About the Project

Inspiration

Our inspiration for EduPath came from a shared frustration with traditional education systems. As students and learners ourselves, we’ve experienced the struggle of one-size-fits-all assignments that don’t adapt to individual needs. Meanwhile, we’ve seen teachers overwhelmed by repetitive tasks like creating quizzes or tracking progress manually. The rise of AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini sparked an idea: what if we could harness AI to make learning more personal and teaching more efficient? We wanted to create a tool that empowers both students and educators, bridging the gap between technology and education for a more engaging, inclusive experience.

What it does

EduPath is an AI-powered learning platform designed for students and teachers. Students can log in to manage assignments—tests, homework, learning paths, and resources—through an intuitive dashboard, and get instant, step-by-step help from Gradus, an AI chatbot. Teachers can create diverse assignments, generate quiz questions instantly with SmartChalk, and track student progress in real-time. It’s a one-stop solution that personalizes learning, boosts engagement with features like text-to-speech quizzes, and streamlines classroom workflows.

How we built it

We built EduPath as a full-stack web application. The frontend uses React for a dynamic, responsive interface, with components like StudentDashboard.js, TeacherDashboard.js, Gradus.js, and SmartChalk.js driving the user experience. The backend is powered by Node.js and Express, with routes in server/routes/ (e.g., auth.js, assignments.js, gradus.js) handling authentication, assignment management, and AI interactions.

We integrated MongoDB for storing user data and assignments, connected via Mongoose in server/config/db.js. The AI features leverage the Google Gemini API (gemini-1.5-flash-latest) for Gradus and SmartChalk, providing real-time content generation. We used axios for API calls, react-toastify for notifications, and styled it with a custom styles.css supporting light/dark themes.

Challenges we ran into

Building EduPath wasn’t without hurdles. Integrating the Gemini AI API was tricky—initially, responses weren’t structured as steps, requiring us to tweak prompts for clarity. Authentication posed another challenge; ensuring role-based access (student vs. teacher) and token validation across sessions took extra debugging in auth.js. We also faced a frontend issue where the Gradus chatbot was tied to assignments, causing "Assignment not found" errors—solved by creating a standalone /api/gradus/ask endpoint. Time constraints meant balancing feature depth with stability, often forcing tough prioritization calls.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re proud of several milestones. First, Gradus successfully delivers personalized, step-by-step answers, making it a true study companion. SmartChalk’s ability to generate quiz questions instantly is a game-changer for teachers, and we nailed the real-time progress tracking feature, giving educators actionable insights. The clean, responsive UI with light/dark mode support and accessibility features like text-to-speech for quizzes is another win. Finally, deploying a full-stack app with AI integration in a hackathon timeframe feels like a huge achievement!

What we learned

This project taught us a ton. We deepened our skills in React for state management and component design, and mastered Node.js/Express for building robust APIs. Working with MongoDB improved our database design skills, while integrating the Gemini AI API gave us hands-on experience with AI prompt engineering. We learned to troubleshoot under pressure—like fixing authentication bugs—and the importance of modular code (e.g., separating Gradus into its own route). Collaboration and time management were key lessons too, as we juggled frontend, backend, and AI tasks.

What's next for EduPath

EduPath has exciting potential ahead. We’d love to add multi-language support to Gradus for broader accessibility, and expand SmartChalk to generate entire lesson plans. Integrating gamification—like points and badges beyond the current system—could boost student engagement further. We also plan to enhance analytics with detailed learning insights for teachers and parents. Long-term, we aim to make EduPath mobile-friendly with a native app and explore partnerships with schools to scale its impact globally.

Built With

• axios
• cors
• css3
• express.js
• gemini
• google-generative-ai-api
• html5
• javascript
• jwt
• mongodb
• mongoose
• multer
• node.js
• react
• react-toastify
• rest-api
• web-speech-api