Course Logistics

Meetings

When: Mon/Wed 3:35–4:50pm
Where: CASE E220

Instructor

Jonathan Zong

Office hours: by appointment (signup link in Canvas)

Email: use the Inbox tab on Canvas

Messaging me on Canvas is better because I will see all class-related messages in one place. If you email me directly, I’ll still reply, but it risks your message getting buried under other emails.

Grading

Grade component	Weight
Participation	20%
Reading responses	30%
Assignments 1–3	30%
Final project	20%
Total	100%

Accessibility

I want this course to be accessible to all students, and I’m available to discuss course accessibility needs with students whether or not these needs relate to officially documented accommodations. Please let me know about access needs as soon as possible.

Please refer to the following information about CU Boulder Disability Services.

Accommodation for Disabilities, Temporary Medical Conditions, and Medical Isolation

If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit your accommodation letter from Disability Services to your faculty member in a timely manner so that your needs can be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities in the academic environment. Information on requesting accommodations is located on the Disability Services website. Contact Disability Services at 303-492-8671 or DSinfo@colorado.edu for further assistance. If you have a temporary medical condition, see Temporary Medical Conditions on the Disability Services website.

If you have a temporary illness, injury or required medical isolation for which you require adjustment, please review the Attendance Policy below and contact the instructor.

Policies

Attendance Policy

Because the class involves grappling with ideas and concepts that we might be encountering for the first time, the bulk of the value of this class comes from in-class discussion where we help each other refine our understanding of the material.

That’s why attendance and active participation are really important for this class. Our discussion time together is valuable and really difficult to replace by other activities. Missing class can have a huge impact on your and your classmates’ learning experience. When you miss a session, everyone else also misses out on potentially hearing your perspective on the material.

All students are expected to come to class having made progress with readings, course assignments, and projects and fully participate in class activities and discussions. The participation grade is calculated based on in-class activities, interactions with and feedback from partners and the instructor, and general participation in class.

Here are some examples of how you can participate:

Giving comments and feedback on other students’ projects
Practice active listening – be attentive and be engaged
Ask questions – there are no dumb questions
Comment, build on, or clarify others’ contributions
Only use technology devices when it’s relevant to course activities
Maintain professional interactions with community members, including showing up to meetings on times, sharing project feedback, and following through on shared commitments

That being said, things happen outside of our control. I am happy to work with students who have needs related to disability, illness, family, or religious obligations.

If you let me know before class that you will miss class for one of these accepted reasons, I will not penalize your participation grade. However, I highly encourage you to ask a classmate about what you missed or come to office hours.

In particular, do not come to class if you are sick. It is important to rest when you are not feeling well, and your classmates do not want to become sick too. This is important for disability inclusion, as we want class space to be welcoming for people e.g. who are immunocompromised.

Zoom option: Although this is primarily an in-person class, you may message me in advance (at least 1 hour before the start of class) requesting a Zoom link. Your request needs to contain a valid reason that you cannot make it to class. I will make Zoom available on a case-by-case basis. If you need a Zoom link more regularly for accessibility reasons, please email the instructor.

Late Work Policy

Students are expected to read assigned readings and to complete assignments by the due dates indicated in the course schedule. Understanding the readings properly is extremely important. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to read, comprehend, and reflect on the readings every week.

Students may request a deadline extension for any assignment by emailing the instructor. An extension request must contain:

a request for an extension on a specific assignment
the amount of time requested
the reason for the request

Extension requests must be made before the assignment due date.

Late assignments will be accepted 5 days past the deadline. However, 10% points will be deducted per day late up to 50%. Assignments will not be accepted after 5 days past due even for partial credit.

AI Policy

Generative AI tools, such as LLMs and code agents, are quickly changing the practice of software design and engineering. These changes have implications for the way that we learn and practice design in ways that are relevant to this class. Here, I’d like to articulate some guiding values that we should follow in class:

Process-oriented, not outcome-oriented. The design process is something that we get better at with practice. In class, we are creating a space where we can practice following a design process without worrying about messing up or creating something perfect. The goal isn’t to make the best project at the end, but for you to have gotten the practice you need to apply those design principles in the future. Just like we wouldn’t use a forklift to lift weights in the gym, we won’t use AI to skip over the process straight to the outcome.
Community-minded and collaborative, not individualistic. Design is best when it’s a collaborative, creative process. We will rely on each other to bounce ideas and get feedback. If we’re only ever asking AI questions we could be asking each other, we lose opportunities to learn from each other.
Intentional and reflective, not unthinking. AI poses a lot of ethical challenges for society. One major example is its environmental cost. Another is its unclear effect on human cognition, or on the trustworthiness of information online. We have to learn about and think intentionally about these issues, so that we can make responsible and informed decisions.

Here are specific examples of uses that are not allowed. These are meant to be illustrative, and not exhaustive.

