Turning Projects into Pedagogy: An Interview with Artmink Creator Brian McClain
From Brian's Interview
Personal Projects Drive Curriculum
Brian uses his Artmink generative-AI app for visual analysis as a guide for what to teach next.
It's Not AI Replacing You
"It's a Terminator Class Cyborg who uses AI that's going to take your job." — adoption matters more than the tool itself.
Confidence + Achievement
Brian's hope for students: they walk away feeling they've leveled up, regardless of starting point.
Coding Is Problem Solving
"It's not 'what you know' but how well you can analyze and solve a problem."
Noble Desktop's Generative AI Certificate covers ChatGPT, Copilot, prompt engineering, and applying generative AI in real workflows.
AI isn’t just changing the tools we use; it’s transforming the way we teach and learn them. For Brian McClain, that transformation is personal. Brian is both an Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning engineer, and the creator of Artmink, an AI-powered app that helps collectors and dealers identify and evaluate antiques and vintage items. Working at Noble, his philosophy is to bring real-world application into every part of his class, and the implications are exciting!
We sat down with Brian to explore how his personal projects shape Noble’s AI and programming curriculum, what he hopes students take away from his courses, and why coding is about more than just letters and numbers on a screen.
Q: As a lead course developer, how do you decide which technologies or skills to include in your curriculum to ensure it stays relevant and industry-aligned?
I've increasingly been looking toward my own personal project, Artmink, for guidance on what curriculum to develop next.
Q: That’s right. You’re currently working on Artmink, an app that uses generative AI for visual analysis, helping people evaluate antiques. How has your experience building that shaped your perspective as a teacher and as a user of AI?
My work as an AI/ML Engineer and app developer has made me a better teacher. I don't just know more–I know what matters more. And as a user of AI, I have gradually learned that it's not AI that's going to take your job. It's a Terminator Class Cyborg who uses AI that's going to take your job.
Q: What do you hope students walk away with after completing one of your courses, especially those new to programming or data?
Regardless of their level coming in or how long they study with us, I want them to walk away with confidence and a sense of achievement. That they have "leveled up" or at least kickstarted that. The big takeaway I hope that they get is that when it comes to coding, it's not "what you know" but how well you can analyze and solve a problem.
Q: How do you introduce students to real-world applications of AI, especially in your machine learning and Python courses?
Well, in the Python for Machine Learning and Python for AI Apps courses, which I developed here for Noble, the AI is kind of baked in throughout. In the AI Apps class, we code a chatbot and also an image analyzer (a la Artmink). These projects are derived from my app. It's quite a nifty little piece of hustle bustle: JavaScript-to-Python-Flask and back, with a side trip to the OpenAI API.
Q: Are there any tools, platforms, or libraries you’ve found particularly effective in teaching applied AI or data science?
Well, for AI app development, there's the OpenAI API, among a myriad of other platforms. And for Machine Learning model training and testing, there's Tensorflow-Keras, which we get into in ML level 1, and Pytorch (which we delve into in ML level 2).
Q: Do you use AI-based tools in your teaching, and if so, how have students responded to them?
I think they like them! Enough for my Python for AI Apps class to egg me on to edit the "Are You Not Entertained" scene in Gladiator to show him slaying whole tech stacks. But seriously, I really enjoy teaching my students how to build powerful apps with JavaScript, Python-Flask, and the OpenAI API. Thanks!
You can view the gladiator scene in question here.
Curious about Artmink: learn more and download the app for free.
Explore Noble Desktop’s Python classes and AI classes to gain real-world skills and see how Brian’s innovative approach brings cutting-edge tools into the classroom.
