[DMP 2025]: Refactor the chatbot in the Speak Activity to use gen-AI

[pikurasa]

Ticket Contents

Description

The Speak Activity is one of
most popular Sugar activities. It allows someone just beginning to
familiarize themselves with reading to interact with synthetic
speech. It has both chat and chatbot capabilities, so that learners
can share what they type with others, often using invented
spelling. It would be a nice improvement if there were a chatbot
option to allow a learner to have a conversation with a more modern
chatbot -- LLM-based. This would contextualize the learner's
experience with writing -- a tool for both self expression and
communication.

The project would entail both enabling the LLM chatbot and doing some
tuning in order to accommodate invented spelling. Finally, it will be
important to create the proper persona, in this case, an adult
explaining to a young child.

Goals & Mid-Point Milestone

Goals

• Implement an open-source AI backend for assisting learners with reading, spelling, and dialogue
• Utilize the same open-source AI backend to improve the sound of the chatbot's speech to sound more natural, less robotic
• Utilize the same open-source AI backend to generate learner-centric (and age-appropriate) questions to assist them on their learning journey (e.g. "Have you tried typing this word out?" "Have you tried sounding this word out?" "Here's a fun word.")
• Design and create any additional front-end features necessary to make features more accessible to young users.
• Work together with a partner school to test learning outcomes and make any necessary improvements based on results.
• Document progress, outcomes, and technical guides for future contributors.

Setup/Installation

No response

Expected Outcome

No response

Acceptance Criteria

No response

Implementation Details

Python is necessary for any front-end development, and python and an open-source neural network/LLM is necessary for back-end development.

Mockups/Wireframes

No response

Product Name

Speak Activity

Organisation Name

Sugar Labs

Domain

⁠Education

Tech Skills Needed

Artificial Intelligence, Python

Mentor(s)

Coding Mentors

Ibiam Chihurumnaya

Assisting Mentors

Walter Bender

Category

Backend, AI

[aryan0931]

Hi @chimosky , @walterbender and the Coding Mentors team,

I'm Aryan Yadav, and I'm really excited about the Speak Activity project under Sugar Labs. I’ve been working extensively with LLMs, AI backends, and educational tech tools—especially in designing learning experiences powered by open-source models. The idea of helping early learners engage with language using an LLM-based chatbot is something that deeply resonates with me.

I’ve built conversational agents and AI-powered tools before, and I’d love to contribute to creating a natural, friendly chatbot persona that supports young learners as they explore spelling, reading, and expression. I also have experience fine-tuning models and integrating them into educational apps, and I’m confident I can help both on the backend (LLMs, tuning for invented spelling) and frontend (child-friendly interfaces).

I’d love to know what the next steps are to get involved or apply for the mentorship.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Warm regards,
Aryan

[walterbender]

Join the #sugar channel in Matrix. Add try making some pull requests.

[Nisargak18]

Hi @chimosky, @walterbender, and the Coding Mentors team,

I'm Nisarga Kenchangoudr, and I'm genuinely excited about the Speak Activity project by Sugar Labs. As someone passionate about both education and AI, the idea of using an open-source LLM chatbot to help children engage with language, spelling, and communication really caught my attention.

I’ve been learning and working with Python and exploring the world of AI, particularly large language models. The goal of designing a chatbot that not only talks naturally but also understands and responds to invented spelling is something I find both important and meaningful. I’m especially interested in making technology more accessible for young learners, and I would love to contribute to creating a friendly, helpful chatbot persona for this project.

I’m very interested in contributing to both the backend and the frontend parts of the project, and I’m excited to collaborate, learn, and help improve the learning experience for kids through technology.

Please let me know the next steps to get involved!

Best regards,
Nisarga Kenchangoudr

[uniabhi]

I'm enthusiastic about contributing to the Speak Activity enhancement project with Sugar Labs. My experience developing NLP applications, including fine-tuning DeBERTa models and building medical chatbots, provides an excellent foundation for creating an LLM-powered conversational assistant for young learners. I'm particularly intrigued by the challenge of accommodating invented spelling and creating age-appropriate personas, which aligns with my work in developing AI systems that adapt to user needs while maintaining educational effectiveness.

[piyushpandey955]

Hi @IbiamChihurumnaya @walterbender 👋,

I’m thrilled to see the exciting potential of enhancing the Speak Activity with an LLM-powered chatbot experience, and I would love to contribute to this project as part of C4GT DMP 2025.

The idea of building a chatbot that supports learners through age-appropriate conversations and accommodates invented spelling really resonates with me. I have hands-on experience with Python and working with open-source LLMs, and I’m passionate about creating engaging and intuitive AI-driven educational tools for young learners.

I’d love to dive deeper into the current implementation of Speak Activity and explore how we can integrate natural-sounding speech and adaptive responses tailored to children. Please let me know how I can begin contributing or set up the development environment.

Looking forward to learning and collaborating!

[dineshkolhe1]

Hi @walterbender @pikurasa

Hello, my name is Dinesh Kolhe, and I am a student with a strong interest in AI and open-source development. I have hands-on experience working on AI projects, including building a Gemini clone and experimenting with conversational AI models. My background has given me practical skills in working with AI frameworks, chatbot development, and understanding how to create user-friendly conversational flows.

