💡 GSoC 2026 Project Idea — Discover Interactive Learning Studio (Gamified Inclusion Training)

[ParikhShreya]

Hi everyone! 👋
I’m Shreya, an aspiring GSoC 2026 contributor passionate about improving the Discover Cookbook experience and making it more interactive, inclusive, and fun to learn from!

I’ve been exploring an idea called Discover Interactive Learning Studio, which aims to transform the current static documentation into a dynamic, gamified learning platform — helping event organizers and contributors learn inclusion best practices through interactive experiences.

🚀 Project Overview

The goal is to turn the Cookbook into an immersive EdTech-style platform where users learn by doing instead of just reading.
By integrating gamified learning, adaptive modules, and interactive feedback, the platform can make inclusion training more impactful and enjoyable. 💡

🧩 Proposed Core Features

1. 🎭 Scenario Simulator Engine - Choose your response style challenges (e.g., accessibility requests, inclusive communication). Each decision triggers adaptive feedback derived from Cookbook content.
2. 🏆 Gamified Learning System — Interactive quizzes, badges (“Accessibility Hero”, “Language Champion”), and missions to encourage engagement and progress.
3. 📘 Guided Learning Path — Section-wise quizzes with hints and direct links to relevant documentation for contextual learning.
4. 📊 Learning Dashboard — Displays progress, achievements, and personalized recommendations. Option to export completion certificates or reports.
5. 🤖 Adaptive Learning Engine (AI-assisted) - Uses performance analytics to tailor content difficulty, suggest new learning paths, and provide smart feedback.

💬 Feedback & Next Steps

I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback — especially regarding:

The technical feasibility of such a platform
Whether this aligns with Discover Cookbook’s long-term goals
Any potential improvements or directions to explore further

Would this be suitable to develop into a GSoC 2026 project proposal?

Thank you so much for your time and guidance! 🙏
Shreya Parikh ✨

[ParikhShreya]

Hi everyone @OriolAbril @aterrel @mikofski @rivaquiroga , thanks for reading my draft proposal , I would appreciate any initial thoughts on this idea. I’m happy to iterate based on your suggestions.

[OriolAbril]

@ParikhShreya you are getting started early in defining the project idea which is generally the best way to define the idea together with the maintainers. I want to note a few things before starting though. First is I am not a maintainer of the repo nor on the editorial team of the cookbook, I helped with last year's GSoC projects because they were about translations and sphinx. Also, there are many projects that participate in GSoC but only with a list of maintainer defined ideas. I think it won't be the cookbook's case but per the previous point I don't really know.

Consequently, my feedback on the idea proposal comes from my position as user of the cookbook and occasional contributor.

I am personally overexposed to gamified things and appreciate regular content more every day. Moreover, especially for the cookbook where diversity and inclusion are its basis, I think being mindful about data collection and about use of technologies that go against its goals like AI is even more important than in other repos. One of the high impact measures is "Don’t collect any demographic info that you don’t really need", which is also true for things that aren't events.

On a technical level, I think the idea is out of the scope of the cookbook on a couple axes.

Content-wise. I have found the diataxis framework really helps think about pedagogical content. The cookbook is mostly a collection of clear and to the point recommendations (aka "how-to" content). That is, it is focused on action and application. Learning and understanding are deferred to the "further reading" section present in every chapter.

Infrastructure-wise. The cookbook is a repository of text in markdown files, which gets rendered into a static website. The setup is intentional to keep things simple and maintenance cost low. Without being an expert in any of the proposed core features they look like they would at least need a database and making the website dynamic.

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Collaborating with organizations like the carpentries, pyladies, rladies... to offer courses for event organizers, with the cookbook as one of the resources used, could be interesting if there is availability for that. But in this case that would be out of the scope of GSoC because it wouldn't be "code based" as stated in GSoC's rule 1.27.

[ParikhShreya]

Hi @OriolAbril
Thank you so much for taking the time to share such detailed feedback — I really appreciate your insights and honesty! It helps me understand the project scope and philosophy of the Cookbook much better.

I’ll definitely revisit my idea to make sure it aligns with the repository’s content style and static infrastructure. I also plan to reach out to the maintainers to confirm whether they’re open to new ideas this year.

Your thoughts on keeping things simple, privacy-friendly, and inclusive were especially helpful — I’ll keep those principles in mind while refining the proposal. Thanks again for guiding me in the right direction!