Course: Using Artificial Intelligence (AI 101) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Quinn
Module: Week 8 of 16 · Fall 2026 · in-person, two 75-minute lecture sessions
Objectives covered: cumulative — Objectives 1–3 (Weeks 1–7): what generative AI is and how it works conceptually; effective prompting across all four prompting weeks; multimodal AI and choosing the right tool.

This file holds two pieces: (A) the Module 8 Overview page ("Start Here") and (B) the Welcome Announcement that drips out when the module opens. This is the midterm week — it works differently from a normal week. Dates below assume a Tuesday/Thursday lecture pattern with Week 8 meeting Tue Oct 20 and Thu Oct 22; the Midterm window opens Mon Oct 19 and the exam is due Sun Oct 25, 11:59 p.m.; Discussion 8 (the debrief) is also due Sun Oct 25. Adjust the day-of-week and times to match your section.

(A) Module 8 Overview — Start Here

Welcome to Week 8: Midterm Review & Exam

This is your home base for the week. Read it first, then work the checklist below from top to bottom. Everything you need is linked inside the module.

Heads-up: this is the midterm week, so it runs differently. There is no regular quiz, no assignment, and no AI Build Studio this week — the Midterm replaces them all. Instead, the week is built to get you ready: we spend both lecture sessions reviewing the whole first half, you work through a three-part prep kit, you sit the exam, and then you reflect on how it went.

The midterm is cumulative over Weeks 1–7 (Objectives 1–3) — what AI is and how it generates content; the four prompting weeks (conversation + content + emphasis, meta-prompting + structured prompts, examples + control, simulations + reusable prompts); and multimodal AI and tool choice. It does not reach verification in depth, Cowork, ethics/privacy, or the capstone (those are assessed on the cumulative final), so you can bound your studying.

The week's big question

"Across the whole first half — what AI is, how to talk to it effectively, and which modality or tool to reach for — can I apply the right move to each situation and catch the classic trap before it sinks me?"

By the end of the week you'll have walked the entire Objective 1–3 arc once more, identified the exact spots where points get lost (the fluency-equals-truth trap, the few-shot-means-one-example confusion, the DALL·E-analyzes-photos misconception), and shown what you can do on the Midterm.

By the end of this week, you can…

Use this as a checklist. If you can do all three out loud, you're ready.

• [ ] Explain what AI is and how it works (Obj 1) — distinguish generative AI / LLM / AGI / context window / training cutoff; explain next-token prediction; name the classic limits (hallucination, training cutoff, context-window loss); tell a search engine from a chatbot; explain why the Turing test is a behavioral benchmark, not a proof of consciousness; and articulate why fluency ≠ truth.
• [ ] Prompt effectively (Obj 2) — counter sycophancy; use provide-content prompting; apply emphasis (Markdown / XML / CAPS); meta-prompt; name and apply the nine structured-prompt components; use zero/one/few-shot examples correctly; apply the control toolkit (count, constraints, expansion); know when to use a simulation and what type; and use placeholder variables in a reusable template.
• [ ] Work with modalities and choose the right tool (Obj 3) — explain what multimodal means; describe the voice-mode two-step process; walk through the record-transcribe-analyze workflow including its two error-entry points; distinguish image creation (text → image) from image analysis (image → text); and match a task to the right tool type.

What's due this week, and what to do

Work these in order — each one gets you ready for the next. The usual weekly quiz, assignment, and AI Build Studio are not here.

There is no Quiz 8, no Assignment 8, and no AI Build Studio 8 this week — the Midterm stands in for all of them. The Study Guide, Exam-Prep Tutorial, and Practice Exam are your prep kit; the Midterm and Discussion 8 are what's graded.

