Course Outline
Phase 1 — Meet Claude Code — 55 minutes
- An overview of what Claude is and what distinguishes Claude Code from standard chat interfaces.
- The Claude product ecosystem: claude.ai, Claude Desktop, and Claude Code (CLI), and how they interrelate.
- Interface tour: navigating the Claude app, initiating a coding session, and understanding the workspace.
- Understanding Claude Code's logic: the describe → plan → act → review cycle.
- Grasping permissions: why Claude seeks approval before creating files or executing code.
- Your first build: instructing Claude to create a simple styled webpage from a one-sentence description.
- Iterating on results: refining outputs with instructions like “make the header larger,” “change the color scheme,” or “add a navigation bar.”
- Guided exercise: participants open the Claude app, start a Claude Code session, and build a personalized “About Me” webpage by describing their preferences in plain English. They practice refining results through follow-up instructions.
Goal: everyone becomes comfortable with the interface and overcomes the initial interaction barrier.
Break — 10 minutes
Phase 2 — Building Real Things with Plain English — 70 minutes
This forms the core of the morning session. Participants complete four progressively complex tasks using only natural language prompts.
- Task 1 — Interactive dashboard: Instruct Claude Code to build a styled dashboard displaying sample data with charts, statistics, and a clean layout. Practice providing design direction: “use a dark theme,” “add a sidebar,” or “make it responsive.”
- Task 2 — Data analysis: Provide Claude with a sample CSV file and ask it to summarize the data, identify trends, find the highest and lowest values, and generate a visual chart. This demonstrates how Claude writes and executes code on your behalf.
- Task 3 — Document generator: Ask Claude to read a data file and produce a formatted report — such as a sales summary, project status update, or meeting recap. This shows how Claude transforms raw data into polished deliverables.
- Task 4 — Automation tool: Request that Claude build a simple utility — a unit converter, quiz app, or budget calculator. This introduces the concept that Claude can create interactive tools, not just static pages.
After each task, the instructor highlights Claude’s background actions: which files were created, what code was written, and how to interpret the output. Participants document their most effective prompts in a shared Prompt Playbook.
Break — 10 minutes
Phase 3 — Working Smarter with Claude Code — 50 minutes
- The art of effective prompting: distinguishing specific from vague instructions.
- Live demo: a side-by-side comparison of weak versus strong prompts for the same task.
- Iterating and refining: asking Claude to explain its choices, undo changes, or attempt different approaches.
- Working with uploaded files: “read this document and summarize it,” “convert this spreadsheet into a chart.”
- Multi-step workflows: chaining requests to build complex outputs (“first analyze this data, then build a dashboard from the results.”)
- Understanding cost and usage: how tokens, context windows, and subscription tiers function.
- When to use Claude Code versus standard Claude chat.
- Guided exercise: participants take one of their Phase 2 projects and extend it with two new features using a multi-step prompt chain. They then compare their before-and-after prompts to identify what drove the improvement.
Goal: move from “it works” to “I can achieve great results consistently.”
Break — 10 minutes
Phase 4 — Your Claude Workflows: Live Build Session — 60 minutes
This phase shifts the energy in the room. Instead of individual practice, the group builds together. The instructor drives, but participants control the direction — naming real problems from their work, suggesting prompt ideas, and debating tradeoffs. The goal is to learn prompt judgment by observing how a skilled user navigates uncertainty in real-time.
Three workflow archetypes structure this session:
- Transform — take input X, produce output Y (meeting notes → action items; raw data → summary email; customer feedback → themed report).
- Draft — generate a first version of something you would typically write from scratch (proposals, emails, job descriptions, social media posts).
- Analyze — interrogate a document or dataset you don’t have time to review thoroughly (a 40-page report, a spreadsheet of survey responses, a contract).
Setup and framing (10 min): The instructor introduces the three archetypes and explains the session mechanics. Participants submit real workflow challenges from their jobs via a shared doc or chat.
Live build #1 — Transform workflow (20 min): The instructor selects one submitted problem and builds it live, with the room contributing prompt ideas, pushbacks, and refinements. The instructor narrates every decision. The session ends with a working prompt template that the participant who submitted the problem gets to keep.
Live build #2 — Draft or Analyze workflow (20 min): Same format, different archetype, and a different participant’s problem.
