Assignments

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Build Assignment links (GitHub Classroom invites)
due dates/times
submission expectations

Submission (most assignments): commit + push to your assignment repo before the deadline.
If autograding is enabled, check the ✅/❌ next to your latest commit on GitHub.

Assignment calendar (overview)

Weeks 1–11: individual “build” assignments (A0–A9)
Weeks 10–14: group-led discussions (GLD1–GLD4)
Weeks 10–15: final project work + checkpoints
Week 15: final presentations
Week 16: group code review, portfolio piece due

Individual Build Assignments (GitHub Classroom)

A0 — Git and GitHub Fundamentals

Due: Thursday (Week 1) before class
Purpose: Git and GitHub overview, verify you can accept a Classroom assignment, and push a commit.
Invite link: https://classroom.github.com/a/hE8dbBM3
Spec: Follow the GitHub Classroom Workflow instructions (skip steps 3-4), and complete the instructions in the repo’s README. Confirm successful autograding.

A1 — Setup Verification

Due: Tuesday (Week 2) before class
Purpose: More practice with Git/GitHub workflow, set up Python/venv.
Invite link: https://classroom.github.com/a/lH2a7o-K
Spec: Follow the GitHub Classroom Workflow instructions, and complete the instructions in the repo’s README. Confirm successful autograding.

A2 - API and Prompt Patterns

Due: Tuesday (Week 3) before class
Purpose: Using Gemini through API calls, exploring LLM limitations and prompt patterns.
Invite link: https://classroom.github.com/a/HGMHcztQ
Spec: Follow the GitHub Classroom Workflow instructions, and complete the instructions in the repo’s README. Confirm successful autograding.

A3 - Tools

Due: Tuesday (Week 4) before class
Purpose: Extend LLM capabilities by adding tools.
Invite link: https://classroom.github.com/a/0vZ7_LAx
Spec: Follow the GitHub Classroom Workflow instructions, and complete the instructions in the repo’s README. Confirm successful autograding.

A4 - RAG (KW) + Multi-turn Chat

Due: Tuesday (Week 5) before class
Purpose: Build a document Q&A agent with keyword search and multi-turn conversation.
Invite link: https://classroom.github.com/a/u-McvYrh
Spec: Follow the GitHub Classroom Workflow instructions, and complete the instructions in the repo’s README. Confirm successful autograding.

A5 - Build Your Own Expert

Due: Wednesday (Week 6) 11:59pm
Purpose: Similar to A4, but you pick your own domain, documentation, and application — and write your own tool.
Invite link: https://classroom.github.com/a/1I3Fm8tQ
Spec: Follow the GitHub Classroom Workflow instructions, and complete the instructions in the repo’s README. Confirm successful autograding.
Note: This assignment is the basis for Code Review 1. Submit slides on Moodle.

A6 - RAG - Hybrid

Due: Tuesday (Week 8) before class
Purpose: Extend A4 to include hybrid RAG that combines keyword and semantic search.
Invite link: https://classroom.github.com/a/1eXlUn-3
Spec: Follow the GitHub Classroom Workflow instructions, and complete the instructions in the repo’s README. Confirm successful autograding.

A7 - Workflows, CLI

Due: Tuesday (Week 9) before class
Purpose: Build multi-node workflows and command-line interfaces.
Invite link: https://classroom.github.com/a/hslUktTh
Spec: Follow the GitHub Classroom Workflow instructions, and complete the instructions in the repo’s README. Confirm successful autograding.

A8 - Streamlit

Due: Thursday (Week 9) before class
Purpose: Build a Streamlit web interface that wraps a LangGraph workflow.
Invite link: https://classroom.github.com/a/bo5lxa1o
Spec: Follow the GitHub Classroom Workflow instructions, and complete the instructions in the repo’s README. Confirm successful autograding.

