Introduction to Claude Code Plugins
Supercharge your educational development workflow
⚡ Before & After
❌ Without Plugins
Task: Create a QM-aligned assessment rubric
- Open QM standards PDF
- Review rubric criteria guidelines
- Draft evaluation levels manually
- Check Bloom's taxonomy alignment
- Validate point totals
Time: 25-30 minutes
✅ With Education Toolkit Plugin
Task: Create a QM-aligned assessment rubric
- Ask: "Use the rubric-generator agent to create a rubric"
- Provide assignment description
- Review generated rubric
- Auto-validated against QM standards
Time: 2-3 minutes
What You'll Learn in This Workshop
What Plugins Are
Understand how plugins extend Claude Code with specialized capabilities
Install Your First Plugin
Add the Education Toolkit plugin (13 agents, 10 slash commands)
Create Course Outlines
Transform rough SME notes into structured QM-compliant course outlines with CLOs, MLOs, and assessment strategy
Build Week 1 Storyboard
Take your course outline and generate copy-paste-ready module content for implementation
Choose Your Tool
Generate rubrics OR audit accessibility based on your immediate needs
What Are Claude Code Plugins?
Plugins are specialized AI agents with domain expertise. Think of them as expert consultants who know your institutional standards, frameworks, and best practices - and can apply them instantly to your work.
💡 Real Example
The Education Toolkit plugin knows:
- Quality Matters (QM) standards for rubric design
- WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility guidelines
- Bloom's taxonomy for learning outcome verbs
- Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles
- Ivey's 6-phase course development process
- Evidence-based assessment methodologies (PAIRR, AI Roleplay, Diagnostic Rubrics)
It applies this knowledge automatically - you don't need to explain QM standards every time you ask for a rubric.
How Plugins Differ from Regular Claude Code
| Feature | Regular Claude Code | With Plugins |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | General AI knowledge | 614 KB bundled frameworks + research (QM, WCAG, UDL, assessment research) |
| Workflows | You explain process each time | Pre-built workflows invoked with natural language (rubric generation, accessibility auditing) |
| Consistency | Results vary by prompt phrasing | Standardized outputs following institutional templates |
| Speed | Start from scratch each task | Skip setup time - agents know context immediately |
Meet the Education Toolkit Plugin
This plugin includes 13 specialized agents and 10 slash commands for educational development:
📋 Course Planning
course-outline-creator - Transform SME notes into QM-compliant course outlines with CLOs, MLOs, assessment strategy, concept threading
📝 Assessment Design
rubric-generator - Create 100-point rubrics with evaluation criteria, performance levels, QM validation
♿ Accessibility
accessibility-auditor - WCAG 2.2 AA compliance checking with line-specific fixes
✅ Quality Assurance
consistency-checker - Cross-module validation for terminology, threading, narrative flow
👥 Peer Review
peer-review-simulator - Multi-perspective design review with 6 ID specialists
🎓 Student Testing
student-journey-simulator - Test course flow with 4 learner personas
Plus 7 more agents for storyboard building, widget testing, UDL content generation, and code review!
🎯 Why This Matters for Your Work
⏱️ Save Time
Tasks that took 30 minutes now take 2-3 minutes. Compound this over dozens of courses and assessments.
✅ Improve Quality
Auto-validation against QM, WCAG, and UDL standards. Catch issues before students see them.
🔄 Stay Consistent
All team members use same frameworks and templates. No more "we each do it differently."
📚 Institutional Knowledge
Ivey's 6-phase process, proven course patterns, and assessment methodologies built-in.