Conversations with History
The Presidential Files: Abraham Lincoln
The Problem
While visiting Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, I happened upon an actor portraying Jefferson in full character. I hadn’t planned to see him—I didn’t even know he would be there. I was simply blessed enough to be in the right place at the right time.
And he was masterful. He answered questions as Jefferson would have, speaking only from the knowledge, experiences, and perspectives available during Jefferson’s lifetime. He could discuss relevant topics, but never stepped outside his time period or Jefferson's viewpoint.
I loved the experience, but I also wondered: What about everyone who couldn’t be there? Seeing Jefferson required being at Monticello on the right day at the right time, as well as the cost of admission and travel. Even then, not everyone in the audience had the opportunity to ask a question.
Could this kind of experience be shared on a much larger scale? Could we keep the same historical boundaries while giving everyone the opportunity to ask questions? I decided to find out.
Project's Main Screen: Introduces President Lincoln's character and provides access to the conversation experience.
The Solution
The solution was to create a historical AI chatbot that could answer learners’ questions in a voice inspired by Lincoln’s own. The experience needed to be grounded in primary historical sources, protected by guardrails appropriate for younger learners, and substantive enough to engage adults.
Audience: Anyone interested in exploring history through an interactive experience grounded in primary sources.
Responsibilities: research, instructional design, eLearning development, text-based storyboard, style guide, mood board, high-fidelity mockups, interactive prototype, AI character development, AI guardrail development, source grounding, response design, iterative web design, API integration, and eLearning-to-web integration.
Tools Used: Articulate Storyline 360, ChatGPT, Claude, Dzine, ElevenLabs, Figma, Magnific (Freepik)
Key Features
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Open-Ended Conversation: Learners can ask Lincoln their own questions rather than choosing from a predetermined list, allowing each conversation to follow the learner’s curiosity. Built-in guardrails prevent inappropriate questions from becoming part of the conversation.
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Primary-Source Grounding: Responses are grounded in designated primary historical sources, helping keep the conversation connected to Lincoln's own words and the historical record. A Source button allows learners to view and explore the primary sources behind Lincoln's responses, providing transparency and accountability for the information presented.
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Historical Boundaries: Lincoln remains within the knowledge, experience, time period, and viewpoint available to him during his lifetime rather than responding with modern hindsight. This prevents Lincoln from speaking about subjects he did not know about in his time like modern technology, presidents who came after him, and other events outside his lifetime.
Why This Project Stands Out
For learners to experience Abraham Lincoln in a way that echoed my experience with Thomas Jefferson, I wanted to do more than send them directly to a chatbot. I used Storyline to set the stage, welcoming learners into the White House before transitioning them into Lincoln’s office and the web-based conversation.
The project also uses multiple modalities across Storyline and the AI chatbot, including visual, audio, text, and conversational interaction. Together, these elements create a more complete learning experience. Rather than simply opening a webpage and beginning to type, learners are first invited into Lincoln’s world—and then given the opportunity to talk with him.