A9 - TL;Draw

Due: Tuesday (Week 11) before class
Purpose: Build a Streamlit application that generates SVG and images from documents.
Invite link: https://classroom.github.com/a/1XwEM7HY
Spec: Follow the GitHub Classroom Workflow instructions, and complete the instructions in the repo’s README. Confirm successful autograding.
Note: This assignment is the basis for Code Review 2. Submit slides on Moodle.

Writing Reflections (GitHub Classroom)

Group-Led Discussions

GLD1/WR5 - Ethical Concerns of AI in Different Fields

Due: Thursday (Week 10) during class
Invite link: https://classroom.github.com/a/rLZaRHrl
Spec: See Group-Led Discussion Spec for requirements and timeline.
Resource Links: AI is Making Medical Decisions - But For Whom?, Is AI Making Call Center Agents Better Or Replacing Them?, Ethical Review in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Navigating the Future of AI in Healthcare

GLD2/WR6 - AI, Grief, and Human Relationships: What role should/does technology play in human emotion?

Due: Thursday (Week 12) during class
Invite link: https://classroom.github.com/a/Sq1tmtRb
Spec: See Group-Led Discussion Spec for requirements and timeline.
Resource Links: The AI Companies Trying to Make Grief Obsolete — The Atlantic, Griefbits and the New Afterlife: How AI is Changing the Ways We Mourn — Thomas Doyle, TEDx, Young People Are Using AI to Skip the Hardest Part of Growing Up — New York Times, Inside Three Long-Term Relationships with AI Chatbots — The New York Times.

GLD3/WR7 - AI Safety, Governance, and Existential Risk

Due: Thursday (Week 13) during class
Invite link: https://classroom.github.com/a/rD3LAiQB
Spec: See Group-Led Discussion Spec for requirements and timeline.
Resource Links: AI Expert: Here Is What The World Looks Like In 2 Years! - Tristan Harris (Clip 1, 22m), AI Expert: Here Is What The World Looks Like In 2 Years! - Tristan Harris (Clip 2, 21m), America’s AI Action Plan — The White House (PDF) — skim the table of contents; read: Remove Red Tape and Onerous Regulation (p. 3), Encourage Open-Source and Open-Weight AI (p. 4), Enable AI Adoption (p. 5), Invest in AI Interpretability, Control, and Robustness Breakthroughs (p. 9), Build an AI Evaluations Ecosystem (p. 10), Ensure that the U.S. Government is at the Forefront of Evaluating National Security Risks in Frontier Models (p. 22)

GLD4/WR8 - How AI Can Help or Worsen Income Inequality Through Its Impact on Education and Work

Due: Thursday (Week 14) during class
Invite link: https://classroom.github.com/a/kFSZTzHf
Spec: See Group-Led Discussion Spec for requirements and timeline.
Resource Links: AI Could Actually Help Rebuild The Middle Class — David Autor, Noema, Can AI Foster Equity in Education? — UMD College of Education, The Simple Macroeconomics of AI — Daron Acemoglu (MIT) - just the intro, Will AI Make Inequality Better Or Worse — Bernard Marr

Final Project (team repo)

Spec: See Final Project Spec for full requirements.

Invite link: https://classroom.github.com/a/30poBfe_

Checkpoints

Deliverable	Due
Proposal	Week 10 (Tue, before class)
Working prototype	Week 14 (Tue, before class)
Working repository	Wed, April 29 (11:59pm)
Presentation	Week 15 (Thu, April 30)
Group code review	Mon, May 4 (12:00–2:30pm)
Portfolio piece (public site)	Wed, May 6 (11:59pm)

Grading notes

Autograding checks correctness and basic engineering requirements.
Some assignments include a short reflection or demo component.
See the Syllabus for grading weights.

FAQ: “My assignment says Not Submitted”

GitHub Classroom submission status is often tied to the assignment deadline/cutoff. In most cases, pushing commits before the deadline is what matters.

If you have pushed and are unsure, check:

your repo shows your latest commit on main
autograding checks (✅/❌) next to your commit (if enabled)