policy-examplesUniversity of Tennessee, Knoxville Syllabus Policy: https://writingcenter.utk.edu/sample-syllabus-statements-for-ai-guidelines/Jason’s Policy Icons: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MG9h68__uqPSz6HXNeVymJhal1VNapjyK-2PFa5QFxI/edit?usp=sharingJohn’s Policy Example: https://johnnash.notion.site/John-Nash-s-Stance-on-Generative-AI-Use-by-Students-in-Courses-2eff24fd17cc8043ae2be34712680c28Chronicle article by Geoff Watkinson “I’m an AI Power User. It Has No Place in the Classroom. Learning to think for yourself has to come first.“: https://www.chronicle.com/article/im-an-ai-power-user-it-has-no-place-in-the-classroom (paywalled - should be able to read for free with login) Theme Music: Pumped by RoccoW is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial License. Battle Hymn of the Republic is public domain from the Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-767050/ Transcript We use a combination of computer-generated transcriptions and human editing. Please check with the recorded file before quoting anything. Please check with us if you have any questions or can help with any corrections! [00:00:00] Jason: Can we do the quick intro? [00:00:02] John Nash: Yeah, hold on. [00:00:03] Jason: That was the intro to your other podcast. [00:00:06] John Nash: Yeah, [00:00:06] Jason: John, have you [00:00:07] John Nash: exactly. [00:00:08] Jason: Beyond My Back? [00:00:10] John Nash: No, I am not podcasting. Behind your back. I'm John Nash here with Jason Johnston. [00:00:15] Jason: John. Hey everyone. And this is Online Learning in the second half the [00:00:19] John Nash: I. [00:00:19] Jason: Learning podcast. Mm-hmm. [00:00:20] John Nash: Yeah, we're doing this podcast to let you in on a conversation we've been having for the last three years about online education. Look, online learning has had its chance to be great, and some of it is, but a lot still has a way to go. How are we going to get to the next stage, Jason? [00:00:35] Jason: is a great question. How about we do a podcast and talk about it? [00:00:39] John Nash: Perfect. What do you want to talk about today? [00:00:41] Jason: You know, you always ask me that question and I really appreciate it. But what do you want to talk about today, John? [00:00:47] John Nash: Oh, you know what I want to talk about today? I want to talk about the struggle that instructors are having to set guidelines for the use of generative AI in their classes. [00:00:57] Jason: I think that sounds like a great conversation, especially the front end of a semester here. [00:01:02] John Nash: Yeah, is it the lawyers that say, or the justices that say, "this is not settled law?" [00:01:07] Jason: Hmm. [00:01:07] John Nash: This is definitely not settled law. We, we are not lawyers. We do not play them on podcasts. We are just a couple of, a couple of folks that are trying to think this through. So, Jason, we just came off of a really cool episode with Megan Haselschwerdt at University of Tennessee, one of your colleagues, who engaged your office to think about ways to deal with how her students were using ...
