{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "content": "---\ntitle: \"COMP4020/8020: Rapid Prototyping for the Web\"\ndescription: \"Designing a new ANU course on building web apps with coding\n  agents---studio-based, prototype-driven, moving beyond naive vibecoding.\"\ntags: [teaching, comp4020]\n---\n\n:::tip\n\nI'm developing a new course for S2 2026: **COMP4020/8020 Rapid Prototyping for\nthe Web**. This post is me thinking aloud as I work through the course\ndesign---nothing here is final, and feedback is welcome. This is the first post\nin a series---see [all posts tagged comp4020](/blog/tag/comp4020/).\n\n:::\n\nHere's the pitch. LLM-based coding agents, which run tools (e.g. edit files,\nrun code, search the web) in a loop to achieve a goal, offer a powerful\nworkflow for developing software. This is especially true for application domains which are\nwell-represented in LLM training sets---like the web.\n\nMoving beyond naive \"vibecoding\", this course provides a studio-based \"iterate\nand test with working prototypes\" approach to rapidly prototyping web apps. In\nthe weekly lectures students will learn fundamental concepts and practical\nskills for harnessing an agentic coding workflow. In the weekly \"studio crit\nsession\" tutorials, students will demo their work-in-progress prototypes and\nreceive feedback from peers and instructors. By the end of the course each\nstudent will have designed, developed and deployed _multiple_ web app prototypes\nusing a rapid, feedback-driven process.\n\nThe background here is worth a word. Most people point to the ChatGPT release\nin November 2022 as an inflection point in the use and influence of LLMs in\nmodern life, but for software developers\nit's Claude Code's release in May 2025 which has made the biggest change to the\nway we do (some of) our job. I don't subscribe to either the \"booster\" or\n\"doomer\" end of the spectrum with AI/LLM tools, but I am curious about the way\nthey'll change how _people_ make cool stuff.\n\nAnyway, the ANU School of Computing (where I was formerly a faculty member,\nbefore moving to the School of Cybernetics in 2021) has asked me to create a new\ncourse for 2026 and this is the course I think we need right now. It's the\ncourse _I_ want to create, anyway.\n\n:::info\n\nWhat follows are the draft learning outcomes---subject to change as the\ncourse develops.\n\n:::\n\nAt the completion of this course, students will be able to:\n\n1. design, build and test full-stack web applications using a rapid-prototyping\n   process\n2. explain how LLM-based coding agents work, including model capabilities, tool\n   use, and context management\n3. design and evaluate different LLM agent workflows for software development\n4. apply principles from the scholarly literature to work-in-progress and\n   finalised software prototypes\n\nI'm still working through the assessment structure, the weekly schedule, and the\ntechnical infrastructure. If you've got thoughts on teaching agentic software\ndevelopment---or you're doing something similar at your institution---I'd love\nto hear from you. If you're a student at the ANU School of Computing, and have a\nslot for a 4XXX/8XXX elective in S2 2026, then keep an eye out for more\ninformation as the time approaches.\n",
  "createdAt": "2026-05-13T23:14:41.662Z",
  "description": "Designing a new ANU course on building web apps with coding agents---studio-based, prototype-driven, moving beyond naive vibecoding.",
  "path": "/blog/2025/12/19/comp4020-rapid-prototyping-for-the-web",
  "publishedAt": "2025-12-19T00:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "at://did:plc:tevykrhi4kibtsipzci76d76/site.standard.publication/self",
  "tags": [
    "teaching",
    "comp4020"
  ],
  "textContent": "Designing a new ANU course on building web apps with coding agents---studio-based, prototype-driven, moving beyond naive vibecoding.",
  "title": "COMP4020/8020: Rapid Prototyping for the Web"
}