Course Companion
AI chat grounded in the course's own content — a study partner available whenever learners need it.
Course Companion is a chat block that instructors add to a Moodle course page. Learners ask questions in their own words and get answers grounded in the course itself — the pages, labels and Owlia activities they are allowed to see — rather than the open web, in the reply language they choose.
Conversations are stored in your Moodle, not by the Owlia service: learners can reopen past chats or start a fresh one, and messages are removed automatically after a retention period you set. No user identity (id, name or email) is sent to the AI service.
The value for learners and instructors
Where this plugin genuinely supports learning — and where it does not.
Learner autonomy
CoreLearners get help the moment a question comes up, on their own initiative and at their own pace, without waiting for office hours or a forum reply.
Alignment with the course
CoreBecause answers are grounded in the instructor's own material — and only what the learner can see — learners stay inside the course's vocabulary, scope and intended outcomes.
Multilingual access
SupportingLearners can ask for answers in English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese or Italian (configurable), while the course itself stays unchanged.
Accessibility
SupportingThe chat is keyboard operable, announces replies to screen readers and respects reduced motion, so it does not add barriers for learners with disabilities.
Instructor workload
SupportingNo content preparation: the companion uses what the course already contains, and can answer routine content questions.
What it does not do
Course Companion does not assess learners, track competencies or report progress, and instructors get no analytics on what learners ask. Answer quality depends on the course content: a course with little text gives the companion little to work with.
Install in a few minutes
Requirements
- Moodle
- 4.5 – 5.3
- Component
block_owlicc- Folder
blocks/owlicc- Interface
- English
Dependencies
- Owlia Connect Suite ≥ 1.7.0Required
local_owliasuiteHolds the Owlia connection and organisation API keys. - Owlia account and planRequired
account.mysleipnir.luYour organisation's plan must include Course Companion. Chat history stays readable when access ends. - Owlia ActivityOptional
mod_owliactivityOptional: when present, its activities are also used as course content.
- 1
Install the foundation hub
Install Owlia Connect Suite (local_owliasuite) first and connect it to your Owlia account in Site administration → Plugins → Local plugins → Owlia Connect Suite.
- 2
Install Course Companion
Upload the ZIP in Site administration → Plugins → Install plugins (or copy the folder to blocks/owlicc), then complete the upgrade from Site administration → Notifications.
- 3
Review the settings
Optionally adjust the reply languages and the chat retention period in Site administration → Plugins → Blocks → Owlia - Course Companion.
- 4
Add the block to a course
Turn editing on, open the block drawer and add “Owlia - Course Companion”. Who can chat is set per course and per role with the block/owlicc:view capability.
Data & privacy
- Conversations are private to each learner; instructors see no transcripts.
- Chats are deleted after the retention period (90 days by default) and are excluded from course backups.
- Per question, the message, earlier messages of the chat, the visible course content and the reply language are sent; the Owlia service stores no conversation.
- No user id, name or email is sent. Full Moodle Privacy API support, with clean-up when a user or course is deleted.
Help when you need it
Email support
support@mysleipnir.com
Account & API key
Plans, usage and keys on account.mysleipnir.lu
Suite install guide
Set up the foundation hub once for every plugin.
Security & trust
Gateway, pseudonymisation and guardrails.
Download
Course Companion will be available from the Moodle plugins directory and from its public GitHub repository in the near future.