LERRN | Devpost

Inspiration

We were inspired by how powerful AI can be as a learning tool when used responsibly. While AI does not inherently promote cheating, many universities currently villainize it and treat its use as academic dishonesty. We wanted to challenge that narrative by creating a platform that encourages a healthy, transparent relationship between academia and AI. LERRN is designed to align with university guidelines and promote genuine learning, innovation, and critical thinking rather than shortcutting the educational process.

What it does

LERRN is a learning platform that helps students perform better academically by guiding them through concepts using Socratic questioning instead of giving direct answers. It supports deeper understanding through interactive tutoring and study tools such as flashcards, while maintaining academic integrity.

How we built it

We built LERRN using a modern full-stack architecture. The frontend was developed with a reactive UI framework and styled to be clean and intuitive, while the backend handled authentication, AI orchestration, and business logic. We integrated a database to store user data, course materials, and study artifacts. The AI layer was carefully designed to enforce Socratic-style responses, ensuring the system acts as a tutor rather than an answer generator.

Challenges we ran into

One major challenge was integrating the frontend and backend seamlessly, especially while maintaining consistent data flow and authentication. Database integration also posed difficulties, particularly around structuring data securely and efficiently. Additionally, achieving a polished and intuitive UI within a limited timeframe required multiple iterations and tradeoffs.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We successfully implemented interactive study features such as flashcards and built a functioning Socratic questioning system that guides students without giving away answers. We are proud of creating a product that balances usability, pedagogy, and academic integrity while delivering a meaningful learning experience.

What we learned

Through this project, we learned how important it is to design around real user needs rather than assumptions. We gained hands-on experience with version control in a collaborative environment and learned how to effectively connect frontend and backend systems. We also learned how to scope features realistically while maintaining a strong core vision.

What's next for LERRN

Next, we plan to perfect the frontend and backend integration and elevate the UI to be more interactive, engaging, and visually striking. We want to make the Socratic agent more thorough and better aligned with course content. Additionally, we plan to introduce a voice-based Socratic agent to create a more natural and accessible learning experience.