Teach Course Builder

Teach Course Builder

Transform source documents (markdown files, articles, documentation) into structured courses using the Teach authoring API. This skill analyzes source materials, proposes course structure, and creates courses via CLI scripts.

Core Principle

Source documents become structured learning paths, not just copied content.

The skill doesn't just copy files - it analyzes structure, infers units and lessons, identifies audience layers, and creates a coherent course with competencies.

Setup

Requirements

1. Deno - Install from https://deno.land
2. Teach Authoring API - Running at http://localhost:4100

Configuration

Set the API URL (optional if using default):

export TEACH_API_URL="http://localhost:4100/api"

Start the authoring API:

cd /path/to/teach
pnpm dev:authoring-api

Workflow Phases

Phase 1: Analyze

Analyze source documents to understand their structure.

deno run --allow-read --allow-env scripts/analyze-sources.ts /path/to/sources

This produces a course plan showing:

• Suggested course title
• Proposed units (based on directories)
• Proposed lessons (based on files)
• Detected audience layers
• Suggested competencies

Phase 2: Plan

Review the generated plan with the user. Modify as needed:

• Adjust unit titles and ordering
• Merge or split lessons
• Refine audience layer assignments
• Add or remove competencies

Phase 3: Research (Optional)

If content needs expansion, use the research skill:

• Identify gaps in the source material
• Research supplementary topics
• Find authoritative sources for claims

Phase 4: Build

Create the course structure via API:

# Create the course
deno run --allow-net --allow-env scripts/create-course.ts \
  --title "Working with AI" \
  --description "A practical guide"

# Add units
deno run --allow-net --allow-env scripts/add-unit.ts \
  --course-id <course-id> \
  --title "Foundations"

# Add lessons with content
deno run --allow-net --allow-env --allow-read scripts/add-lesson.ts \
  --unit-id <unit-id> \
  --title "What AI Is and Isn't" \
  --content-file /path/to/what-ai-is-and-isnt.md \
  --audience-layer general

# Add competencies
deno run --allow-net --allow-env scripts/add-competency.ts \
  --course-id <course-id> \
  --name "Understanding AI Limitations" \
  --cluster-name "AI Literacy"

Phase 5: Review

Verify the course in the authoring UI:

• Open http://localhost:4101/courses/
• Check Content tab for unit/lesson hierarchy
• Check Competencies tab for learning objectives
• Edit and refine as needed

Available Scripts

analyze-sources.ts

Analyze a directory of markdown files and propose course structure.

# Human-readable output
deno run --allow-read --allow-env scripts/analyze-sources.ts /path/to/sources

# JSON output (for programmatic use)
deno run --allow-read --allow-env scripts/analyze-sources.ts /path/to/sources --json

What it does:

• Recursively finds all .md files (excluding READMEs)
• Extracts titles, descriptions, and headings
• Groups files by directory into units
• Infers audience layers from directory/file names
• Counts words for scope estimation
• Suggests competencies from heading keywords

create-course.ts

Create a new course.

deno run --allow-net --allow-env scripts/create-course.ts \
  --title "Course Title" \
  --description "Description" \
  --json

add-unit.ts

Add a unit to a course.

deno run --allow-net --allow-env scripts/add-unit.ts \
  --course-id <id> \
  --title "Unit Title" \
  --description "Description" \
  --order 1

add-lesson.ts

Add a lesson to a unit.

deno run --allow-net --allow-env --allow-read scripts/add-lesson.ts \
  --unit-id <id> \
  --title "Lesson Title" \
  --description "Description" \
  --content-file /path/to/content.md \
  --audience-layer general \
  --order 1

Audience layers:

• general - Introductory content for all learners
• practitioner - Intermediate content for regular users
• specialist - Advanced/technical content for experts

add-competency.ts

Add a competency to a course.

# Creates cluster if needed
deno run --allow-net --allow-env scripts/add-competency.ts \
  --course-id <id> \
  --name "Competency Name" \
  --cluster-name "Cluster Name"

# Use existing cluster
deno run --allow-net --allow-env scripts/add-competency.ts \
  --cluster-id <id> \
  --name "Competency Name"

list-courses.ts

List existing courses.

deno run --allow-net --allow-env scripts/list-courses.ts
deno run --allow-net --allow-env scripts/list-courses.ts --json

Example Interaction

User: "Build a course from inbox/ai-education/"

Workflow:

1. Analyze the source directory:

   deno run --allow-read --allow-env scripts/analyze-sources.ts inbox/ai-education/
   

2. Review the proposed structure:

   # Course Plan: AI Education
   
   **Source:** inbox/ai-education/
   **Total:** 12 lessons, ~15,000 words
   
   ## Proposed Structure
   
   ### 1. Layer 1: Foundations
   - **What AI Is and Isn't** [general]
   - **Basic Prompting** [general]
   - **When to Use AI** [general]
   - **Data and Privacy** [general]
   
   ### 2. Layer 2: Effective Use
   - **Why AI Gives Mediocre Results** [practitioner]
   - **Framework-First Prompting** [practitioner]
   ...
   

3. Confirm structure with user, then build:

   # Create course
   deno run --allow-net --allow-env scripts/create-course.ts \
     --title "Working with AI: A Practical Guide" \
     --description "Standalone articles about working effectively with AI tools"
   
   # Get course ID from output, then create units and lessons...
   

4. Direct user to http://localhost:4101/courses/ to review

Integration Points

Research Skill

For content gaps:

• Use research skill's Tavily integration to find sources
• Expand thin lessons with researched content
• Verify claims in source documents

Competency Skill

For learning objectives:

• Use competency skill to define progression paths
• Map competencies to lessons
• Define rubrics for assessment

Gentle-Teaching Skill

For content design:

• Apply gentle-teaching principles to lesson content
• Ensure appropriate scaffolding
• Design for learner empowerment

Anti-Patterns

The Copy-Paste Course

Problem: Just copying files without structure analysis Fix: Always run analyze-sources.ts first; review and refine structure

The Flat Course

Problem: All lessons at same level without units Fix: Group related lessons into units; use directory structure as guide

The Gapless Course

Problem: Assuming source materials are complete Fix: Identify gaps; use research skill to expand; ask user about missing topics

The Competency-Free Course

Problem: Course without learning objectives Fix: Always add competencies; extract from headings or define explicitly

Output Persistence

Course data is persisted via the authoring API:

• Database: apps/authoring-api/data/authoring.db
• Accessible via: http://localhost:4101

What Gets Stored

Environment Configuration

# API endpoint (default: http://localhost:4100/api)
export TEACH_API_URL="http://localhost:4100/api"

# For research integration
export TAVILY_API_KEY="your-key-here"

Troubleshooting

"Connection refused" errors

The authoring API isn't running:

cd /path/to/teach
pnpm dev:authoring-api

"Course not found" errors

Use list-courses.ts to verify course ID:

deno run --allow-net --allow-env scripts/list-courses.ts

Empty course plan

Source directory may only contain READMEs (which are skipped):

• Check for .md files that aren't named README.md
• Verify the path is correct

What You Do NOT Do

• You do not bypass the authoring API (always use scripts)
• You do not create courses without user review of structure
• You do not copy content verbatim without structure analysis
• You do not skip competency definition
• You propose structure; the user decides final organization