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Agent Tools

Agent tools are specialized capabilities that enable AI agents to access data, perform calculations, search content, create assessments, and integrate with external services. These tools extend agents beyond simple conversation to become powerful educational assistants that can take concrete actions.
Think of tools as the “hands and eyes” of AI agents - they allow agents to interact with SkillShop’s data, external services, and perform specific tasks beyond just generating text responses.

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How Tools Work

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Tool Integration

When agents need to perform specific tasks, they automatically select and use appropriate tools:
1

Request Analysis

The agent analyzes your request to understand what information or actions are needed
2

Tool Selection

The agent chooses the most appropriate tool(s) for the task
3

Tool Execution

The agent executes the tool with specific parameters
4

Result Integration

The agent incorporates tool results into its response

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Visibility and Transparency

When agents use tools, you can see:
  • Which tool is being used and why
  • Real-time progress during tool execution
  • Results summary of what the tool accomplished
  • How results are integrated into the agent’s response
Tool usage is completely transparent, so you always understand how agents are gathering information and performing tasks.

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Core Tool Categories

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Data Access Tools

Purpose: Query SkillShop’s database for topics, skills, content, assessments, and learning materialsCapabilities:
  • Search topics by name, category, or description
  • Find skills by level, domain, or learning objectives
  • Locate content by type, subject, or difficulty
  • Retrieve assessment items and rubrics
  • Access learning plans, modules, and paths
Example Usage:
Agent Request: "Find all intermediate-level math skills related to algebra"
Tool Action: Searches skills database with filters for level=intermediate, domain=mathematics, topic=algebra
Result: Returns list of relevant algebraic skills with descriptions and prerequisites
Purpose: Full-text search across all educational content and materialsCapabilities:
  • Search across documents, videos, presentations, and other materials
  • Filter by content type, subject area, or grade level
  • Find content related to specific learning objectives
  • Locate materials by author, creation date, or tags
  • Search within specific content collections or libraries
Example Usage:
Agent Request: "Find video content about photosynthesis for middle school students"
Tool Action: Searches content database for videos with photosynthesis keywords and middle school grade level
Result: Returns relevant video resources with descriptions, durations, and quality ratings

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Educational Management Tools

Purpose: Create, modify, and manage assessments, quizzes, and evaluation instrumentsCapabilities:
  • Create various question types (multiple choice, short answer, essay)
  • Generate item banks organized by topic and difficulty
  • Design rubrics for subjective assessments
  • Manage assessment metadata and settings
  • Link assessments to learning objectives and skills
Example Usage:
Agent Request: "Create a 10-question quiz on the water cycle for 5th graders"
Tool Action: Generates multiple choice and short answer questions with appropriate difficulty
Result: Complete quiz with questions, answer choices, correct answers, and explanations
Purpose: Create and manage personalized learning plans and educational sequencesCapabilities:
  • Design learning activity sequences
  • Create personalized learning plans (PLPs)
  • Organize learning modules and pathways
  • Set learning objectives and outcomes
  • Track prerequisite relationships
Example Usage:
Agent Request: "Create a 4-week learning plan for teaching fractions to 4th graders"
Tool Action: Designs sequence of activities, resources, and assessments over 4 weeks
Result: Structured learning plan with daily activities, materials, and progress checkpoints
Purpose: Organize and manage hierarchical topic structures and knowledge organizationCapabilities:
  • Create topic hierarchies and taxonomies
  • Manage relationships between concepts, people, events, and domains
  • Bulk create and update topic structures
  • Organize academic domains and subdomains
  • Tag and categorize educational concepts
Example Usage:
Agent Request: "Organize computer science topics into a comprehensive hierarchy"
Tool Action: Creates structured topic tree with programming, algorithms, data structures, etc.
Result: Hierarchical topic organization with parent-child relationships and descriptions
Purpose: Manage competency-based skills and learning progressionsCapabilities:
  • Create skill definitions and descriptions
  • Set skill levels and difficulty progressions
  • Map skills to topics and learning objectives
  • Bulk create and update skill sets
  • Track skill prerequisites and relationships
Example Usage:
Agent Request: "Define the skill progression for learning Python programming"
Tool Action: Creates sequence of Python skills from basic syntax to advanced concepts
Result: Structured skill progression with levels, prerequisites, and learning objectives

