BZAN 8175
Physical Computing - Interactive Art, Robotics, and Tech for Good · 1 instructor on record · 3 sections
That is the class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it. Who taught it, and how each of them scored, is the board below — that is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between.
Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question for this class only — students answer it positively about courses that stretched them, so it measures intellectual challenge and NOT grading, workload or quality. Almost every BC class scores high on it, which is why it is shown as a rank rather than a score.
Boston College reports workload for this class only as one of five bands, not as a number of hours, and it does not publish what the bands mean — so this site will not translate it into hours. Higher means more work, which is not the same as worse.
Are you ready to build cool stuff, even if youve never programmed or worked with electronics before? This course is for you! Youll learn CircuitPython and use low-cost electronics boards (e.g., Circuit Playground Bluefruit, Raspberry Pi Pico 2W) to create projects that span art, robotics, and tech for good. The class is taught in a flipped format: each week, youll take home parts and follow learn to build and learn to program lessons at your own pace. In class, well turn that knowledge into playful challengesbuilding things like a magic wand or candy selection dial. By the end, youll tackle advanced skills such as connecting projects to the Internet of Things via MQTT, controlling a robotic arm, and using Bluetooth apps for interaction. Youll complete an "interactive art" project, an individual capstone project and an assistive technology project for the Boston College Campus School. No prior experience is required and the class is open to all students in all schools, freshmen to senior, but do know that the course moves quickly and requires consistent work and strong time management skills. Many students describe it as one of the most fun - and occasionally challenging - classroom experiences theyve had at Boston College. Grad students take the course with undergrads, but are required to complete an additional independent learning project (e.g. learn something new & create a learning video that teaches others). The course counts towards the Lynch Schools MA in in Learning, Design, and Technology. While Lynch grad students have done well, MBA students be aware that the course requires a weekly commitment and time in the maker space. It is often not the best choice for students who are working or not used to the rigor of an undergraduate technology class. STEM-Designated
| Instructor | Overall | Workload | Challenge | RMP overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John GallaugherAssociate Professor · Business Analytics | 883 records | 93rd | 91st | 702 ratings · all classes |
There is no ranking to read here: John Gallaugher is the only instructor with evaluation records for BZAN 8175, so the number is a record, not a position. The RateMyProfessors figure is their overall score across everything they teach, not their score in this class.
Also taught by John Gallaugher
5 other classes| Class | Instructors | Course score |
|---|---|---|
| BZAN 2165AI-based iOS Development for All | 14 records | 86 |
| BZAN 2175Physical Computing - Interactive Art, Robotics, and Tech for Good | 14 records | 87 |
| ISYS 2160Intro to Programming using Swift for iOS App Development | 14 records | 78 |
| ISYS 2170Physical Computing - Interactive Art, Robotics, and Tech for Good | 14 records | 68 |
| BZAN 8165AI-based iOS Development for All | 13 records | 80 |
Other BZAN classes
All of them| Class | Instructors | Course score |
|---|---|---|
| BZAN 1021Operations Management | 879 records | 81 |
| BZAN 1135Statistical Analysis | 878 records | 78 |
| BZAN 2021Coding for Business | 777 records | 74 |
| BZAN 7706Data Analytics 1: Model Building | 225 records | 82 |
| BZAN 3307Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence | 323 records | 83 |
| BZAN 7700Operations Management | 322 records | 85 |
The line
All 13 items · means across 3 recordsBar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.
Game log
3 sections · newest first| Instructor | Term | Sec | Instr | Course | Work |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Gallaugher | Spring 2026 | 01 | 93 | 93 | — |
| John Gallaugher | Fall 2025 | 01 | 70 | 50 | 80 |
| John Gallaugher | Spring 2025 | 01 | 100 | 90 | — |
How to read this boardInstructors are ranked on their record in this class only, never on their average across everything they teach. Scores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Workload is BC's own five-band figure, not a number of hours, and is shown as a rank. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero.