An AI tool for history class where students talk with historical figures

First, the student reads a short primer written from the figure's point of view, what they knew and what they hadn't seen yet. Hard terms have a definition on hover. Where the audio has been recorded, the figure reads it aloud in their own voice with the words highlighted as they go.

Then the student meets the figure. The conversation runs on an arc with six parts: a warm open, free recall, an interview, a challenge, a teach-back, and a landing. The figure won't let a vague answer stand, and the challenge only comes after the student has given real answers. Progress counts answers that cover the ideas, not minutes on the page, so clicking through doesn't finish a lesson.

The student leaves with a prep card: their strongest claim in their own words, one open question, and a two-sentence line to start class discussion. They also write a short reflection on what they understand now, what they're still unsure of, and what they'll say in class.

• A class with its own join code. Students can only sign up with a code from you.
• Every student's full transcript, prep card and reflection.
• A discussion brief for each lesson. It groups what the class said into themes, with anonymized student quotes and a count of how many students landed in each, and it gives you three openers for discussion. Student names are stripped before the brief is written.
• Debate lessons add automated feedback on the argument. It is labelled as feedback, not a grade.

Students are told this up front. The exact line they see at sign-up and before every conversation is: “Your instructor can review your conversations, prep cards, and reflections, sees the automated feedback on debate lessons, and sees class-level themes across the cohort.”

Each reply draws on two sets of sources, the figure's own writing and the readings for your course. Under every reply there's a Sources used note that names what the answer drew on and shows any line quoted word for word, so a student can check it. In debate lessons the figure quotes the primary text, and a quote is only shown as a quote if the words actually match the passage.

You can write your own course in the app. You set the readings, cast the figures, add the glossary and edit the conversation arc, then preview a lesson as a student before you publish it. It works for any subject with people in it, history first, but also philosophy, art history, literature, science and civics.

• The figures are AI portrayals, not the real people, and they can get facts wrong. The sources note is there so students check, not so they trust.
• Awaken History does not give you a score or points. Debate lessons end with automated feedback on your argument, which you and your instructor can see. Your instructor decides whether and how your work here counts in your course.
• Living figures get painted portraits, never photographs or photorealistic images.
• There is no self-serve teacher sign-up or public pricing yet. We set up each teacher account ourselves.
• Students have to be at least 13, unless your school arranges access and any consent the law requires.