Minutes: Intelligent Note Editor

Inspiration

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for a better online learning experience became really obvious.

Zoom fatigue emerged as a formidable adversary, and the absence of face-to-face interactions created a void in the vibrant exchange of ideas. The once-lively group study sessions, now confined to virtual meetings, presented a challenge in maintaining the same level of engagement. Furthermore, the struggle to stay focused amidst the myriad distractions at home escalated into an everyday battle, impacting the overall learning experience.

In this digital landscape, the challenge extended beyond group discussions. Students found it increasingly difficult to seek clarifications or ask questions directly to teachers. The traditional ease of approaching a teacher after class or during office hours was replaced by a virtual barrier, making it a more intricate task to get the necessary guidance.

Acknowledging these difficulties, we were inspired to devise a solution. Minutes, an intelligent note editor, was born out of our shared determination to elevate the remote learning experience.

As we dived deeper into the possibilities, the concept of Minutes materialised. It became more than just a note editor; it evolved into an AI-powered mentor, generating interactive study materials and self-testing quizzes and helping students with their queries.

What it does

Minutes, your Intelligent Note Editor, surpasses traditional note-taking boundaries. Empower your learning with interactive study materials and self-testing quizzes, seamlessly generated by both you and our advanced AI. Take it a step further – ask any question about the topic and receive accurate answers. Unleash the full potential of your study sessions with Minutes.

How we built it

Gemini AI for the LLM, FastAPI for the backend, Next.js for the frontend

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Challenges we ran into

Handling state management became a significant hurdle. With four individuals collaborating on a project within a tight 24-hour timeframe, coordinating and reaching a consensus on the structure of our react components proved challenging, resulting in numerous frontend issues and a suboptimal user experience.
Dealing with unconventional and inconsistent naming conventions, API routes, and function parameters presented a significant hurdle. The resulting confusion consumed a considerable amount of time as we grappled with correcting errors arising from misnamed fields, parameters, and types. This diversion took away precious development time that could have been devoted to refining and enhancing our features.

What we learned

How to develop a web application that integrates the cool benefits of AI into our everyday life, like helping us study more productively
We learnt how to code together and collaboratively especially since we're mostly first-time hackathon participants

What's next for Minutes: Intelligent Note Editor

A more refined AI-powered search function which included all the notes that the user has created as context.
Better UI/UX to improve students' experience