Please describe your proposed solution.
<u>Main deliverable:</u>
An online learning environment that can host self-paced, modular educational courses, with the first course being suited towards training new Haskell developers.
<u>Project Brief:</u>
The purpose of this education platform is to achieve two main objectives:
- Connect the various educational courses in production across the Wada ecosystem.
- Provide users with a better learning experience, beyond watching the courses on Youtube.
Youtube is not the ideal method of distributing educational content given there is:
- No access to individual user data.
- No way of tracking individual progress.
- No way of gaining insights into future course interest (outside of a survey link or poll)
- No way of gamifying or customizing the experience.
<u>Tech Stack:</u>
Wada Academy will utilize a TutorLMS integration for a V1 implementation of modular courses and quiz capabilities on a Wordpress backend.
- WordPress CMS: <https://wordpress.org/>
- Custom front end
- Email marketing: <https://activecampaign.com>
- LMS: https://www.themeum.com/tutor-lms
<u>Marketing Strategy:</u>
- Developer events and workshops: Wada hosting regular developer workshops which will direct attendees towards Wada Academy (WA) onboarding.
- Content: Distributing newsletters, guides and
- Partnerships: Working with schools and universities to provide resources to STEM students to either learn programming, or develop their existing skills into a functional programming orientation.
- Ads: A limited run of ad campaigns with the purpose of email capture and market research.
<u>Unique Elements:</u>
- Mobile-friendly: We have seen multiple examples of MOOCs that use a desktop-only interface, which requires contact zooming in and out while on a mobile device. Quality user experience is at the core of engagement, so a mobile-first design principle will be in place.
- Gamified: A new approach to better engage students and life-long learners.
- Inclusive: Multiple languages will be offered as part of each program, depending on capacity and funding,
<u>Future Use Cases:</u>
- Wider appeal of the platform beyond Haskell.
- Project-based learning.
- Learn-to-earn features with wallet integrations.
- Game-based learning and embedded gamification through a custom platform solution.
Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.
This proposal addresses the need to equip Cardano developers with the tools and environment they require in order to build on top of Cardano. Providing a learning environment acts as both a community building project and a resource for continual improvement.
Secondly, it will also increase the number of developers actively building on Cardano, by way of acting as a funnel into the wider ecosystem.
What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?
Course quality: Wada has access to seasoned Haskell programmers, Plutus Pioneers and professional teachers. Education lies at the core of Wada's offering to the Cardano community, so a high standard is likely to be met.
Platform adoption: Leveraging Wada's existing network of 200+ Cardano enthusiasts and developers will mean that adoption will be reached with a higher probability than a new entrant to the market.
Financial sustainability: There exist two scenarios, not mutually exclusive, that will ensure sustainability for the platform and its operators.
- <u>Catalyst Support Model:</u> A continued application to Catalyst, either for specific courses, features or integrations.
- <u>Freemium Model: </u>An industry standard within MOOCs and other educational platforms of a premium-tier service at cost to the individual or sponsoring institution.