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    29 mins
  • EP 40 - Does Allowing AI Reduce AI? A Surprising Finding with Dr. Megan Haselschwerdt

    EP 40 - Does Allowing AI Reduce AI? A Surprising Finding with Dr. Megan Haselschwerdt
    Jan 15 2026
    EP 40 - Does Allowing AI Reduce AI? A Surprising Finding with Dr. Megan Haselschwerdt In EP 40, John and Jason talk with Megan Haselschwerdt about her transformative semester moving from a futile "cat-and-mouse" game of AI detection to a trust-based partnership with students, demonstrating how transparent dialogue, a more open policy, and addressing "insurmountable" assignment loads are far more effective than policing. See complete notes and transcripts at www.onlinelearningpodcast.com Join Our LinkedIn Group - *Online Learning Podcast (Also feel free to connect with John and Jason at LinkedIn too)* Guest Bio: Megan Haselschwerdt, Ph.D., serves as an Associate Professor and HDFS Graduate Program Director in Human Development and Family Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She earned her Ph.D. and M.S. in Human and Community Development from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign and a B.S. in Psychology from Indiana University-Bloomington. As an interpersonal violence and family science scholar, Dr. Haselschwerdt’s research focuses on intimate partner violence (IPV) from the perspectives of victimized adults, young adults with childhood exposure, and support professionals. Specializing in qualitative methodologies like grounded theory and reflexive thematic analysis, she also collaborates on mixed-methods studies to examine help-seeking behaviors and develop trauma-informed interventions. She currently directs the Family Violence Across the Lifespan research team, leading initiatives such as the REVEAL Project and the Young Adults Live and Learn Project to promote safety, healing, and justice. Resources: Dr. Haselschwerdt’s Scholarship: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=hTSsBcQAAAAJ&inst=9897619243961157265Megan’s AI Use Policies: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1I2THuGIaKYstGyZylQS4FgvbNV0B1j3Q3hEpGI4K_l4/edit?usp=sharingJason’s AI Policy (and free / open source icons for communication) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MG9h68__uqPSz6HXNeVymJhal1VNapjyK-2PFa5QFxI/edit?usp=sharing Theme Music: Pumped by RoccoW is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial License. Transcript We use a combination of computer-generated transcriptions and human editing. Please check with the recorded file before quoting anything. Please check with us if you have any questions or can help with any corrections! [00:00:00] Jason: I'm going to butcher your last name probably [00:00:02] Megan: Oh yeah, that's okay. We do too. [00:00:03] Jason: us with that [00:00:05] Megan: Yeah. So, we say it all very differently in our family, so it's totally fine. I, I say Haselschwerdt as though there's a z Yeah. Other people, other family members say hassle, but yeah, I say it as though there's a z Hazel Schwart. [00:00:16] John Nash: Okay, cool. I was, [00:00:18] Jason: Hazel Schwart [00:00:20] Megan: Mm-hmm. [00:00:21] John Nash: I took German for years and so I love the sound of German, so I Yeah. I said, [00:00:27] Megan: Yes. Yeah, we, we. [00:00:29] John Nash: be totally German of [00:00:30] Megan: We offend Germans when I say, like, what, how we say our last name? Yeah. It's unrecognizable. Yep. [00:00:36] John Nash: Nice shirt. Yeah. Okay, cool. [00:00:40] Jason: Haz-el-Schwart [00:00:41] John Nash: Haselschwerdt, [00:00:42] Jason: You [00:00:42] Megan: Yep. That's totally fine. [00:00:44] John Nash: Okay. Haselschwerdt. [00:00:45] Megan: I think Jo, uh, John has it the authentic way and Jason's American butchered from Ellis Island Way works just well too. [00:00:53] John Nash: I can't, yeah, I can't help myself though. So [00:00:55] Jason: I can't help myself either [00:00:57] Megan: ha ha... Intro [00:00:58] John Nash: I'm John Nash here with Jason Johnston. [00:01:01] Jason: Hey John Hey everyone. And this is Online Learning the second half the Online Learning Podcast [00:01:06] John Nash: Yeah, we're doing this podcast to let you in on a conversation we've been having for the last three years about online education. Look, online learning has had its chance to be great, and some of it is, but a lot of it still has a ways to go. How are we going to get to the next stage? Jason? [00:01:22] Jason: That's a great question How about we do a podcast and talk about it [00:01:26] John Nash: love that idea. What do you want to talk about today? I. [00:01:29] Jason: today I don't know how many times I can do this joke but how about we talk a little bit about AI and education [00:01:34] John Nash: Wait, is that a thing now? [00:01:36] Jason: Yeah [00:01:37] John Nash: I'm willing to try. [00:01:38] Jason: Yeah, I don't know much about it seems like everything I learn about it then I unlearn about it as well. But I'm really interested today We've got a colleague here one of my colleagues from University of Tennessee Knoxville with us Megan and we are just talking about me butchering her last name And so I'm just going to let her introduce herself Megan [00:01:58] Megan: Hello, I'm ...
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    42 mins
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