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Content Discovery and Creation

Purpose: Find and import educational content from external sourcesCapabilities:
  • Search existing SkillShop content first
  • Discover external educational resources when needed
  • Evaluate content quality and relevance
  • Import and organize discovered materials
  • Maintain content quality thresholds
Example Usage:
Agent Request: "Find high-quality resources about renewable energy for high school"
Tool Action: Searches internal content, then external sources for relevant materials
Result: Curated list of articles, videos, and interactive resources with quality ratings
Purpose: Generate various types of educational content and materialsCapabilities:
  • Create text-based educational materials
  • Generate multimedia content scripts
  • Produce interactive learning activities
  • Design visual aids and presentations
  • Adapt content for different audiences and formats
Example Usage:
Agent Request: "Generate an engaging explanation of DNA structure for 9th graders"
Tool Action: Creates age-appropriate content with analogies, examples, and visual descriptions
Result: Comprehensive explanation with multiple learning modalities and engagement strategies

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External Integration Tools

Purpose: Create, read, update, and manage Google Sheets spreadsheetsCapabilities:
  • Create new spreadsheets and organize data
  • Read and analyze existing spreadsheet data
  • Update cells and ranges with new information
  • Share spreadsheets with specific permissions
  • Manage folders and organize documents
Example Usage:
Agent Request: "Create a gradebook spreadsheet for my biology class"
Tool Action: Creates formatted spreadsheet with student names, assignment columns, and formulas
Result: Professional gradebook with automatic calculations and sharing permissions
Purpose: Create, edit, and manage Google Docs documentsCapabilities:
  • Create new documents with formatted content
  • Edit existing documents and collaborate
  • Insert and format text, images, and tables
  • Share documents with appropriate permissions
  • Organize documents in Drive folders
Example Usage:
Agent Request: "Create a lesson plan document for teaching the Civil War"
Tool Action: Generates formatted lesson plan with objectives, activities, and assessments
Result: Professional lesson plan document ready for classroom use and sharing

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Specialized Tools

Purpose: Perform mathematical calculations and operationsCapabilities:
  • Basic arithmetic operations
  • Advanced mathematical functions
  • Statistical calculations
  • Unit conversions
  • Formula evaluation
Example Usage:
Agent Request: "Calculate the area of a circle with radius 7.5 meters"
Tool Action: Applies formula A = πr² with r = 7.5
Result: Area = 176.71 square meters with step-by-step calculation
Purpose: Analyze, transform, and process text contentCapabilities:
  • Analyze text for readability and complexity
  • Extract keywords and key concepts
  • Count words, sentences, and paragraphs
  • Estimate reading time and difficulty level
  • Transform text format and structure
Example Usage:
Agent Request: "Analyze this essay for grade-level appropriateness"
Tool Action: Processes text for vocabulary, sentence complexity, and concept difficulty
Result: Grade level estimate, readability score, and suggestions for improvement
Purpose: Generate, analyze, and work with programming codeCapabilities:
  • Generate code in various programming languages
  • Analyze existing code for quality and functionality
  • Create educational programming examples
  • Debug and explain code functionality
  • Generate coding exercises and projects
Example Usage:
Agent Request: "Create a Python function to calculate fibonacci numbers with explanation"
Tool Action: Generates clean, commented Python code with educational explanations
Result: Complete function with documentation, examples, and teaching notes

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Documentation and Support

Purpose: Search SkillShop’s user documentation and help resourcesCapabilities:
  • Semantic search across all documentation
  • Find feature explanations and tutorials
  • Locate troubleshooting guides and FAQs
  • Access API documentation and technical guides
  • Provide contextual help and guidance
Example Usage:
Agent Request: "How do I create learning paths in SkillShop?"
Tool Action: Searches documentation for learning path creation guides
Result: Step-by-step instructions with screenshots and best practices
Purpose: Manage development issues, bug reports, and feature requestsCapabilities:
  • Create and track bug reports
  • Submit feature requests and enhancements
  • Manage project issues and tasks
  • Track issue status and resolution
  • Organize development workflows
Example Usage:
Agent Request: "Report a bug with the assessment creation interface"
Tool Action: Creates structured bug report with details and reproduction steps
Result: Tracked issue with unique ID and status for follow-up

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Tool Configuration for Agents

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Automatic Tool Selection

Most agents are configured with "toolChoice": "auto", allowing them to intelligently select appropriate tools based on your requests.

