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Homework Overview

To explore the use of AI tools for various development tasks, student will complete a series of homework assignments, each of which will involve writing a reflection essay on a particular topic.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to...

  • Demonstrate that they gained relevant experiences this course using AI tools for various software development tasks by describing those experiences.
  • Demonstrate they gained familiarity with deeper ideas (e.g., theories, hypotheses, strengths/weaknesses, mediating factors, principles) relevant to the AI tools in this task context by describing those ideas.
  • Articulate connections between the experiences they had and those deeper ideas (e.g., how their experiences are consistent or inconsistent with the ideas) to answer selected reflection questions.

Instructions

Write a 500-word essay on a reflection question of your choice from the sign-up sheet in Teams. Up to 3 class members may choose the same reflection question. Write your name down in the sheet next to the question you have chosen.

In writing your essay, keep in mind that good essays have concrete examples. For example, it did X but I expected Y in the context of Z. Bad essays are vague and employ generic sentiments, like "I like it!", or "It’s helpful."

Be sure to write down your name and the reflection question that you chose to answer at the top of the page.

This homework is to be done individually.

Warning! You may NOT use AI to write this essay. You may use any tool you wish to proofread your essay for grammar, but do not use any tool that creates or changes the meaning of what you have written.

Warning! You will be on the hook for understanding and defending the opinions you write in these reflection essays during in-class activities. You must understand and buy into the contents of your essay at the time you turn it in.

How to Submit

Submit this assignment as a Word DOCX file in Canvas.

Grading Rubric

Homework assignments are graded as High-Pass/Low-Pass/Fail.

  • High-Pass: Pass score on all criteria with High-Pass on Focus and Depth criteria.
  • Low-Pass: Pass score on all criteria.
  • Fail: Fails to meet requirements for Low-Pass.

Grading Criteria

Frontmatter: Student name and reflection question written at top of page.

  • High-Pass: Name and question present and correct.
  • Low-Pass: Minor issues with presentation and/or correctness, but name and question are still present and generally understandable.
  • Fail: Part or all of frontmatter is missing or arguably incorrect.

Length: 500-600 words (not including frontmatter)

  • High-Pass: Fully satisfies length requirement.
  • Low-Pass: Misses the length requirement by no more than 50 words.
  • Fail: Misses the length requirement by more than 50 words.

Focus: Essay answers reflection question.

  • High-Pass: All parts of essay convincingly focused on directly addressing the question asked.
  • Low-Pass: Majority of essay focused on question, although a significant portion strays into topics of dubious relevance.
  • Fail: Majority of essay off topic with respect to question asked.

Depth: Essay contains meaningful reflections that derive from personal experience in class.

  • High-Pass: Essay contains substantial descriptions of personal experiences that are clear and relevant.
  • Low-Pass: Essay mostly meets High-Pass criteria, but the reflections are somewhat lacking in clarity or relevance.
  • Fail: Majority of essay is disconnected from personal experiences or experiences reported are unclear or irrelevant.