I am very interested in contributing to the Speak Activity Refactor Project at Sugar Labs. I find the goal of enhancing educational tools for children through AI both meaningful and exciting. This project perfectly aligns with my passion for using AI to create helpful and interactive learning experiences.

My aim is to:

Help refactor the existing chatbot to integrate a modern, open-source LLM model.

Improve the naturalness of the chatbot’s speech output to make it more engaging for young learners.

Design child-friendly prompts and responses to encourage learning and exploration.

Ensure the chatbot can handle "invented spelling" to support early literacy development.

Collaborate with the Sugar Labs community and learn through open-source contribution.

Document my progress clearly for future contributors.

I am enthusiastic about contributing to this project, learning from the community, and making a positive impact in educational technology!

[Aamir377300]

Hey @chimosky, @walterbender,

I’m really excited about this issue and would love to work on it! Could you please assign it to me? I have a good amount of experience with Python and I’m eager to dive into integrating the LLM-based chatbot for the Speak Activity.

I’ll start by looking into open-source AI backends that fit the needs for reading, spelling, and dialogue, and I’ll focus on making sure it works well with invented spelling. I also plan to ensure the chatbot feels friendly and approachable for young learners.

I’d love to discuss further details and how I can best support the project under your mentorship.

Looking forward to hearing from you and getting started!

Best,
Aamir Belal Khan

[kartikf4]

hey @chimosky, @walterbender,
I'm kartikeya prasad and I'm very much interested in contributing this project . Please mention any slack channels or any others to communicate further.
looking forward to this

[Soumo-git-hub]

Hi @walterbender and @chimosky

I'm Soumyadyuti Dey, and I'm really excited to contribute to the Speak Activity project under Sugar Labs. With my experience in cloud computing, web development, and AI, I’m particularly interested in integrating a modern LLM-based chatbot to help young learners engage with language and reading in a fun and educational way.

I believe this project aligns perfectly with my passion for using AI to improve educational tools, and I’m eager to contribute to both the backend (LLM, tuning for invented spelling) and frontend (creating child-friendly interfaces). Additionally, I’m keen to help ensure the chatbot has a natural, approachable voice and generates age-appropriate content to assist learners in their journey.

Please let me know the next steps and how I can start contributing to this exciting project!

Looking forward to collaborating with everyone!

Best regards,
Soumyadyuti Dey

[Atulya12345]

Hey @walterbender @chimosky @pikurasa

My name is Atulya Mishra 3rd year student at IIT Delhi with a strong interest in AI, machine learning, and how technology can improve learning experiences. The Speak Activity project really excites me because it combines two things I care about: making education more interactive and using modern AI tools like LLMs to do it.

Through my projects and internships, I’ve gained experience in building chatbots and working with language models. At my internship, I developed AI tools to analyze student data, I have also worked on predictive modeling using machine learning (XGBoost, LightGBM etc) in various hackthons. These experiences helped me understand how to apply AI in real-world situations, especially in user-focused tools.

I’ve also built web apps using Python and Flask, and worked with NLP and data science tools, which would help in integrating a chatbot into the Speak Activity. I love the idea of helping young learners express themselves through conversation, even with invented spelling, and I’m excited to contribute to building a chatbot that’s both helpful and friendly for children.

Looking forward to start working on this project!

[konarkkumar]

Hy, I am interested in this because i am already working on projects like this you can check it on my resume with this i am currently pursuing my last 6th semester in BCA. I have found my interest in generative ai field as well as ai agent development so i think i will be the best option for it.

Konark Resume updated.pdf

[tarunkumar2005]

Hello @pikurasa, I'm Tarun and I'm a good fit for working on this project because of my skills in python, gen ai and working with LLMs. I have worked on several projects with similar implementation, you can check our in my resume or my LinkedIn profile. This will be a very good opportunity for me and i will be very helpful asset to the project. I have build calmora on similar basis but it is not for learning it is for naturally talking you can check out: https://github.com/tarunkumar2005/Calmora Please reach our to me if you have any doubts or want clarification on me or my projects. Looking forward to contributing to the project.

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/tarunkumar8278

[Sharma-Ji-21]

Hi @chimosky @walterbender @pikurasa ,

I’m Om Sharma, a CSE (AI & ML) undergrad with experience in Python, LLMs, and educational tech. I’m really excited about the Speak Activity upgrade idea — combining child learning with modern AI is something I’d love to work on.

I plan to:
• Integrate a lightweight open-source LLM backend (like Ollama or OpenChatKit)
• Fine-tune it for child-friendly, invented spelling
• Improve the chatbot voice using AI TTS
• Ensure a playful, simple UI for kids

I’d love to hear your thoughts and contribute further!

Best,
Om Sharma
Sharma-Ji-21

[schnrj]

Hi @pikurasa and mentors,
I'm Sachin Raj, a 3rd-year student at IIT Jodhpur. I'm really interested in working on this project. I’ve built an AI chatbot before and contributed to open-source projects using Python and AI tools. I’d love to help improve the Speak Activity with Gen-AI to make learning more fun for kids.

You can reach me at b22ee057@iitj.ac.in
My GitHub: github.com/schnrj

Thanks! :)