CordiaClassroom

A Chrome side-panel extension and Classroom web app that share one Cordia Tutor session for capturing and learning from student-approved educational content.

Overview

CordiaClassroom captures content from learning platforms, online textbooks, PDFs, slideshows, and webpages, then turns it into organized study materials.

Features

Core Functionality

Feature	Description	AI Usage
Smart Notes	AI extracts key information, filtering out navigation and irrelevant content	GPT-4o identifies important concepts, definitions, and facts
Study Guide	Generates comprehensive Q&A study guides	GPT-4o creates varied question types (definition, explanation, application, comparison) with detailed answers
Flashcards	Creates flashcard-style question/answer pairs for quick review	GPT-4o generates concise Q&A pairs optimized for memorization
Chat Assistant	Interactive Q&A using captured content as knowledge base	GPT-4o answers questions in 3 modes: short, detailed, or with examples

Slideshow Detection & Extraction

CordiaClassroom automatically detects and extracts content from slideshows:

Platform	Detection	Extraction
Canvas LMS	Native slideshow modules	Full text extraction from all slides
Google Slides	Embedded iframes	Detects embed, prompts to open directly
PowerPoint Online	OneDrive/SharePoint embeds	Detects embed, extracts surrounding content
PowerPoint Files	.pptx download links	Downloads and parses slide content
Prezi	Embedded presentations	Detects embed URL
Generic Slideshows	CSS class detection (.slides, .carousel)	Extracts visible slide content

Content Sources Supported

• LMS Pages: Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, D2L Brightspace
• Slideshows: Google Slides, PowerPoint (online & .pptx files), Prezi, native LMS slideshows
• Documents: Embedded PDFs, text-based content
• Rich Content: Image alt-text, structured educational content

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      Chrome Extension                            │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Side panel UI       │  content.js          │  background.js    │
│  - Side-panel UI     │  - Slideshow detect  │  - API calls      │
│  - Display results   │  - PDF extraction    │  - Message router │
│  - Chat interface    │  - LMS content grab  │                   │
│  - Flashcard view    │  - PPTX detection    │                   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                │
                                ▼ Authenticated HTTP
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      FastAPI Backend                             │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  /ingest             │  /generate                               │
│  - Review sections   │  - AI notes and study guides             │
│  - Detect slideshow  │  - AI flashcards                         │
│  - Return metadata   │                                          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  /chat               │  Text Processing     │  Tutor session    │
│  - Shared skills     │  - LMS filtering     │  - One writer     │
│  - Context-aware     │  - Smart chunking    │  - Action evidence│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                │
                                ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      OpenAI GPT-4o                               │
│  - Intelligent note extraction (identifies exam-worthy content) │
│  - Study guide generation (varied question types)               │
│  - Flashcard creation (memorization-optimized)                  │
│  - Contextual Q&A (short/detailed/example modes)                │
│  - Slideshow summarization                                      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Chat Modes

• short: Brief, direct answers (1-2 sentences)
• detailed: Step-by-step explanations with full context
• example: Concrete, real-world examples to illustrate concepts

How AI is Used

Feature	AI Role	Why AI?
Notes	Identifies key concepts, definitions, and exam-worthy facts	Human-like understanding of what's important to study
Study Guide	Generates varied question types with detailed answers	Creates questions that test understanding, not just memorization
Flashcards	Creates concise Q&A pairs for quick review	Optimizes content for memorization and recall
Chat	Answers questions using captured content as context	Provides personalized explanations based on the material
Slideshow Summary	Synthesizes slide content into coherent notes	Connects information across slides into study-ready format

Configuration

Text Processing

The content filter in services/text_processing.py automatically removes:

• LMS navigation (Dashboard, Inbox, Calendar, Modules, etc.)
• UI elements (buttons, menus, breadcrumbs)
• Video player controls
• Generic web elements (cookies, privacy policy, etc.)

Supports: Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, D2L Brightspace

AI Parameters

In services/llm.py:

Parameter	Value	Purpose
model	gpt-4o	Best quality for educational content
temperature	0.3-0.5	Balanced accuracy with some variety
max_tokens	150-2048	Varies by feature (notes vs study guide)

Roadmap

• AI-powered note extraction
• Study guide generation with varied question types
• Flashcard generation
• Slideshow detection (Canvas, Google Slides, PowerPoint)
• Export format
• Spaced repetition scheduling
• Persistent storage (Supabase Postgres)
• User accounts and saved study sets
• Video transcript extraction (YouTube, Panopto)
• OCR for scanned PDFs

License

MIT