Democratizing education through voice-first learning - Making quality education accessible to visually impaired students, those with dyslexia, and learners in low-resource settings across Africa.
1.2 million children in Sub-Saharan Africa are visually impaired, and millions more struggle with dyslexia and reading difficulties. Yet 99% of e-learning platforms require visual interaction and high-speed internet.
IVR Tutor changes this.
Just dial a number. No smartphone needed. No internet required. No visual barriers.
IVR Tutor is a voice-first educational platform that transforms any basic phone into a powerful learning tool. Students access interactive lessons, quizzes, and progress tracking through simple phone calls.
🎯 Inclusive by Design
- Fully accessible for visually impaired learners
- Supports students with dyslexia and reading difficulties
- Works on any phone - feature phones included
📱 Zero-Barrier Access
- No app downloads or internet required
- Local language support (English + Swahili + more)
- Works in areas with poor internet connectivity
🎮 Engaging Learning Experience
- Interactive audio lessons with immediate feedback
- Gamified quizzes with keypad responses
- Progress tracking via SMS notifications
- Motivational content and study reminders
👥 Community Integration
- Parent/guardian progress updates
- Teacher dashboard for content management
- Peer learning group features
1. 📞 Dial +254XXXXXXXX
2. 🎵 Listen to menu: "Press 1 for Math, 2 for English..."
3. 📚 Engage with audio lessons
4. ✏️ Answer quizzes using keypad (1,2,3,4)
5. 📈 Receive SMS progress updates
6. 🔄 Continue learning journey
Student Call → IVR Menu → Audio Content → Interactive Quiz →
Progress Tracking → SMS Notifications → Learning Analytics
This project is built by a passionate team dedicated to inclusive education:
- Cheptoo Faith - Lead Developer & Product Vision
- Vincent Kiplangat - Co-creator and development partner
We're always open to more contributors who share our vision of accessible education!
- 🎙️ Africa's Talking Voice API - IVR system and audio delivery
- 📱 Africa's Talking SMS API - Progress notifications and reminders
- ⚡ FastAPI Backend - Core learning logic and user management
- 🗄️ PostgreSQL Database - Student progress and content management
- ☁️ AWS S3 - Audio content storage and delivery
- 🧠 ML Pipeline - Adaptive learning recommendations
┌─────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐
│ 📞 Phone Call │───▶│ 🎙️ IVR Engine │───▶│ 📚 Content API │
└─────────────────┘ └──────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘
│ │
▼ ▼
┌─────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐
│ 📱 SMS Service │◀───│ 🧠 Learning AI │───▶│ 📊 Analytics │
└─────────────────┘ └──────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘
- Python 3.9+
- Africa's Talking API credentials
- PostgreSQL database
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/ivr-tutor.git
cd ivr-tutor
# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
# Setup environment variables
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your Africa's Talking credentials
# Run database migrations
python manage.py migrate
# Start the server
python manage.py runserver# Call the test number
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/test-call \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"phone": "+254700000000"}'Call +254XXXXXXXX to experience IVR Tutor yourself!
- 500,000+ students could be reached in Year 1
- 80% cost reduction compared to traditional assistive technology
- 24/7 availability in remote areas
- Multiple language support for diverse communities
- ✅ Complete IVR lesson flow
- ✅ SMS progress notifications
- ✅ Multi-language support (EN/SW)
- ✅ Real-time analytics dashboard
- ✅ Teacher content management
- ✅ Adaptive learning recommendations
ivr-tutor/
├── 📁 api/ # FastAPI backend
│ ├── models/ # Database models
│ ├── routers/ # API endpoints
│ ├── services/ # Business logic
│ └── utils/ # Helper functions
├── 📁 content/ # Audio lessons and scripts
├── 📁 dashboard/ # Teacher/admin web interface
├── 📁 ml/ # Learning recommendation engine
├── 📁 scripts/ # Database setup and utilities
├── 📁 tests/ # Test suites
├── 📄 requirements.txt # Python dependencies
├── 📄 docker-compose.yml # Container orchestration
└── 📄 README.md # This file
pytest tests/ -v# Test IVR flow
pytest tests/test_ivr.py -v
# Test SMS notifications
pytest tests/test_sms.py -v
# Test learning analytics
pytest tests/test_analytics.py -v- Core IVR functionality
- SMS progress notifications
- Basic analytics dashboard
- Multi-language support
- AI-powered voice tutoring
- Advanced speech recognition
- Offline content download
- Parent mobile app companion
- Government partnership integration
- Advanced learning analytics
- Content marketplace
- Multi-country deployment
We welcome contributors who are passionate about inclusive education!
- 🐛 Bug fixes - Help us improve stability
- ✨ New features - Add functionality for different learning needs
- 🌍 Translations - Add support for more local languages
- 📚 Content - Create audio lessons and educational content
- 📖 Documentation - Help others understand and use the platform
# Fork the repository
# Clone your fork
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/ivr-tutor.git
# Create a feature branch
git checkout -b feature/amazing-new-feature
# Make your changes and commit
git commit -m "Add amazing new feature"
# Push and create a pull request
git push origin feature/amazing-new-featureThis project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.
- Vincent Kiplangat - Co-creator and development partner
- Africa's Talking - For providing the powerful APIs that make this possible
- EdTech Hackathon Organizers - For creating a platform to address educational inequality
- Accessibility Advocates - For inspiring inclusive design practices
- The Open Source Community - For the tools and libraries that power this project
Built with ❤️ for inclusive education in Africa during the Afrika's Talking Edtech Hackathon
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - Nelson Mandela
⭐ Star this repo if you believe in accessible education for all!