Reflection & share-back (10 min): Participants take a moment to note one prompting move that surprised them, one thing they would do differently, and one pattern they will take home. A quick group share follows — involving 3-4 volunteers, not everyone. The instructor connects observations to the broader Prompt Playbook.
Phase 5 — Connecting Claude to Your Tools with MCP — 50 minutes
- What is MCP (Model Context Protocol)? The universal plug system for AI tools.
- Why MCP matters: transforming Claude from a chat assistant into a connected workflow hub.
- The Connectors Directory: browsing and adding integrations directly from the Claude app.
- Desktop Extensions: one-click installs for Claude Desktop (no configuration files needed).
Live demo: The instructor connects Claude to two services through the Connectors UI and demonstrates cross-tool workflows:
- “Check my Google Calendar for tomorrow’s meetings and draft a prep email for each one.”
- “Read the latest updates from our project board and write a status summary.”
- “Pull data from this connected service and build a local report from it.”
Guided exercise: participants connect Claude to at least one service. Options are provided for different comfort levels:
- Option A: Connect a pre-built connector from the directory (e.g., Gmail, Google Drive, or a demo service) — click, authenticate, and go.
- Option B: Add a custom connector by pasting an MCP server URL (the instructor provides a test URL).
- Option C: Install a Desktop Extension from the marketplace (for Claude Desktop users).
Participants then assign Claude a task that utilizes the connected service — e.g., “Read my recent emails about project updates and create a summary document.”
Key concepts covered:
- How connectors function: OAuth authentication, permissions, and what access you are granting.
- Managing tool access: enabling, disabling, and controlling which connectors Claude can use per conversation.
- Security awareness: connecting only to trusted services and reviewing tool permissions.
- The MCP ecosystem: where to find new connectors, extensions, and community-built servers.
Goal: participants view Claude as a connective layer between all their existing services, not merely as a coding tool.
Break — 10 minutes
Phase 6 — Capstone & Next Steps — 65 minutes
Capstone mini-project (45 min): Each participant chooses one scenario and builds it with Claude:
- A polished landing page or portfolio site for their team, project, or personal brand.
- A data analysis pipeline: upload a file, have Claude analyze it, and produce a visual report.
- An interactive tool that solves a real problem from their workflow (calculator, tracker, converter, quiz).
- A connected workflow: pull data from a connected service, transform it, and produce a deliverable (e.g., “read my calendar for next week and build a visual schedule.”)
The instructor circulates to help refine prompts and showcases standout examples to the group.
Showcase and wrap-up (20 min):
- 6-8 participants share what they built (2-3 minutes each).
- Next steps: Claude Code CLI for terminal users, VS Code extension for developers, Cowork for knowledge workers.
- The MCP ecosystem: finding and evaluating new connectors, extensions, and community servers.
- Plans: Free vs. Pro vs. Max — what each unlocks and which fits which use case.
- Best practices recap: the Prompt Playbook patterns that proved most effective during the session.
- Recommended resources: official documentation, community channels, Anthropic’s prompt engineering guide.
- Participants receive a reference card with key prompting patterns, connector setup steps, and a curated list of useful MCP integrations.
Requirements
Requirements
Understanding of
- Basic computer skills: navigating files and folders, using a web browser, and installing applications
- General familiarity with AI assistants (e.g., casual use of ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude is helpful but not mandatory)
Experience with
- No coding, programming, or terminal experience is needed. This course is tailored for individuals who have never written code.
- Previous experience with Claude or other AI tools is not required.
Technical Requirements
- Participants must bring a laptop (Mac, Windows, or Linux) equipped with a modern web browser.
- A stable internet connection is essential.
- A Claude Pro subscription for the session (a 1-month complimentary subscription is included with registration; setup instructions are provided prior to class).
- Claude Desktop is recommended but optional (the web app at claude.ai suffices for all exercises).
- A Google account is suggested for the MCP connectors exercise (Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar), though alternative connector options are available.
Target Audience
- Business professionals seeking to leverage AI for productivity and automation.
- Marketers, operations managers, and analysts aiming to automate repetitive tasks.
- Founders and entrepreneurs wishing to build prototypes without hiring developers.
- Educators and researchers exploring AI-assisted workflows.
- Anyone curious about Claude's capabilities who lacks a technical background.
Testimonials (1)
That i gained a knowledge regarding streamlit library from python and for sure i'll try to use it to improve applications in my team which are made in R shiny
