Course: Using Artificial Intelligence (AI 101) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Quinn
Module: Week 12 of 16 · Fall 2026 · in-person, two 75-minute sessions
Objective covered: Objective 5 — Use Claude Cowork to build agentic workflows — projects, connected folders and file read/write, tasks, skills, connectors (MCP), and live artifacts.

This file holds two pieces: (A) the Module 12 Overview page ("Start Here") and (B) the Welcome Announcement that drips out when the module opens. Dates below assume a Tuesday/Thursday lecture pattern with Week 12 meeting Tue Nov 17 and Thu Nov 19, and end-of-week work due Sunday Nov 22, 11:59 p.m. Adjust to match your section.

(A) Module 12 Overview — Start Here

Welcome to Week 12: Cowork Gets Powerful — Skills, Connectors & Artifacts

Last week you installed Claude Cowork, built a project, connected a folder, and ran your first task. Now the real depth begins. This week you learn the three features that transform Cowork from "a fancy file-reader" into a genuine AI power tool:

• Skills — reusable instruction sets (a SKILL.md file) that teach Claude how to do a specific kind of task. Built-in skills let Claude generate full Word documents, PowerPoint decks, Excel workbooks, and PDFs on command. You can also create or install custom skills for your own workflows.
• Connectors (MCP) — connections to external apps. Claude uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard created by Anthropic. Connectors are vetted MCP servers; once connected, Claude can pull data from Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack, Notion, GitHub, Microsoft 365, and more — but only with the permissions you choose to grant.
• Artifacts (live) — interactive views that Claude builds and saves. Unlike a one-off chat output, a live artifact lives in its own place, refreshes with current data from your connectors each time you open it, and keeps version history.

There is also Plugins: a plugin bundles skills + connectors + sub-agents into a single installable package — a ready-to-go setup for a role or function (sales, legal, finance, engineering, and more).

The key skill this week — and the one the quiz will drill — is knowing which is which: a skill is an instruction set; a connector links to an external app; an artifact is a live view; a plugin bundles all of the above.

The week's big question

"When AI can reach your email, your calendar, your files, and your apps — what's the right way to set that up, and where do you draw the line?"

By the end of this week, you can…

• [ ] Define and distinguish skill, connector, artifact, and plugin — and match each to a scenario.
• [ ] Explain what MCP is and why Anthropic built it as an open standard.
• [ ] Connect a built-in skill or a low-risk connector in Cowork, or build a live artifact, and describe what it does.
• [ ] Apply least-privilege thinking — grant only the permissions a connector needs and no more.
• [ ] Catch an over-claim about what a connector or skill actually does, and correct it.

What's due this week, and when

Work these in order — each one gets you ready for the next.

Reminder about AI in this course: you are required to use AI on the tutorial, discussion, assignment, practice, and Studio. AI is not allowed on Quiz 12 — quizzes check that you personally understand the concepts.

Late policy reminder: 10% off per day late.

How to succeed this week

• Ground your thinking in the official docs. Cowork features change quickly. Every claim in these materials traces to the official Anthropic documentation — link-checked before this module shipped. If you ever want to verify a feature yourself: support.claude.com and code.claude.com/docs/en/skills.
• Nail the four-way distinction. The quiz, the assignment, and the Studio all turn on the same question: is this a skill, a connector, an artifact, or a plugin? Lock down the definitions first, then the examples will click.
• Think least privilege, always. Every connector runs only with the permissions you grant. When you connect your Google Calendar, it doesn't automatically get your Drive or your Gmail unless you also grant those. Grant what you need; revoke what you don't.
• Catch an over-claim. Somewhere this week — in an AI answer, in a quick web search — you'll encounter a claim about what Cowork can do that isn't quite right. The Studio asks you to find and fix one. This is the skill the whole course is building.

(B) Welcome Announcement — Module 12

Release setting: post on the module's start day, Tue Nov 17, 2026 — not before.

Subject: Week 12 — Skills, Connectors & Artifacts (and why it matters who can read your calendar)

Hi everyone,

Last week you built a project, connected a folder, and ran a task in Claude Cowork. This week the features get interesting — and so does the question of where you draw the line.

Skills, connectors, and artifacts are the three new pieces this week. A skill is a reusable instruction set that teaches Claude a specific task — like "generate a Word document from this outline." A connector links Claude to an external app (your email, your calendar, Slack, GitHub) using the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard Anthropic created. A live artifact is an interactive view that refreshes from your connected data. And a plugin bundles all of the above into one installable package.

The important question — and the one behind this week's discussion — is: when an AI can pull data from your inbox and your calendar and your Google Drive, where is the line between genuinely helpful and a privacy risk you didn't mean to take?

Three things not to miss this week:
1. Studio 12, "Skill, Connector, or Artifact?" — a real hands-on build where you use (or design) one of these features and then catch an over-claim. Start early; it's the week's biggest deliverable.
2. Discussion 12 — the "where's the line?" question is genuinely arguable. I want to hear your thinking, not a tidy "it depends." Initial post by Friday Nov 20; replies by Sunday Nov 22.
3. Quiz 12 closes Sunday Nov 22. Nail the four-way distinction (skill / connector / artifact / plugin) and the MCP basics — no AI on the quiz.

Bring your laptop to class Tuesday. We'll demo the connectors directory live and build a skill together.

See you Nov 17,
Prof. Quinn