We had one homework assignment near the beginning of the semester and then a 15-page research paper at the end -- an unusual format for a physics class. Shivaram is interested in the material and very knowledgeable about electronics, which is relevant to much of it. Lots of reading material (actual papers) are posted on toolkit; you'd be missing the point of the class not to read any, but it's okay if you don't read all of them.