Pathway Companion: the platform with Arin as chatbot is now online
Pathway Companion, the first platform based on artificial intelligence designed to support teachers, carers and families in the learning process of children and young people aged between 8 and 16 with special educational needs related to reading and test comprehension, is now available free of charge.
The project is promoted by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale ETS, with funding from Google.org, and implemented in collaboration with IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, ITLogiX and Università degli Studi Roma Tre.
According to the latest national data, there are almost 359,000 pupils with disabilities in Italian schools, accounting for 4.5% of enrolments, with a 26% increase over the last five years. Despite an increase in the number of support teachers with specific training, however, significant challenges remain: unqualified teachers, late assignments and still limited use of digital technologies and AI to support inclusive teaching. In this scenario, technological innovation can become a decisive lever for reducing educational inequalities.
Pathway Companion was created precisely to meet this need. The platform allows teaching materials to be adapted to the characteristics of the student, improving their readability and accessibility, without collecting sensitive data. The access point is Arin, an intelligent chatbot that guides adults in creating an anonymous profile of the student (age, class, specific difficulties) and supports the personalisation of content: from simplifying syntax to using images and speech synthesis, to generating materials and micro-learning paths.
The system is designed to evolve over time: continuous feedback from teachers and caregivers allows for the progressive improvement of content, accompanying the student's growth and development. The platform is available in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese and has already been tested by over 1,200 people, including teachers, parents and education professionals. Thanks to an awareness campaign, Pathway Companion is now being shared with comprehensive schools and secondary schools in Italy, Spain and Portugal.
‘Pathway Companion is a concrete example of how artificial intelligence can help overcome obstacles and enhance the talents of every student,’ emphasises Mirta Michilli, Director General of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale. ‘It is an important step towards truly inclusive education, which supports the daily work of teachers and caregivers and also actively involves families.’
For Furio Gramatica, Director of Innovation Development at the Don Gnocchi Foundation, ‘the project represents a significant milestone in the cooperation between advanced technology and real needs.’ Anna Cavallini, medical director of the Complex Operational Unit of Child Neuropsychiatry at the Don Gnocchi Foundation, shares this view, highlighting how the platform promotes ‘more equitable and integrated access to the learning process.’
‘Pathway Companion was not created to innovate technology itself, but to respond to a profound educational need,’ explains Andrea Taurchini of ITLogiX. ‘Every design choice was guided by the centrality of the educational relationship, creating an intelligent network that adapts to the needs of the student and the choices of the caregiver.’
With Pathway Companion, the Fondazione Mondo Digitale reinforces its commitment to inclusive and accessible education, in which artificial intelligence becomes a tool to support, rather than replace, the educational relationship.
