Students bring an idea and leave with a working web app they built themselves. AI coding assistants can write a lot of code fast, but they only build good things when the person directing them knows what they want, can read what comes back, and can test it. That’s what this class teaches: thinking like a builder, giving clear instructions, checking the work, and fixing what breaks.
Level: Beginner
Ages: 13–18
Length: 6 weeks
Format: Live classes with guided practice and a final demo day
About accounts: Many AI coding tools, including Claude, require users to be 18 or older. Students under 18 use AI assistants through instructor-led sessions and never need an account of their own.
Outcomes
- Turn a rough idea into a short, clear plan: who it’s for, what it does, what “done” looks like
- Use the terminal and project folders with confidence
- Direct an AI coding assistant in small steps, and read and explain the code it writes
- Test, debug and save progress with version control
- Build safely: no secrets in code, no personal data, accessible design
- Publish the finished app and present it at demo day
Week 1 — Think Like a Builder
- From idea to problem: who has it, and how will we know we solved it? — 45 min
- How AI coding assistants work, and what they get wrong — 30 min
- Writing a one-page plan for your app — 45 min
Week 2 — Your Developer Toolkit
- The terminal: folders, files and running commands — 45 min
- What a web app is made of: HTML, CSS and JavaScript — 45 min
- Save points with Git: commit early, commit often — 30 min
Week 3 — Directing the AI
- Clear instructions: goal, context, constraints and examples — 45 min
- Building in small steps instead of one giant request — 45 min
- Reading AI-written code: asking it to explain every line — 30 min
Week 4 — Test, Debug, Repeat
- Testing like a user: write the checks before you build — 45 min
- Reading error messages and fixing bugs with AI help — 45 min
- When the AI is wrong: spotting made-up code and bad advice — 30 min
Week 5 — Make It Yours, Make It Safe
- Design that works for everyone: color, layout and accessibility — 45 min
- Security basics: secrets, passwords and personal data stay out of your code — 45 min
- Peer review: test a classmate’s app and give useful feedback — 30 min
Week 6 — Ship It
- Publishing your app to the web — 45 min
- Telling your app’s story: the problem, the build and what you learned — 30 min
- Demo day for family and friends — 60 min
Good to take first: CodeCraft for HTML, CSS and JavaScript basics, or Prompting: Getting Great Results from AI.