AI Fundamentals with Prompt-a-Thon – Perplexity Edition

Price
Upon Request

Duration
1 Day

 

Delivery Methods
Virtual Instructor Led
Private Group

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Course Overview

This immersive course introduces participants to the fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence (AI) with a special focus on Perplexity AI—a conversational research assistant that blends search and generative AI.

The morning session explores what AI is, how Perplexity works, and how to use effective prompting techniques to guide its responses for research, writing, and problem-solving.

In the afternoon, learners participate in a collaborative AI Prompt-a-Thon, applying Perplexity to real-world challenges. By the end of the day, participants will understand how to think critically, prompt strategically, and use AI tools responsibly to enhance productivity and creativity.

Course Objectives

  • Define Artificial Intelligence (AI) and describe its practical workplace applications.
  • Explain key AI concepts such as large language models, tokens, context, and hallucinations.
  • Understand what Perplexity AI is, how it differs from traditional search engines, and when to use it.
  • Apply prompting fundamentals including:
    • Instruction, question, and role-based prompts
    • Contextual and few-shot prompts
    • Iterative refinement prompts
  • Use Perplexity for research, summarization, and ideation.
  • Collaboratively solve workplace problems using AI in a guided Prompt-a-Thon.
  • Present refined, AI-driven solutions and reflect on ethical implications (e.g., accuracy, bias, and transparency).

Who Should Attend?

  • Professionals seeking to enhance their productivity and critical thinking using AI.
  • Teams interested in learning how AI-powered research assistants can streamline work.
  • Non-technical users curious about using AI for writing, analysis, or ideation.
  • Top-rated instructors: Our crew of subject matter experts have an average instructor rating of 4.8 out of 5 across thousands of reviews.
  • Authorized content: We maintain more than 35 Authorized Training Partnerships with the top players in tech, ensuring your course materials contain the most relevant and up-to date information.
  • Interactive classroom participation: Our virtual training includes live lectures, demonstrations and virtual labs that allow you to participate in discussions with your instructor and fellow classmates to get real-time feedback.
  • Post Class Resources: Review your class content, catch up on any material you may have missed or perfect your new skills with access to resources after your course is complete.
  • Private Group Training: Let our world-class instructors deliver exclusive training courses just for your employees. Our private group training is designed to promote your team’s shared growth and skill development.
  • Tailored Training Solutions: Our subject matter experts can customize the class to specifically address the unique goals of your team.

Learning Credits: Learning Credits can be purchased well in advance of your training date to avoid having to commit to specific courses or dates. Learning Credits allow you to secure your training budget for an entire year while eliminating the administrative headache of paying for individual classes. They can also be redeemed for a full year from the date of purchase. If you have previously purchased a Learning Credit agreement with New Horizons, you may use a portion of your agreement to pay for this class.

If you have questions about Learning Credits, please contact your Account Manager.

Corporate Tech Pass: Our Corporate Tech Pass includes unlimited attendance for a single person, in the following Virtual Instructor Led course types: Microsoft Office, Microsoft Technical, CompTIA, Project Management, SharePoint, ITIL, Certified Ethical Hacker, Certified Hacking Forensics Investigator, Java, Professional Development Courses and more. The full list of eligible course titles can be found at https://www.newhorizons.com/eligible.

If you have questions about our Corporate Tech Pass, please contact your Account Manager.

Course Prerequisites

  • No prior experience with AI or coding required.
  • Comfort with basic computer and internet use.

Agenda

1 - Welcome & Course Overview

  • Introductions and objectives
  • Agenda overview and expectations

2 - What Is AI?

  • Understanding AI and machine learning in simple terms
  • What LLMs are and how they generate responses
  • Real-world examples of AI in everyday tools

3 - Introduction to Perplexity AI

  • What is Perplexity and how it differs from ChatGPT or Gemini terms
  • Interface overview: “Focus Mode,” “Pro Search,” and “Copilot” terms
  • How Perplexity combines search + generation terms
  • When to use Perplexity vs. traditional search engines

4 - Prompting Fundamentals in Perplexity

  • What is a “prompt” and how it impacts AI outputs
  • Structure of a good prompt
  • Types of prompts:
    • Instructional
    • Role-based
    • Contextual
    • Research-focused prompts
  • Live demo: Crafting and refining prompts in Perplexity
  • Guided exercise: Students test and improve their own prompts

5 - Transition to Prompt-a-Thon

  • Overview of afternoon activity
  • Group formation and challenge preview
  • Prompt-a-Thon theme examples (e.g., improving workflows, enhancing communication, or decision support)

6 - Prompt-a-Thon Kickoff

  • Review Prompt-a-Thon goals and flow
  • Emphasize experimentation, iteration, and teamwork

7 - Group Brainstorming

  • Identify 3–5 real challenges that Perplexity could help address
  • Choose one focus problem per team

8 - Prompt Design & Testing

  • Create, refine, and document multiple prompt versions
  • Use Perplexity to research, synthesize, and generate solutions
  • Capture best examples of refined outputs

9 - Presentation Development

  • Summarize the problem, prompt iterations, and AI-generated results
  • Prepare a short team presentation

10 - Group Presentations & Wrap-Up

  • Teams present their findings
  • Peer and facilitator feedback
  • Discussion: lessons learned and responsible AI use

11 - Prompt-a-Thon Goals

  • Reinforce understanding of AI fundamentals
  • Build prompting proficiency using Perplexity
  • Encourage creative and ethical application of AI
  • Boost confidence in real-world AI use
 

Get in touch to schedule training for your team
We can enroll multiple students in an upcoming class or schedule a dedicated private training event designed to meet your organization’s needs.

CourseID: 3606369E
 



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