Builder Orientation
From AI user to AI-assisted builder. Decompose first, prompt second. One live build, one student build, one paper drill.
Pre-session prepDone 24 h before; verified at T-30 min
- Account check. Every student needs Power Apps + Power Automate licensed in M365 and a working AI tool (GenAI.mil preferred). Run a roster check 48 h before; pair the unprovisioned with a provisioned partner.
- Tabs open. Deck (Week 2), this pack, GenAI.mil, make.powerapps.com, a clean SharePoint test site you can create the EquipmentCheckout list on during M2.
- Do not pre-build the app. The whole value of M2 is the room watching you decide live. Have an empty SharePoint site ready; have GenAI.mil and Power Apps open in separate tabs; have nothing else staged.
- Fallback ready. Bookmark the “Debugging Exercise Fallback” on the instructor page (orientation.html#module-2) in case Power Apps or GenAI.mil is down for the whole session.
- Paper exercise. Print 1 decomposition worksheet per student (or post a Word/Forms link); have whiteboard markers ready for the M2 decompose drill and the M4 individual decomposition.
- Verify Course 1. Cover slide contains a hand-raise to identify anyone who skipped Week 1 — pair them with a stronger partner before M3.
Live hand-off cuesTwo switches today; narrate every decision
- 0:15 — deck → Power Apps. Open make.powerapps.com. Press P in the deck to keep speaker notes pinned. Audible cue: “Watch — do not type along.”
- During M2. Narrate every rejection: when the AI suggests JavaScript instead of Power Fx, stop and re-prompt out loud. The rejection is the lesson.
- 0:40 — back to deck for break slide. Leave the half-built tracker visible in a second tab.
- 0:50 — M3 hand-off. “Now you build. I’ll roam in chat. If you get stuck, post the screenshot — do not DM me.”
- 1:30 — Power Apps → paper. Close laptops audibly. M4 is whiteboard / paper only. The whole point is no AI.
Exercise & activity promptsRead these to the room verbatim
M2 · Decompose-before-build (5 min, whiteboard). “Before I touch anything — what data fields do we need? What does the user need to do? What is the simplest useful version? What data structure backs it?” Capture: item name, serial number, assigned-to, date out, date due, status (out / in / overdue). Actions: check out, check in, see what’s out, see overdue.
M2 · The six live-build prompts (chat-paste blocks in week-2-handouts.html). Run in order, narrating every decision:
- Prompt 1 · Define the problem (2 min): ask for a plan, not code — rifle section, ~30 people, ~50 items.
- Prompt 2 · Data structure (3 min): SharePoint list EquipmentCheckout + CSV template + post-import steps for the Status Choice column and the IsOverdue calculated column.
- Shortcut (audible): SharePoint → Integrate → Power Apps → Create an app. Power Apps auto-generates the form and gallery.
- Prompt 3 · Refine the interface (5 min): filter the gallery to checked-out items, color overdue rows red, add a check-in button.
- Prompt 4 · Iterate (3 min): add a SearchBox + an overdue warning icon, sort overdue to the top.
- Prompt 5 · Debug (4 min): intentionally introduce one error (wrong Choice syntax or column-type mismatch). Show the debug loop live.
- Prompt 6 · Polish (3 min): Marine red/gold/dark color scheme.
M3 · Student Build (25 min). “Pick one starter problem — Leave request tracker, Training attendance log, Vehicle inspection checklist, or your own (clear scope with me first). Decompose on paper for 2 minutes. Then start prompting. You will hit at least one error — that is the assignment. Post errors and your re-prompts in chat so the room sees the recovery.”
M3 · Peer Review (15 min). Pair students. “Six minutes each: demo your build, then your partner walks the four checks — clear problem statement, core function works, evidence of iteration, can explain decisions. Last minute: full-class debrief, one or two standout examples.”
M4 · Individual Decomposition (10 min, paper). “Pick one real problem from your section — the annoying recurring one. On paper: problem statement (one sentence), core requirements, 4–6 subtasks with Human/AI/Pattern columns, frontier risks, simplest useful version. No AI. No screens.”
M4 · Pair Review (8 min) + Debrief (2 min). “Trade worksheets. Four minutes each. Run the four checks: clarity, scope, frontier risks, MVP. Then full-class — who changed their decomposition based on what their partner caught?”
Anchor phrase“Decompose first. Prompt second. The prompt is the easy part.”When this goes sidewaysTop failure modes & recovery
- Power Platform / GenAI.mil / internet is down for the whole session. Switch to the four-bug debugging exercise on the instructor page (orientation.html#module-2, “Debugging Exercise Fallback”). Walk the room through diagnosing the broken Filter / Patch / Overdue code on paper. Do not cancel.
- AI emits JavaScript / C# / Python instead of Power Fx. Show the error. Re-prompt: “Use Power Fx for canvas apps only — no JavaScript, no forEach, no arrow functions.” Use it as a teaching moment.
- Half the room is unprovisioned in Power Apps. Pair-and-share — one driver, one navigator per laptop. Log the unprovisioned roster for the program lead before close.
- Student skips decomposition and just prompts. Stop them. “Show me your fields and actions on paper. We will not unblock you until that exists.”
- Live build runs long; M3 is being squeezed. Cut M2 prompts 5 (debug) and 6 (polish) — the room will hit their own errors in M3 and that is more authentic. Protect M3 hands-on time at all costs.
- Pacing valve at the break. If you are behind, M4 pair review contracts from 8 min to 4 min; never cut M3 build time or the M5 assignment.
Post-session homeworkIssue at Slide 27, before logoff
- Build one tool of your own (Form + Gallery class). Pick a problem from your section. Decompose on paper first. Deploy to a test SharePoint site.
- Bring the failure case to Week 3. Whatever broke or confused you. We will use it as a live debugging case during the Frontier-recognition break.
- Verify M365 access before Week 3: make.powerapps.com, make.powerautomate.com, a SharePoint site you can write to. Email the program lead 48 h out if any are missing.
- Read the SOP · Decomposition page. The paper drill from M4 is the foundation we build on next week.