AI policy reminder for this week: this course normally requires you to use AI — it's the subject of the course. The midterm is one of the two exceptions. AI is not permitted on the Midterm itself. The midterm and quizzes exist to confirm that you understand the concepts and can apply them without an AI alongside you. The Exam-Prep Tutorial (an AI chatbot), the Practice Exam, and Discussion 8 are all fine to complete with AI assistance. The midterm is not.

A note on the AI prep tutorial: the Exam-Prep Tutorial works like every weekly tutorial — the chatbot drills and diagnoses you, and you judge its explanations against what we covered. It may occasionally mis-describe sycophancy or confuse a context window with a training cutoff; catching that is part of being ready. (But remember: AI is not permitted on the Midterm itself — only on the prep.)

Late policy reminder: 10% off per day late — and the exam window is firm, so don't let it sneak up. If life happens, reach out before the deadline; I'd much rather hear from you early than after.

How to succeed this week

• Review actively, not passively. Don't re-read the slides — do the moves. Name the technique, apply it to a scenario, catch the trap. The Study Guide and Practice Exam are built for exactly this.
• Bound your studying. The midterm is Objectives 1–3 only (Weeks 1–7). Verification in depth, Cowork automation, and ethics/privacy are not on it — those are assessed on the cumulative final. Study the right three objectives deeply instead of everything thinly.
• Drill the classic traps. Most wrong answers on midterms like this one come from a handful of predictable misconceptions: fluency = truth; AGI is here; few-shot = one example; regenerate fixes facts; Role = accuracy; AI-generated historical quotes are verified; DALL·E analyzes photos. If you can immediately name the cure for each of these, you're ready.
• Use the prep kit in order. Study Guide → Exam-Prep Tutorial → Practice Exam. The tutorial finds your weak spots; the timed practice exam tells you whether you've fixed them.
• Then breathe and debrief. Discussion 8 isn't more cramming — it's the moment you notice what worked and make a plan for the back half. Do it after the exam while it's fresh.

You've already built every one of these skills over seven weeks. This week is about pulling them together and showing them. Come to class ready to review out loud — and bring your questions. See you Tuesday.

(B) Welcome Announcement — Module 8

Release setting: post on the module's start day (offset = 0 days), i.e., Mon Oct 19, 2026 (the day the midterm window opens). If your platform won't preserve the scheduled date on import, post this as a draft labeled "Release: Mon Oct 19."

Subject: Week 8 — Midterm week: review, prep kit, exam 🤖

Hi everyone,

We're at the halfway mark, and this week is different from the others: it's midterm week. There's no regular quiz, no assignment, and no AI Build Studio — the Midterm takes their place. Everything this week is built to get you ready and then let you show what you can do.

Here's the shape of it: both lecture sessions (Tue Oct 20 / Thu Oct 22) are a fast, complete review of Weeks 1–7 — what AI is and how it generates content, all four prompting weeks, and multimodal AI and tool choice. The exam is cumulative over Objectives 1–3, and it does not reach verification in depth, Cowork, ethics, or the final capstone — so you can study the right things.

Your prep kit, in order: work the Study Guide first (it lays out every concept, term, and misconception cure across Objectives 1–3), then run the Exam-Prep Tutorial with an approved chatbot (Gemini, Claude, or ChatGPT) and submit the share link, then sit the Practice Exam timed to find any soft spots.

The three dates that matter:
1. Midterm — window opens Mon Oct 19, due Sun Oct 25, 11:59 p.m. (20% of your grade; 20 items; one attempt; AI is not permitted).
2. Exam-Prep Tutorial — submit your chat share link before the exam closes (Sun Oct 25).
3. Discussion 8 — the midterm debrief — initial post Fri Oct 23, replies Sun Oct 25; reflect on what prep worked, where the gaps were, and your plan going forward.

One reminder: you've built every one of these skills already over seven weeks. This week just asks you to name them and apply them under one roof — without AI support for the exam itself. Open the Start Here / Module Overview page first — it lays out the whole week in order with every due date.

You've got this. Come with questions Tuesday,
Prof. Quinn