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Tool Categories by Agent Type

Essential Tools:
  • Data Lookup (access existing curricula)
  • Learning Plan Manager (create structured plans)
  • Topic Manager (organize knowledge)
  • Content Discovery (find relevant materials)
Optional Tools:
  • Web Search (find current educational trends and standards)
  • Assessment Manager (create aligned assessments)
  • Google Sheets (track curriculum data)

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Understanding Tool Usage

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When Agents Use Tools

Agents automatically use tools when they need to:
  • Access Information: Look up data from SkillShop’s database
  • Find Current Information: Search the web for real-time data and recent developments
  • Perform Actions: Create assessments, learning plans, or content
  • Analyze Content: Process text, calculate values, or evaluate materials
  • Integrate Services: Work with external platforms like Google Workspace
  • Search Resources: Find existing materials or documentation

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Tool Execution Visibility

During tool usage, you’ll see: 
🔧 Using Data Lookup tool to find algebra skills...

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Tool Limitations and Considerations

Tools can only access data that exists in SkillShop or connected services. If information isn’t available, agents will inform you and suggest alternatives.
Some tools require specific permissions (e.g., Google Workspace integration). Agents will notify you if permissions are needed.
Complex tool operations may take time to complete. Agents provide progress updates for longer-running tasks.
Tools that integrate with external services may be temporarily unavailable if those services experience issues.

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Advanced Tool Features

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Tool Chaining

Agents can use multiple tools in sequence to accomplish complex tasks:
1

Data Lookup

Find relevant topics and skills for a curriculum
2

Content Discovery

Locate existing materials for those topics
3

Learning Plan Manager

Create structured learning sequence
4

Assessment Manager

Generate aligned assessments

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Parallel Tool Usage

Some agents can use multiple tools simultaneously for efficiency:
  • Search content while looking up related topics
  • Generate materials while creating assessments
  • Process multiple data sources concurrently

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Context Preservation

Tools maintain context across usage within a conversation:
  • Previous search results inform subsequent queries
  • Created content can be referenced and modified
  • Tool outputs build upon each other

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Troubleshooting Tool Issues

Symptoms: Agent mentions a tool is unavailable or not respondingSolutions:
  • Check system status for external service issues
  • Verify your permissions for integrated services
  • Try again later if services are temporarily down
  • Contact support if issues persist
Symptoms: Tool returns unexpected or incomplete resultsSolutions:
  • Provide more specific search criteria or parameters
  • Check if the data you’re looking for actually exists
  • Try alternative search terms or approaches
  • Ask the agent to clarify what it found
Symptoms: Agent reports permission denied or authentication issuesSolutions:
  • Check your account permissions for integrated services
  • Re-authenticate with external services if needed
  • Contact your administrator for permission updates
  • Use alternative tools if available

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Best Practices for Tool Usage

Be Specific

Provide clear, specific requests to help agents select the most appropriate tools and parameters

Understand Capabilities

Learn what each tool can do to better understand how agents can help with your tasks

Monitor Progress

Watch tool execution progress to understand how agents are working and identify any issues

Provide Feedback

Let agents know if tool results don’t meet your needs so they can try alternative approaches

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Future Tool Development

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Planned Enhancements

  • Multi-Modal Tools: Support for image, audio, and video processing
  • Advanced Analytics: Deeper learning analytics and progress tracking
  • Workflow Integration: Tools specifically designed for workflow orchestration
  • Custom Tool Creation: Allow users to create custom tools for specific needs

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Integration Roadmap

  • Learning Management Systems: Direct integration with popular LMS platforms
  • Assessment Platforms: Integration with external assessment and testing services
  • Content Libraries: Access to major educational content repositories
  • Communication Tools: Integration with classroom communication platforms
Tool capabilities are continuously expanding. Check the latest documentation and agent descriptions for the most current tool availability and features.