Before your first lab

Learn the basics. Practice checking the work.

Plan 4–6 hours across several days for videos, notes, exercises, and discussion. This is a study-time estimate, not the length of the videos. A printed or instructor-led alternative covers the same material.

1. How AI works

Watch these topics in Code.org’s How AI Works series: machine learning, training data and bias, neural networks, computer vision, and chatbots and large language models.

For each, write an example of an input, an output, and a way the system could be wrong. Then explain the difference between an answer that sounds convincing and one you have checked. Allow 90 minutes for viewing and notes.

2. Responsible use

Watch the series’ two ethics videos on privacy and the future of work, and equal access and algorithmic bias. Work through the five AI Lab scenarios. Discuss a school assignment where AI is allowed and one where it is not. Allow 60 minutes.

3. Try a small project

Choose a sample exercise. Define the task, make a first version, test it, and record one improvement. Use fictional information. Allow 60–90 minutes.

4. Explain your decisions

Show the project to someone else. Explain one thing you checked, one mistake you found, and where AI or another source helped. Review the student pledge with your parent or guardian. Allow 30–60 minutes.

External resources are third-party educational materials, not Moon Lake productions or endorsements. Use instructor-approved access. No personal AI account is required for these preparation exercises.

Download the complete study guide

Readiness check

Answer all ten questions. The preparation target is at least 8 correct, including every integrity and safety question. Missed topics come with an explanation; you can retry after studying.

This practice result stays on this page and resets when you reload. It is not an application or admission decision. Before enrollment, an instructor reviews completed preparation, your explanation of a project, the pledge, and the separate guardian permissions. Oral and accessible alternatives are available.