Do not use LLMs to generate your reading responses from scratch. This doesn’t help you learn and is disrespectful of my time when I read your responses. I know that the readings may be challenging sometimes—grappling with difficult ideas is an important part of the learning process that the class is going through together as we read and discuss. I am interested in your genuine reflections, even if they are imperfect. AI is not a substitute for doing and thinking about the reading yourself.
Do not use image generators or coding agents to make your design decisions. Often, the process of sketching a low-fidelity prototype can be important for the creative process and noticing gaps in your thinking. Prototyping is a tool to facilitate our design exploration. AI sometimes goes straight to high-fidelity, which can deprive you of an opportunity to reflect on your design. I’m fine with using AI to refine later-stage implementations, but not for exploratory prototyping or one-shotting your final project.

There are ways to use AI responsibly in this class. Please follow the values listed above. I will not actively police your AI use. However, turning in LLM-generated reading responses will count as academic dishonesty and I will take appropriate measures if I find out. Further, you are accountable for everything you turn in—if AI generates low-quality work for you, you are responsible for the feedback and/or grade that you get.

Enrollment

Due to course requirements and enrollment demands, the Information Science Department may administratively drop students who do not fulfill syllabus’ attendance expectations in advance of the drop-without-penalty deadline (September 4th, 2026). If you have concerns about meeting this requirement, please reach out to the instructor.

CU Boulder Syllabus Statements

A Commitment and Invitation from Our College

CMDI strives to be a community whose excellence depends on diversity, access, equity, and inclusion. We aim to understand and challenge systems of privilege and disadvantage in higher education, such as those based on class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and dis/ability. We seek to reach across social and political divides and to make space for voices historically excluded in higher education and marginalized in society. In other words, diversity is not just a future reality for which we try to prepare students. It is a priority we want to put into practice here, now, and together, in order to foster places of learning where all members can thrive. Our question for you is, how are we doing? Please contact the CMDI diversity team (email dei-cmdi@colorado.edu or visit the CMDI Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Staff page)

if you need support or other resources but don’t know where to turn
if any aspect of your educational experience with CMDI does not reflect the commitment expressed here, or if you want to share a positive instance of this commitment in action
if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas related to diversity

We want to hear from you so that we can do better, and to support you however we can!

Honor Code

All students enrolled in a University of Colorado Boulder course are responsible for knowing and adhering to the Honor Code. Violations of the Honor Code may include but are not limited to: plagiarism (including use of paper writing services or technology [such as essay bots]), cheating, fabrication, lying, bribery, threat, unauthorized access to academic materials, clicker fraud, submitting the same or similar work in more than one course without permission from all course instructors involved, and aiding academic dishonesty. Understanding the course’s syllabus is a vital part of adhering to the Honor Code.

All incidents of academic misconduct will be reported to Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution: StudentConduct@colorado.edu. Students found responsible for violating the Honor Code will be assigned resolution outcomes from Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution and will be subject to academic sanctions from the faculty member. Visit Honor Code for more information on the academic integrity policy.

Accommodation for Religious Obligations

Instructional faculty members must make every reasonable effort to accommodate all students who have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignment deadlines or required attendance due to a religious observance. Whenever possible, students must notify the instructional faculty member at least two weeks in advance of the expected exam, assignment deadline, or attendance conflict to request an accommodation for religious observance. If the start date of the course is less than two weeks before the date of requested accommodation, students must notify the instructional faculty member on the start date of the course. See the Student Academic Accommodations for Religious Observances Policy for more information.

Preferred Student Names and Pronouns

CU Boulder recognizes that students’ legal information does not always align with how they identify. If you wish to have a name other than your legal name appear on your instructors’ class rosters and in Canvas, or if you wish to choose pronouns to appear on your instructors’ class rosters and in Canvas, visit the Registrar’s website for instructions on how to change your personal information in university systems.

Classroom Behavior

Students and faculty are responsible for maintaining an appropriate learning environment in all instructional settings, whether in person, remote, or online. Failure to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, marital status, political affiliation, or political philosophy.

Additional classroom behavior information

CU Boulder is committed to fostering an inclusive and welcoming learning, working, and living environment. University policy prohibits protected-class discrimination and harassment, sexual misconduct (harassment, exploitation, and assault), intimate partner abuse (dating or domestic violence), stalking, and related retaliation by or against members of our community on- and off-campus.

The Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance (OIEC) addresses these concerns, and individuals who have been subjected to misconduct can contact OIEC at 303-492-2127 or email OIEC@colorado.edu. Information about university policies, OIEC reporting options, and OIEC support resources including confidential services can be found on the OIEC website.

Faculty and graduate instructors are required to inform OIEC when someone discloses misconduct regardless of when or where it occurred. This is to ensure that those impacted receive outreach from OIEC about resolution options and support resources. To learn more about reporting and support options for a variety of concerns, visit the Don’t Ignore It page.

Mental Health and Wellness

The University of Colorado Boulder is committed to supporting students’ mental health and overall wellbeing. If personal, academic, or emotional challenges are affecting your wellbeing or success, Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS) is here to help. CAPS offers counseling, referrals, psychiatric care, crisis support, and much more. Visit CAPS in the C4C, or call 303-492-2277, 24/7.