This is a new course, and I intend that even those without significant exposure to programming or AI technologies can get an A if they put in the appropriate amount of effort and learn the relevant skills. Grading is my tool for incentivizing and rewarding that effort and learning.
In the past, I’ve seen students put a lot of effort into disputing grades perceived as too low. Naturally, you can do that in this course. However, I strongly prefer that students instead put in that effort up front to produce higher-quality submissions. Show your work and fully complete the assignment, and I promise to reward it. My goal is that everyone feels they learn a lot and receive a fair grade corresponding to the effort they put in at the end of the course.
| Component | Grade % | Grading Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Technical Assignments | 15 | 3x assignments, 5x points per assignment |
| (Must complete all assignments) |
Note: these are intended as building blocks to help with the final project and are strongly recommended. | | Case Study Discussion Participation | 25 | 18x Case Studies total. Point opportunities per class: • 1x point for attendance • 1x point for active participation Maximum of 25 points.
Note: “Activeness” of participation is based on your contributions to the class discussion: either a helpful comment or question. High-quality contributions are meaningful, thoughtful, relevant remarks or questions that enhance everyone’s understanding of the case or concepts discussed and do not have to be “correct.” Seemingly erroneous comments can be highly valuable as well. If, by nature, you are a quiet person and would like to be called upon in class, please let me know, and I will help draw you into the class discussions. Assessment of activeness is up to my subjective judgment and cannot be disputed. | | Blog Posts | 20 | 6x assignments opportunities In the weeks that you post: • 4x points per assignment, • 1x point for 2x comments on other’s posts Maximum of 20 points.
Note: you only have to complete 4x assignments to get a full score. | | Final Project | 40 | Breakdown: • 5 Project Proposal / Description • 10 Working Technical Prototype • 10 Implementation Plan • 10 Business Case • 5 Presentation / Video
• Up to 3 extra credit points for live presentation in front of class (selection for live presentation based on instructor discretion and available time) |
(Note that there are no quizzes or final exams in this class.)
Letter grades for this course will be based on the following cutoffs for your percentage grade.
| Grade | Anything Above |
|---|---|
| A | 90% |
| B | 80% |
| C | 70% |
| D | 60% |
| F | < 60% |
I reserve the right to adjust down the lower-bound of each grade category (i.e., grant a higher letter grade for a lower numeric score) or provide opportunities for extra credit; any such changes will be made uniformly available to the entire class.
Your presence contributes to the class environment and your fellow students' learning. Therefore, as a norm, in-person attendance is expected. For technical lectures (1–10), attendance/participation is ungraded. Lectures will not be recorded in this first pass through the class, but slides are available online. For case lectures (11-28), attendance/participation is mandatory and will be graded (as described above).
In this course, you are responsible for managing your attendance. It is “okay” to miss class for a valid reason (you don’t need to feel bad about it — life happens, I get it!), but any missed classes will result in missed Case Study Discussion Participation Points. As a common courtesy, I would appreciate it if you notified me if you plan to miss a class.
Missing Class – Optional Make-Up Assignment
Up to three times during the course, you can make up the 2x participation points for a missed case discussion session by submitting a 1x page case summary and three key observations you would have contributed to class discussion. This is due one day after the start time of the missed class, and can be submitted via email to the instructor. For these case summaries, you may use AI to assist per the AI usage policy, but responses should go well beyond naive prompting. This assignment is intended to deepen your engagement with the case—meaningful learning will come only if you engage the case details.