Generative AI: Programming with LLMs

Alps is an adaptive learning platform for computer science. This Generative AI course runs entirely in Alps. Students work through interactive lessons, write code, and build AI apps right in the browser. You assign chapters, track progress in real time, and let Alps handle the grading.

The course comes with detailed lesson plans and ideas for class discussions. If you’ve taught Python for a few years, you should be able to teach it with minimal training. For more professional development, we offer training videos, email support, and office hours. Contact us to learn more.

No. Alps has a built-in, Jupyter-compatible Python notebook that runs entirely in the browser, so students can code on any device, including Chromebooks. The only thing students need is an OpenAI API key to work with AI models. Everything else is set up and ready to use.

An OpenAI API key lets students send requests to OpenAI’s language models, like GPT, from their code. We recommend giving students a school-issued key instead of having them create their own accounts. We can also turn on server-side keys for your school.

Yes. You assign the course in Alps, and Alps works with any LMS that supports LTI 1.3, including Canvas, Schoology, Moodle, D2L Brightspace, and Blackboard. Students open Alps from your course with single sign-on. Assignments you publish show up in the LMS gradebook, and scores go there when grading finishes. You can also link a Google Classroom course, where each assignment links straight to it in Alps. On every plan, including the free one, you can share a join link with your students.

Most teachers find the join link or LMS integration easiest. Your options: (1) Share a join link students click to enroll. (2) Have students open Alps from your LMS course over LTI 1.3, which adds them to the class. You can also pull in the course roster with Resync list. (3) Link a Google Classroom course and import its roster. (4) Have an org admin bulk import sections, teachers, and students from a Google Sheet. The join link works on every plan, including the free one.

Students build working AI apps, including interactive chatbots with custom personalities, text summarizers, sentiment analyzers, language translators, and content generators. Alps has a built-in framework for graphical, interactive apps, so students can build chatbots without learning web development.

Students should have finished an introductory Python course that covers variables, functions, lists, dictionaries, and basic control structures. They don’t need any AI, machine learning, or web development experience. The course teaches it all from the ground up.