From Frameworks to Your Own Case

For four weeks we built DTPA one piece at a time: Data (Week 1), Tools (Week 2), Practices (Week 3), Actions (Week 4).

Starting today, you use all four at once, and you find the case.

• Weeks 1–4 asked: where have we been? — foundations and mechanics.
• Weeks 5–10 ask: where are we now? — real deployments, domain by domain.
• Three rounds, two weeks each. Today starts Full Case I.

Full Case I: Choose a Domain

Your group picks one broad domain, then narrows to one specific, documented case inside it.

• Healthcare
• Art & Creative Industries
• Education
• Athletics & Sports
• Politics & Government

Domain is not a case. "AI in healthcare" is not a case; a specific hospital's use of a named documentation tool is.

Your case needs: a named tool, a named organization, and a documented deployment (something that happened, with a date, from a citable source).

How the Next Two Weeks Work

Two things happen in parallel:

• The domain you review individually does not have to be your group's domain — reading outside it is the point.
• Week 5 Update: due Sun, Oct 4
• Week 6 Full Case: due Sun, Oct 11

Your Case Study Document

Same template family as your weekly Case Studies, split into two parts:

• Part A (Week 5 Update) — a checkpoint, not a draft. Sections 0–8 walk you through: your case statement, how you got there, sources so far, DTPA readiness, your thinnest part, disagreements, and your plan for Week 6.
• Part B (Full Case) — the complete DTPA analysis and Four Pillars reflection, same standard as your weekly Case Studies, plus Similar Cases and a group reflection.

Use Section 0 to dump links, notes, and half-finished thoughts as you go — nothing there is graded, but nothing gets lost either.

Posted on D2L and linked from the Week 5/6 schedule page.

The Trap to Avoid

Do not stop at the first case you find, and do not default to the domains materials we posted.

Those readings are the most visible stories in each domain — that's exactly why they're a place to start, not a place to finish.

• Follow one source to another.
• The best cases so far have come from groups chasing something nobody handed them.
• AI Incident Database · AI Hallucination Cases Database · 404 Media

New: The Honors Option

An independent research option on the energy, water, and political costs of AI computing.

• Eligibility: 3.0+ in CMSE 101 — this builds on the course, it doesn't replace it.
• Individual project.
• Framed by critical pragmatism: name what's exploitative or oversold about a system, and end with something usable — a policy recommendation, a design constraint, practical guidance someone could reasonably argue against.

Every topic must address two required lenses:

1. Hype vs. evidence — hold an industry/marketing claim up against independent evidence.
2. Labor and exploitation — name who makes the system possible, and who's exposed to its harms.

Honors Option — Topics & Logistics

Choose at least one: AI policy & power · energy/water use case studies · open vs. closed systems · energy sources · edge computing · tokens as an efficiency metric · labor behind the systems.

Format (your choice): ~3,000-word essay · 10-minute video + slides · scientific poster — must include a table of energy/cost calculations and your proposal.

Milestones:

• Detailed plan (topic, format, schedule, 2–3 sources) — accepted before you file honors-college paperwork
• Mid-project prototype or outline — due mid-November
• Final product — due Dec 21

New: Lead a Class (Optional)

Starting Week 11, groups can opt to lead half of a Monday or Wednesday class, walking the room through one of your group's three Full Cases (I, II, or III) using DTPA.

• A deeper engagement option, not a requirement.
• Each student may do this once.
• What's expected: present your strongest evidence for one or two DTPA components, share any disagreements your group had, pose a discussion question — then write that day's Exit Ticket.
• Unclaimed half-classes (and all of Friday) stay Case Design work time.

Sign Up to Lead

Slots are one group per half-class, first-come first-served — email me to claim one.

• Send your session plan 3 days before your slot for feedback.
• After leading, a short individual reflection (~150 words) replaces that week's case analysis.

Today: Get Started

You have the rest of class to begin. By the time you leave today, your group should have:

• Confirmed your Full Case I group (if not already set)
• At least a short list of candidate domains you're willing to spend two weeks in
• Started Section 0 — save every link and idea as you find it

You have all week. The goal today is momentum, not a finished case.

Reminders

Exit Tickets, D2L, and the Course Website

• Complete today's Exit Ticket by 11:59pm (on D2L)
• Week 5 Update (Full Case I, Part A): due Sun, Oct 4
• Individual Effort & Metacognitive Report: due Sun, Oct 4
• Review one Week 5/6 domain (see earlier slides) → Forum Post due Sun, Oct 4
• Required this week: select your Case Design groups (more on Case Design soon; can be same as Case Study groups)