I disagree. This class was very easy compared to other courses in the department. There's no problem with the class not having a theoretical focus. However I do think that it is bad to have assignments/quizzes that require no critical thinking and programming assignments that can be done in 30-40 minutes. There is a lot that can be taught in the area of applied machine learning.. I have to disagree that applied machine learning is inherently an "easy" topic.

I think this course would be great for what it does if they made the programming projects a bit harder and maybe labeled it an intro level course (CS129?). I totally agree with the posters sentiments -- I'd much rather have a harder class where you interact with other students to learn more complex material.