Documentation

Table of Contents

What is dialogic?

Dialogic is a free, open-source app that lets teachers and professional trainers easily build custom role-play scenarios where students interact with a richly responsive, text-driven interlocutor modeled to meet specific learning goals. Students practice skills by chatting with the LLM within the parameters set by the teacher. Teachers create their own library of scenarios, stored on a Google Sheet, that they can deploy in the classroom. Students can share the chat with teachers via email.

Dialogic combines the pedagogical power of dialogue, role-play, and scenario-based learning with the sophisticated generative capabilities of large language models. It transforms the way students interact with educational content by introducing a new level of personalization and adaptability to the learning process.

Setup

Prerequisites

  • A Google Account (and access to Google Drive)
  • An API key

API key Costs

Dialogic gives teachers the option to choose from one of three popular large language models: Llama (free), Google Gemini (mostly free) and OpenAI’s ChatGPT (not free). In the case of the last, the most versatile and reliable option of the three, Dialogic uses the entry-level 4o-Mini model, which is very inexpensive and more than adequate for educational purposes. A class of 30 students chatting for 10-20 minutes will cost 5-10 cents or less (total). A full school year could cost anywhere from $6-8.

Security

Accessing Dialogic requires a password, which teachers set and can then communicate to their students as needed. We recommend changing this on a regular basis to protect against unwanted usage. Teachers can also set a maximum number of daily interactions. Once this threshold is breached, the app will alert the teacher and set itself to “Inactive.”

Setup Steps

For detailed visual instructions, watch our setup tutorial on YouTube or get our free Quick Start Guide sent to your email address.

Building a Scenario

Dashboard Overview

The Dialogic dashboard consists of four sheets: Scenarios, Scenario Builder, Settings, and About. 

Scenarios
Scenario Builder
Settings
About

 The “Scenarios” sheet is the heart of the app where you create, store, and edit scenarios deployed through Dialogic.

 

Steps to bulid a scenario

Example Scenarios

Explore example scenarios provided with the app to understand how different settings influence the AI’s responses and the overall flow of the conversation. Hands-on experimentation will help you master scenario design.

License and Disclaimer

You are free to:

  • Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
  • Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material

Under the following terms:

  • Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.
  • NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
  • ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.

Commercial Use Clause

Any use of this work for commercial purposes requires prior written permission from the author. Unauthorized commercial use will result in legal action. For permissions, contact the author

Disclaimer

The author of Dialogic is not responsible for any charges incurred, damage caused, or any other liability arising from the use of this application. The application is provided “as-is” without any warranties, express or implied.

Support and Contact Information