AI Project Lab Level 1

Course Overview

AI Project Lab Level 1 is where students build and ship their first real web product. Using AI as a development partner, students don’t just learn tools — they learn how to turn an idea into a working product that lives on the internet. Every 10-week season ends with a product demo, code review, and evaluation — so parents and students can see real, measurable progress.

What You’ll Accomplish

• Ship a Real Product — Build a website and deploy it live to the internet
• Work Like a Pro — Use professional tools: VS Code, Git, and CI/CD deployment
• Partner with AI — Use Claude Code as a development partner to build, debug, and iterate
• Think in Products — Learn to go from idea to design to working product
• Build Your Portfolio — Every project becomes part of your personal portfolio

Course Structure

Each 10-week season follows a two-phase project cycle:

Phase 1: Mini Project (Weeks 1-4)

A fast, fun challenge to build momentum and learn the workflow:

• Set up your development environment and tools
• Learn version control and deployment
• Complete a guided mini product from start to ship

Phase 2: Main Project (Weeks 5-10)

A more substantial product that solves a real problem:

• Design and plan your own product
• Build iteratively with AI assistance
• Polish, test, and deploy to production
• Demo Day — Present your finished product

What You’ll Deliver

Each season, students produce:

• A deployed product (live on the internet)
• Code repository on GitHub
• Product evaluation and code review
• Progress report for parents

Tools & Technologies

• VS Code with extensions
• Claude Code (AI development partner)
• Git & GitHub
• HTML, CSS, JavaScript
• Vercel (deployment)

Laptop Requirements

• RAM: 16GB minimum
• Processor: Intel 12th Gen or newer, AMD Ryzen 5000 or newer, Apple M1 or newer
• Storage: 256GB SSD minimum (512GB recommended)
• Display: 1080p, 13” or larger
• OS: Windows 10/11, macOS 11+, or Linux

Chromebooks and tablets are not supported. Laptops older than 2020 are not recommended.

Prerequisites

• Age: Grades 5-9 (ages 10-15)
• Experience: Text-based coding experience required (Python Foundation or Applied Python)
• Requirements: Basic typing skills helpful