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AI Usage Guidelines

AI tools can be useful for learning Python, but they can also make it easy to skip the practice that helps you actually learn. This course allows responsible AI support, but your submitted work must still be your own work and your own understanding.

Why This Matters

Python is learned by reading, writing, running, testing, and revising code. If AI gives you an answer and you submit it without understanding it, you miss the main learning goal.

In this course, AI may support your learning. It may not replace your learning.

Allowed Uses

You may use AI to:

  • explain a Python idea in simpler language
  • explain an error message
  • suggest a hint when you are stuck
  • help you compare two possible approaches
  • ask for a small example that is different from the assignment
  • check whether your explanation of code makes sense
  • help you find a typo or likely source of an error

Good AI use should help you take the next step yourself.

Not Allowed Uses

You may not use AI to:

  • generate a full assignment solution and submit it as your own
  • complete notebook TODOs without reading or testing the result
  • replace your own reflection, explanation, or fix log
  • submit code that you cannot explain
  • hide AI use if your instructor asks you to describe how you worked
  • copy another student's work and use AI to disguise it

If you are unsure whether a use is allowed, ask your instructor before submitting.

Student Responsibility

You are responsible for anything you submit, including AI-assisted code.

Before submitting AI-assisted work, you must be able to:

  • run the code successfully
  • explain what each main part does
  • connect the code to the assignment instructions
  • identify what you changed or tested
  • answer questions about the work if asked

Verification Requirement

Do not trust AI output automatically. AI can make mistakes, invent details, or produce code that is too advanced for the task.

For any AI-assisted code, you must:

  1. Read it carefully.
  2. Run it yourself.
  3. Test it with at least one small example.
  4. Check that it matches the assignment instructions.
  5. Rewrite or simplify anything you do not understand.
  6. Be ready to explain it in your own words.

If you cannot explain the code, do not submit it yet.

Examples

Acceptable:

  • "What does IndexError mean in Python?"
  • "Can you explain this loop in beginner-friendly language?"
  • "Give me a hint for how to count failed logins without writing the full solution."
  • "Here is my code and error message. What should I check first?"

Not acceptable:

  • "Write the whole assignment for me."
  • "Complete every TODO in this notebook."
  • "Make this copied solution look different."
  • "Write my reflection about what I learned."

A Good Rule

Use AI like a tutor, not a substitute. A tutor can explain, question, and guide. A tutor should not do the learning for you.