Learning Sessions

Start voice-to-voice conversations with Phil, your AI teacher, and track your study time.

Introduction

Learning sessions are the core of AquaEdge. Each session is a real-time voice conversation with Phil where you can ask questions, work through problems, and learn at your own pace. Phil responds immediately through voice, creating an interactive teaching experience.

Starting a Session

1. Navigate to Sessions in your dashboard sidebar
2. Select a subject from the dropdown — your selections appear with sections as submenus, or choose "General Learning"
3. Choose timer mode: Session (continuous, counts up) or Pomodoro (work/break intervals)
4. If Pomodoro: set work minutes (max 120) and break minutes (max 60). Defaults: 50/10.
5. Click "Start Learning Session"
6. Allow microphone access when prompted
7. Start talking — Phil will greet you and begin

The start screen also shows your Phil avatar (with confetti animation), a Memories button to view what Phil remembers about you, and your remaining reply count for the month.

The Floating Island (Top Bar)

During a session, a floating bar sits at the top center of the screen with all your session controls:

• Speaking indicator: Shows "Phil" or your name with an animated wave when someone is speaking
• Timer: Elapsed time (HH:MM:SS). With Pomodoro, shows a "WORK" or "BREAK" badge
• Type: Opens a text input so you can type to Phil instead of speaking
• Materials: Opens the materials modal — shows a badge if materials are active
• Pause: Pause or resume the session timer
• Mute: Mute or unmute Phil's audio and your microphone
• Pop out: Opens Picture-in-Picture mode (desktop only)
• Hold to Talk: Press and hold to speak (desktop only, when Push-to-Talk is enabled)

If you're inactive for too long, an amber "Ending in Xs" warning appears before the session auto-ends.

Session Sidebar / Toolbox

The sidebar (right side on desktop, bottom bar on mobile) gives you access to session tools:

• Phil: Voice chat transcript — Phil's responses appear as real-time text
• Camera: Start your camera, capture a photo, and save it as a material via OCR
• Materials: Upload and manage study materials during the session. Includes a context budget bar (6,000 character limit) — enable or disable materials to control what Phil sees
• Flashcards: Create sets, add cards manually, or generate from materials. Study without leaving the session
• Quizzes: Create quiz sets, add questions, generate from materials, and practice
• Settings: Push-to-Talk toggle, Pause Phil, Pause Timer, Background Music (Brown Noise or Rain + Classical with volume slider), and Pomodoro info

At the bottom: an "End Session" button and a replies counter showing your usage for the month.

Materials Modal

Click the Materials button in the floating island to quickly manage which materials Phil has access to:

• Shows "Select Materials for Context" with a context budget bar
• Visual bar shows characters used out of the 6,000 character limit
• Click any material to enable or disable it for Phil's context
• Phil only sees enabled materials during the session

Talking with Phil

• Ask questions about any concept
• Work through practice problems together
• Request visual explanations for step-by-step breakdowns
• Ask Phil to generate flashcards or practice problems
• Interrupt anytime to ask follow-ups
• Type to Phil by clicking the Type button or Phil's name
• Phil uses the Socratic method — guiding you with questions rather than just giving answers

Session Timers

Picture-in-Picture (PiP)

Click "Pop out" in the floating island to open a small floating window above other apps:

• Phil's status and session timer
• Scrollable transcript of Phil's responses
• Text input to type to Phil
• Controls: Type, Mute, Pause, Push-to-Talk, Expand back, End session

Ending a Session

1. Click "End Session" in the sidebar or mobile toolbar
2. Phil disconnects, timers stop, camera and mic stop
3. Session is saved with duration and Phil's responses as notes
4. A confetti celebration plays
5. Returns to the start screen — you can immediately start another session

Sessions also auto-end when: you run out of replies, the 30-minute handoff limit is reached (seamless reconnect available), 20 minutes of inactivity, or connection is lost (auto-saves via beacon).

Session History

All sessions are saved and accessible from your dashboard or the selection's Stream tab:

• View past transcripts with Phil's full responses
• See total study time per selection
• Read AI-generated summaries of what you covered
• Access study materials, flashcards, and quizzes created during the session
• Filter by selection and date range
• Session stats: date, duration, status