MAV100: Using Cornucopias "Custom Dome" NFTs to build metaverse “Alliance Campuses” for student education and enrichment. Building more powerful alternative learning platforms to help add resiliency to the education system during disruptive events.

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Cameron Smith

[GENERAL] Email address of main applicant

shaffalahien@hotmail.com

Additional applicants

Chris Geren

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

12

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.

No

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

Yes

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.” .

This proposal will be dependent on Cornucopias releasing the Custom Domes to the public. Several domes have been demonstrated and built in stand-alone instances, and the foundations of Alliance Campuses could begin soon.

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] If NO, please describe which outputs are not going to be open source. If YES, please write “Project will be fully open source.”

“Project will be fully open source.”

[METADATA] Category of Proposal

Gaming

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

How do you perceive the problem you are solving?

During the Covid-19 pandemic students and education in general suffered a devastating blow, with low-income communities being affected the most. Online learning failed in several ways, from degraded testing performance to social isolation that lead to startling spikes in depression, anxiety, and suicide rates amongst students. Currently metaverse experiences are very expensive and available to only a few.

In addition, disruption to school activities happens continually throughout the world. A bus can break down in a remote region and entire classes misses school, or poor weather can limit travel in areas where transportation infrastructure is underdeveloped. Illness also prevents millions of students from attending school every year. Even in well-developed countries like the United States attendance is still only at an average of around 92% vs enrollment. Since the Covid pandemic chronic absenteeism has spiked up to one in five students in the United States. Current online resources lack several key factors that encourage attendance, from social interaction to intuitive user interfaces.

To solve this we will purchase custom domes that will be used by students to create their own alliance campuses. We will also financially support community representatives that can work with local school boards and teachers to integrate beneficial aspects of alliance campuses into the school districts curriculum. Finally we will purchase equipment capable of running this softwareto both showcase its capabilities to students and teachers, and to ensure that any student that is unable to attend in person class has access to the benefits of this technology.

Your reasons for approaching the problem this way.

We aim at enabling students who normally wouldn’t have access to the blockchain or metaverse an opportunity to get involved in a metaverse framework through Cornucopias. These customizable domes will be used to create online learning centers, or "Alliance Campuses" where we can provide a central point for hundreds of schools to access communal resources like tutoring, collaborate with each other through clubs/other organizations, or engage in community building events.

A metaverse offers a medium where online information can be presented to students in a more accessible and intuitive format than traditional LMS's (Learning Management Systems). With a customizable and immersive environment students won't completely lose the feeling of community and camaraderie that in-person environments provide. In fact, with the bounds of the metaverse being more flexible than reality it can even add a sense of wonder and excitement that can augment in-person teaching. You can't replace the effectiveness of in-person experiences, but with Alliance Custom Domes we believe we can make it more inclusive and exciting!

Also through "Learn and Earn" opportunities students will be incentivized to learn while also gaining valuable resources that can help interact with the blockchain in other areas. These assets can be converted to ADA, which can help students perform more transactions on the network to help augment their learning. Examples of alternative uses range from literature access sites like BookToken.io, to creating their own governance system for Associated Student Body activities, both of which require ADA.

[IMPACT] How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?

A metaverse experience can improve on many of the issues faced by current LMS's. A metaverse environment can duplicate or enhance digitally a school that any student attends. A student knows exactly where to go to access all of the information for each class as it would be situated in a familiar setting. These schools can be accessed virtually by students that are home sick, or that have to attend appointments that conflict with their schools schedule. In addition, by being set in a secure metaverse, these learning experiences can be enhanced. For example imagine studying geology in your science class, with a subsection on volcanoes. The students could have access to and walk around in a variety of virtual volcanoes, from shield volcanoes to cinder cones. The possibilities for improving interest and engagement are endless.

What impact will this project have for Cardano besides funding the project team, and what value does it bring to the Cardano ecosystem?

Metaverses are going to be one of the dominant portals for introduction to blockchain. Integrating metaverse use cases into the education system will help on-board an entire generation through both gaming and education. As familiarity with the platform grows extra-curricular courses can be offered explaining what the Cardano Ecosystem is and how it all fits together. Also, by integrating blockchain information with the education system it will set it apart from many of the negatively perceived projects in the space. Finally, Learn and Earn opportunities will introduce students to governance tokens and the governance process early on. These types of skills can translate into their Associated Student Body activities. Blockchain has a lot to offer the governance process, from inclusivity to immutability, and showing a new generation these use cases early will help bring these values to legacy governance endeavors.

[IMPACT] How do you intend to measure the success of your project?

The clearest measurables would be rate of attendance, rate of engagement in the education process, and testing criteria. We think that all of these can be improved at schools where they have access to a successful metaverse, especially if school have mass disruption events again.

