| Class | Instructor | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Course Number | CS 210 | Name | Brian Bird | |
| CRN | Hybrid (on campus) 21240 Online 21239 | birdb@lanecc.edu | ||
| Day & Time | Tu, Th 12:00–1:50 | Office Hours | M and W 2:00–2:50 Tu and Th 4:00–4:50 | |
| Room | Building 19, Room 128 Zoom meeting | Room | Building 19, Room 152 Zoom meeting |
Course DescriptionLearning OutcomesOnline ResourcesCourse MaterialsLearning Management SystemSoftwareSoftware Required for Course WorkFree and Discounted Software for StudentsComputer Lab and TutoringCIT Computer Lab and In-Person TutoringOnline TutoringAssessment and GradingPoints for Each Graded ActivityGrade ScaleQuizzesParticipation and AttendanceNo Show DropAcademic HonestyUse of AILate WorkAccessibility and Campus NavigationCenter for Accessible ResourcesCampus Location and MapsSchedulesAcademic Calendar for Fall Term 2025Weekly Learning ActivitiesCourse Schedule
This course provides ап overview of the field of Artificial lntelligence (AI) and how to write computer programs that use AI. Students will learn what AI is, how machine learning works and how to write programs using AI libraries, models and techniques. There will bе а focus оп generative AI and LLMs (Large Language Models) and how to write programs that use LLMs. The risks and dangers and ethical issues related to AI will bе explored along with its potential benefits.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
Explain what AI programming is.
Discuss the potential dangers and benefits of AI to society.
Write programs that use symbolic AI techniques.
Write programs that use statistical AI techniques.
Write programs that uses neural networks for image recognition.
Write programs that use LLMs (Large Language Models).
Create a custom chatbot using a fine-tuned LLM.
There is no textbook for this class. In place of a textbook you will read online tutorials and other free online resources.
Elements of AI (EoAI), is a free high-quality course that I reccomend—although it won't be directly used in this course. EoAI has sections for both non-programmers and Python programmers. The programming section doesn't go very deep, but EoAI does a good job of covering many concepts relevant to this course.
Moodle is the Learning Management System (LMS) used for this course; LCC’s Moodle site is at: classes.lanecc.edu.
All of the software required for this class is free. You can use any operating system: Windows, Mac OS, or Linux.
See the Getting Started Guide for a list of the software needed for this class.
You will need to download and install any software you don't already have on your computer. The software has
already been installed on the computers in the classroom and in the CIT computer lab.
None of the software provided in these offers is required for this class, but you may want to take advantage of the free and discounted software offers.
Azure Dev Tools for Teaching (previously known as Microsoft Imagine Premium, Dream Spark, and MSDNAA) is a subscription-based offering, paid for by the LCC CIT department, providing access to professional development and design tools, software, and services from Microsoft.
Microsoft Office 365 LCC students and staff can get a free subscription to Office 365, which includes Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and more.
On The Hub has partnered with Microsoft, Adobe, IBM, Symantec, VMware and other software publishers to offer discounted and free software for students and faculty.
The CIT Main lab (Building 19, room 135) is equipped with computers and software which are available exclusively for students in the CIT department. There are tutors available in the lab to help you with your lab work. The schedule for when the lab will be open and when in-person tutors are available is TBD.
See the LCC Tutoring Services web page for information.
The table below summarizes the possible points for each assessment task as well as the course as a whole:
| Assessment Tasks | Points Each | Total Points | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labs 1 - 8 | 50 | 400 | 40% |
| Code Reviews* 1 - 8 | 10 | 80 | 8% |
| Reading Quizzes* 1 - 8 | 10 | 80 | 8% |
| Term Project | 440 | 440 | 44% |
| Course Total | 1000 |
* The code review and reading quiz with the lowest grade will be dropped from the grade calculation.
Letter grades for the course will be determined by the following percentages:
| + | - | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 100 to 98 | 97 to 92 | 91 to 90 |
| B | 89 to 88 | 87 to 82 | 81 to 80 |
| C | 79 to 78 | 77 to 72 | 71 to 70 |
| D | 69 to 68 | 67 to 62 | 61 to 60 |
| F | Below 60 |
Weekly (except midterm an final quiz weeks) quizzes are given that cover learning material for that week. These quizzes are "open book".
