14 weeks: all 14 core chapters (Weeks 1-11) + two optional-chapter weeks (12-13) + final presentations (14). Midterm and final-project checkpoints are layered onto the regular weeks below, not given dedicated weeks, you keep full discretion over pacing.
A short, low-stakes quiz at the start of each week checking that the assigned chapter(s) were read before lecture. Lowest score dropped.
One hands-on lab per core chapter (plus an alternate OpenClaw/Clawdbot lab for Chapter 8, see /suggestedLabs). Graded on completed deliverables plus a short written reflection, not on polish.
In-class engagement, peer code review, and brief demos of lab work. Rewards showing up and showing your work, not just being right.
A PRD-style proposal for the final project (Chapter 2 / Chapter 9 skills) plus a timed vibecoding test applying core-chapter skills under time pressure. Suggested for around Week 6-7, layered onto that week's regular lab, not a separate dedicated week.
A self-directed capstone: pick a worthwhile problem, build a real app end to end, make it usable by someone else (a free hosting tier or a clean local checkout is enough), and present a responsible-AI review. Built incrementally on top of Weeks 9-11's labs (scope, deploy or package, review), then presented Week 14.
Total: 100%
14 weeks: all 14 core chapters (Weeks 1-11) + two optional-chapter weeks (12-13) + final presentations (14). Each week lists every lab available for that week's chapter(s); assign one, both, or trade lab time for project work as you see fit. The pink "suggested project checkpoint" callouts are optional milestones layered on top of a week's normal content, move them, skip them, or weight them however suits your section. Switch tracks above to compare pacing.
What vibecoding is, the tool tiers (chat assistants, AI IDEs, app builders), and how to specify intent so a model can actually act on it.
Labs: Tool Safari, Spec-to-Ship: assign one, both, or split across the week at your discretion.
Agent mode, context management, refactoring safely, and deciding when to fan work out to parallel agents. Context windows, RAG, tool calling, and MCP.
Labs: Rescuing a Repo, Ground It in RAG
React fundamentals, design systems, and accessibility. Data modeling, CRUD, and the authentication/authorization split.
Labs: Generate Then Govern, Full-Stack CRUD
Good week to informally float final-project ideas: Chapter 12's worthwhile-problem criteria (Week 9) are what will formalize them.
REST APIs and third-party services, calling AI APIs, webhooks, and payment integrations.
Lab: Wire It Together
What makes something an agent, multi-step reasoning, workflow orchestration, human checkpoints, and building a research assistant.
Lab: Research Assistant Agent
Hallucination, the path from hallucination to misinformation, SEO and coding slop, 'looks right' syndrome, and overreliance.
Lab: Slop Hunt
Suggested project checkpoint (additive, instructor discretion)
Suggested midterm checkpoint: a one-paragraph final-project pitch (problem + user) due, using Ch. 2's PRD skeleton. This is additive to the week's regular lab, not a replacement. Weight it as little or as much of class time as fits your term.
Reading code you didn't write, testing strategies aimed at edge cases, reliability and reproducibility, human oversight, and benchmarking.
Lab: Test the Machine
Suggested project checkpoint (additive, instructor discretion)
Suggested: full midterm PRD due (Ch. 2 + Ch. 9 skills), the proposal that, once approved, becomes the final project. Some instructors fold the midterm grade into this week's lab. Others run it as a separate timed vibecoding test.
Vision models, speech models, image generation, video generation, and combining modalities into one application.
Labs: See, Hear, Make
Choosing a worthwhile problem, user research, MVP design, product-market fit, human-AI interaction design, and the Feature Graveyard.
Lab: Problem Worth Solving
Suggested project checkpoint (additive, instructor discretion)
Suggested: final-project scope locked (MVP + explicit non-goals) and tech stack chosen, built directly on top of this week's lab rather than as separate work.
Hosting and cloud infrastructure, environments/secrets/CI-CD, monitoring, scaling, and AI API cost management.
Lab: Ship It for Real
Suggested project checkpoint (additive, instructor discretion)
Suggested: final project deployed to a real URL on a free hosting tier, using this week's lab as the deployment step for the project itself rather than a separate toy app; a clean local checkout that runs from the README is the accepted alternative.
Privacy, data security, copyright, prompt injection, the physical cost of AI, and the 'who could this hurt' responsible-AI habit.
Lab: Break and Defend
Suggested project checkpoint (additive, instructor discretion)
Suggested: final project's responsible-AI review drafted using this week's lab as the model: who could this specific project hurt, and how would you know?
Core curriculum complete after this week. Weeks 12-13 are optional-chapter weeks. Swap in whichever two best fit your projects.
Ideation and validation, MVP and finding customers, and pricing/fundraising, framing the final project in product/business terms.
Labs: No formal lab: use class time for project work, or have students pitch their in-progress project to a peer as if recruiting an early customer.
Suggested project checkpoint (additive, instructor discretion)
Suggested: continue building. This is a good week for a peer code-review or pitch-practice session on project work in progress.
Dead Internet Theory and content farms, synthetic media and incentives, and defending information quality, a societal-scale follow-up to Chapter 9.
Labs: No formal lab: use class time for project work, or have students audit their own project's content/output for slop-adjacent problems.
Suggested project checkpoint (additive, instructor discretion)
Suggested: peer testing session on the deployed (or locally run) project, plus final polish and presentation rehearsal.
Swap either Week 12 or 13 for a different optional chapter (A-Q). These two are just suggested defaults that pair well with a capstone timeline.
Live demos and presentations. Each student or team presents their project, demos it live, and walks through their responsible-AI review.
Labs: None: at instructor discretion, this slot can instead be used for a third optional chapter (A-Q) if the term has room, with presentations moved to a take-home or finals-period format.
Suggested project checkpoint (additive, instructor discretion)
Final project + responsible-AI review due