Lectures about AI are cheap. Labs that test AI are rare.
If you teach a bootcamp, skip the "here's how LLMs work" slide deck and run a model evaluation lab instead. Students learn more in one afternoon of watching a model fail than in a week of theory. And the whole thing runs on a free server with a free model tier — no GPU budget, no cloud credit card, no excuses.
There's a recurring argument in the DEV feed lately: AI writes the code, humans review it, and almost nobody has a method for testing the reviewer. This lab is that method, compressed into a bootcamp assignment. It forces students to measure instead of opine.
Why a lab, not a lecture
Most AI assignments in bootcamps grade essays about AI, not work done with AI. Students write "I used an assistant and it was great" and get full marks. That teaches nothing.
