April 29, 2025
NATCHITOCHES – “Artificial Intelligence is developing so quickly, and like so many things in IT, it can be difficult to identify where to start when researching a topic,” said Colleen Biely of Green Bay, Wisconsin, an IT professional of 34 years.
Biely is one of several computer programmers who joined a first-of-its kind class at Northwestern State University this spring to learn cutting-edge AI programming, up their professional skills and stay ahead of the curve as AI continues to rapidly transform commerce and many other aspects of life and work.
NSU offered the hands-on class, CIS 4700 OCI, in partnership with IBM, led by Monty Chicola, an NSU graduate and software developer whose company, Real Vision Software, Inc. (RIV), has been an IBM Business Partner Company for the past 35 years. Both traditional students and working professionals from all over the U.S. and as far away as South Africa enrolled in the class, interested in learning to transform theoretical knowledge into real-world applications to acquire the most sought after skills in the current technology industry.
“Your job or your company may not be replaced by AI but they absolutely could be replaced by someone using AI to one up you in the future,” Chicola said. “It is here to stay and getting cheaper and faster every single day.”
“I was sometimes struggling to imagine where AI could be applied in my work and my life. I wanted more to go on than the latest buzzwords or waste a lot of my time following dead ends,” Biely said. “I am thrilled to report the class has exceeded my expectations. I did not know what to expect, but Monty has brought, for me, the correct balance of information to experiment on my own and he does it well with such an engaging style.”
Ja’Layja Davis of Natchitoches, a traditional student majoring in computer information systems at NSU, was seeking classes that will enhance her future career. She’d like to work as a data analyst while earning a Master of Business Administration and eventually work as a health informatics specialist. She is already focused on earning relevant certifications.
“My courses from junior and senior year have helped me learn more about databases and management of data,” she said. “This class has helped me learn how to code in IBM. I hope this helps me better understand hardware systems and servers. IBM tools and platforms that support data analysis and AI will prepare me for a career in IT.”
One of Chicola’s project assignments was to write code in different languages that talked to the Large Language Models one on one. The program would then set up information for AI to accept questions and reply from its knowledge or a personal knowledge base. Since the class started, Large Language Models are now able to write their own programs to talk to themselves.
“Is it a class to learn programming or is it a class to learn how to tell AI what kind of program to write for you? I think knowing both approaches will serve these students well in the future,” Chicola said.
Students worked on projects with Voice Chat Bots, which act as a service desk or receptionist that can send push notifications from an AI agent to an Apple device.
Howard Harrell, another non-degree seeking student, is a new hire at RVI. He graduated from Davidson College in North Carolina with a degree in math and computer science last May and started at Real Vision Software as a junior programmer in January, working remotely from Reidsville, North Carolina.
“I had previous experience with a programming internship at HeyKiddo, a startup making a mental health app for parents of kids aged 5-12, so I came in with lots of front-end and some back-end coding skills,” Harrell said. “However, I hadn’t yet been exposed to RPG, the coding language the IBM mainframe at RVI uses, so this class has been a great way to learn that and get some tips on how to leverage AI to create interesting applications.”
Harrell said one of his favorite tools is a method of using Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) to bolster a chatbot’s knowledge base with a company’s specific materials.
“I’m already using technology like this to create projects for RVI, such as an AI tool that analyzes and classifies documents and a program that translates natural language into database queries,” Harrell said. “It’s exciting to create software that integrates mainstays of IT infrastructure that have been operating for decades with novel, cutting-edge AI methods, and I’ve learned a ton from this class that I’ll be sure to retain and utilize many years into my career.”
“I rate the class a 10/10, I’ve loved it so much,” Davis said. “Monty showed us step by step how to code in IBM, work IBM machines, use ChatGPT server with our own data, code projects in python and more. We’ve been doing so many projects and each class is more interesting. I would definitely recommend this class to anyone.”
Biely learned about the class through a remote Lunch and Learn session Chicola hosted last fall that discussed how AI will impact the workplace. Describing herself as a continuous learner, Biely said the pace of the course has been perfect for her.
“I have enough time with classes once a week to be able to process what we went over and do some experimenting on my own before the next class,” she said. “I am confident I will be able to apply what I have learned which makes the class well worth my time. The class sessions are long enough to cover significant material.”
Those who don’t embrace AI are likely to get left behind, Chicola said.
“Within one year everyone will have heard about AI and some of its capabilities, and before the second year, everyone is going to try to use it to their advantage or just get left behind,” Chicola said. “It is here to stay and getting cheap and faster every single day. Don’t get too far behind the curve before you investigate using it in your world.
