Plain-words intro: this level teaches four things — ① five small tricks to phrase requests clearly ② drop in files and get the key points ③ web research with sources you can check ④ build a clickable mini tool just by describing it (Artifacts). No tech background needed.

L1 · Foundations

Audience: complete beginners | Suggested duration: 3–4 hours | Focus: Claude Chat fundamentals, the prompting framework, Artifacts, and safety awareness Maps to the claude-course outline: Meet Claude, Your First Conversation, and Prompting Essentials — the fastest “day one” on-ramp

1. Learning Objectives (by the end of this level, you can…)

1. Write clear prompts using the Five-Element Prompt Framework (Role + Task + Context + Format + Constraints).
2. Build an interactive, shareable mini-tool with Artifacts from a single sentence.
3. Upload a file or PDF and have Claude summarize it and pull out the key numbers.
4. Use web search to get up-to-date information — and click through the citations to verify.
5. Know the safety baseline: AI can hallucinate, so verify; never upload sensitive data — or use an Incognito chat.

2. Core Modules

3. Demo Packs (4 in this level; = pre-built example, = live operation with a runbook)

Demos that require live instructor operation are consolidated in the course’s pending-actions checklist.

4. Four-Track Hands-On Labs (one skill, four role scenarios)

Office & Admin — Turn meeting notes into a to-do list

• Goal: turn long, messy meeting notes into 5 key takeaways plus an action-item table with owners and deadlines.

• Prompt:

  You are a project assistant. Organize the meeting notes below into: (1) the 5 key takeaways, and (2) an action-item table with columns for Task / Owner / Deadline. Meeting notes: [paste here]

• Pass criteria: output has clear takeaways plus a tabulated action list; no decisions from the meeting are missing.

Sales — Prospect icebreakers

• Goal: research a prospective customer and generate 3 icebreaker openers.

• Prompt (turn on web search):

  You are a B2B sales rep. Search the web for recent news about [company name]. Based on what they do, give me 3 professional, non-salesy icebreaker openers, each with the reasoning behind it.

• Pass criteria: each opener cites something specific and recent about the company, with checkable citations.

Nonprofit Advocacy — One-page policy explainer

• Goal: turn a policy or bill PDF into a one-page issue explainer.

• Prompt:

  You are a policy staffer. Summarize this PDF into: (1) the issue in one sentence, (2) the 3 key points of contention, and (3) the impact on the communities we serve. Cite the page number for every claim.

• Pass criteria: every point in the summary traces back to a page number; the points of contention are stated neutrally, without taking sides.

Founders — Market research tool

• Goal: use Artifacts to build a shareable market-research survey or calculator.

• Prompt:

  Build an interactive market-research survey (5 questions covering industry, pain points, and budget). When someone finishes, show a chart of the response distribution. Make it shareable.

• Pass criteria: an answerable, shareable survey appears in the Artifacts panel.

5. Anti-Patterns / Common Mistakes

1. One vague sentence (“write me something”) → use the Five-Element Prompt Framework to add context.
2. Treating AI like a search engine and never verifying → turn on web search and click the citations.
3. Asking for a tool but getting a wall of text → say explicitly: “build this as an interactive Artifact.”
4. Uploading sensitive personal data or case files → switch to an Incognito chat, or don’t upload at all.
5. Cramming too many tasks into one prompt → break it into small steps and ask one at a time.
6. Blindly trusting numbers → manually re-check any figure that matters (see the safety module).

6. Capstone Project

Build “my first AI tool + an AI-assisted summary report”:

• Use Artifacts to build a small tool related to your own work (a survey, calculator, or quiz), and produce a share link.
• Use file upload + web search to produce a one-page summary report — with verified numbers and cited sources.

7. Competency Rubric

8. Bridge to the Next Level

In L1 you learned to get a task done well in a single conversation. L2 takes the next step: turning Claude into a reusable workspace that remembers you — Projects, Memory, Skills for producing polished documents, and Connectors to your tools.