While participation and attendance are essential to succeed in this class, they will not be graded.
The college’s “no show, drop” policy requires that: during the first week students must complete at least one activity (a quiz or assignment) otherwise the student will be dropped from the class.
While students are encouraged to discuss assignments and to use each other as resources, each student is responsible for his/her own work. In other words you can help each other, but you can’t copy any part of someone else’s work. The end product must be each student’s own individual work.
Generative AI tools such as GitHub Copilot or ChatGPT are useful resources and you are encouraged to use them, but don't use them to give you quiz answers or do your assignments for you. Use them to help you learn, to come up with ideas, or for drafts of text you write.
Grades for assignments submitted after the due date will be reduced by 10%.
No late assignments accepted after Tuesday of week 11, finals week.
Quizzes cannot be taken after the due date. Plan ahead! Exceptions will only be made for illness or emergency situations.
Lane Community College (LCC) is dedicated to providing inclusive learning environments. The Center for Accessible Resources (CAR) coordinates all academic accommodations for students at LCC. If you anticipate or experience academic barriers due to a disability, to request assistance or accommodations, contact the Center for Accessible Resources.
In-Person Services: Monday and Thursday, 9:00am - 12:30 and 1:30pm - 3:00pm. Location: Main Campus, Building 19, Room 263A
Remote Support through Support Hub: Monday - Thursday 9:00am–12:30 and 1:30pm–3:00pm. Enter the Support Hub by going to lanecc.edu/hub. Wait for a Lane staff to let you into the Zoom.
Phone: Voice, (541) 463-5150 TTY: 711, Monday—Friday 9:00am–12:30pm and 1:30pm–3:00pm. Email: AccessibleResources@lanecc.edu
For upcoming closures, please visit the Center for Accessible Resources webpage
Main Campus: 4000 East 30th Ave. Eugene, Oregon 97405
Floor plan of buiding 19 (All CIT classes meet on the 1st floor of this building)
| Event | Date | |
|---|---|---|
| Fall term classes begin | 9/29 | Monday |
| Last day to receive refund | 10/6 | Monday |
| Veteran’s Day—college closed | 11/11 | Tuesday |
| Last day for schedule changes | 11/21 | Friday |
| Thanksgiving Vacation – college closed | 11/27–11/30 | Thursday, Friday |
| Final exam | 12/9 | Tuesday |
View academic calendars on the LCC web site.
Tuesday
Participate in class (in-person, via Zoom, or watch the Zoom recording).
Submit a code review of last week's lab for your lab partner (starting the 2nd week).
Thursday
Participate in class.
Submit the lab production version from last week.
Saturday
Share the beta version of this week's lab on Discord.
Sunday
Take the reading quiz over this week's assigned reading.
Start the assigned reading for next week.
(Tentative, may be subject to change)
| Week | Topics | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1 9/30 | Intro to AI Python | Introduce yourself on Discord Lab 1 Quiz 1 |
| 2 10/7 | Symbolic AI | Lab 2 Quiz 2 Code review 1 |
| 3 10/14 | Classical Machine Learning: Training | Quiz 3 |
| 4 10/21 | Classical Machine Learning: Inference | Lab 3 Quiz 4 Code review 2 |
| 5 10/28 | More Machine Learning History of AI | Lab 4 Code review 3 Term project proposal |
| 6 11/4 | ANN: Image recognition | Lab 5 Quiz 5 Code review 4 |
| 7 11/11 | Generative AI | Lab 6 Quiz 6 Code review 5 |
| 8 11/18 | Custom chatbot | Lab 7 Project: prompt engineering Quiz 7 Code review 6 |
| 9 11/25 | LLM fine-tuning | Lab 8 Project: Custom chat-bot Quiz 8 Code review 7 |
| 10 12/2 | Social and ethical issues of AI | Term Project Code review 8 |
| 11 12/9 | Term project presentation |