Describe, and where possible measure, the project’s benefits for the Cardano ecosystem, and why the measures are realistic in your opinion. 

With over 17,000 students in our pilot area this will offer a fantastic on-boarding opportunity by integrating a powerful product with the education system. Student Telenet Clubs in different schools along with advisor support can track the number of students engaging in metaverse activities, as well as further exploration into the Cardano ecosystem. This will essentially create a template for ambassadors of the Cardano community that can be used around the world in schools to bring the benefits of our ecosystem to students.

[IMPACT] Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?

The results of this part of the project will be readily available to see and explore on our website. The transparency of the blockchain will allow the public to see where any Cardano Native Token rewards have been distributed and to what wallets. The MAV100 website will be updated and kept current on a regular basis. The Custom Domes will be easily showcased, while still having a layer of security for the students.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

We have already reached out and built relationships with multiple school boards in our pilot area, who have approved Telenet Clubs that run Cardano Stake Pools to help secure their future World Mobile telecommunications network. The interest in a system that augments the failed learning management systems that were used during the pandemic is very high. We have several enthusiastic volunteers who are ready to continue learning and spreading the value of the Cardano Ecosystem.

Please include the steps or processes that demonstrate that you can be trusted to manage funds properly.

Tracking of funds in this budget will be done on-chain, with receipts documented and posted as NFTs for public access. As school volunteers we have a track record of doing a lot with very little. Cameron Smith, the project manager, is a competent businessman who run and owns successful businesses that are over a decade old. He is familiar with proper accounting practices and will be involved with the rigid accounting practices of the school district and non-profits.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

Main Goals:

1) Integrate the benefits of the Cornucopias metaverse into existing Learning Management Systems used by the school.

2) Educate Students on the uses and dangers of metaverses outside of their Alliance Campuses. In the first year we would like to see 10% of the students in our pilot region (1700) actively using the platform.

3) Improve attendance metrics in schools that adopt the platform.

4) Encourage increased knowledge of the Cardano Ecosystem.

5) Increase student wallet counts and delegation to their alliance stake pools by 1000 unique users.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed breakdown of your project’s milestones and each of the main tasks or activities to reach the milestone plus the expected timeline for the delivery.

Milestone #1 (Month 1)

Purchase appropriate computer equipment for ASB Telenet Clubs that will be used for demonstration of the platform, student wallet creation, and to enable students unable to attend school due to illness or other factors.

Milestone #2 (Months 1-6)

Increase the number of custom domes available to students to create a variety of augmented learning environments. Floor common domes will be purchased and we would like to increase the number from the 5 currently donated domes up to 15-20. We have over 40 schools in our pilot region, but would like to include schools that join from other MAV100 chapters around the world as demand grows.

Milestone #3 (Months 1-4)

During the school year we will be helping Telenet Clubs host demonstration/on-boarding events. During the first half of the school year we intend to onboard 500 students complete with wallets, delegation to their alliance stake pool, and an account with Cornucopias.

Milestone #4 (Months 5-12)

In the second half of the school year we intend to get students in Telenet Clubs building out their Alliance Campuses after the release of custom domes.

Milestone #5 (Months 5-12)

During the second half of the school year we intend to onboard another 500 students complete with wallets, delegation to their alliance stake pool, and an account with Cornucopias.

Milestone #6 (Months 7-12)

We will begin integration of the locally used LMS Canvas within the Alliance Campuses. ASB Telenet Clubs members will begin integrating the information providing on Canvas into their Alliance Campus.

Milestone #7 (Months 7-12)

A functioning system of request and delivery of computer platforms to students unable to attend school for use in improving their at home learning sponsored by MAV100.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

Milestone #1 Deliverables

We want 8 laptops capable of running the program at medium efficiency for use by students throughout the 5 school districts.

Milestone #2 Deliverables

An additional 10-15 domes will be available for students to build within.

Milestone #3 Deliverables

We intend to onboard 500 students complete with wallets, delegation to their alliance stake pool, and an account with Cornucopias.

Milestone #4 Deliverables

We will have several students with rough versions of their future alliance campuses built out.

Milestone #5 Deliverables

We intend to onboard another 500 students complete with wallets, delegation to their alliance stake pool, and an account with Cornucopias.

Milestone #6 Deliverables

By the end of the school year students will understand the key in Canvas that need integrated into their Alliance Campus.

Milestone #7 Deliverables

A functioning system of request and delivery of computer platforms to students unable to attend school for use in improving their at home learning sponsored by MAV100. Schools will be able to send a request for equipment that will be delivered by MAV100 representatives who are qualified school volunteers, which includes background checks.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Equipment:

8 laptops @ 5000 ADA each: 40,000 ADA

2 acquired in Month 1

2 acquired in Month 3 (as needed)

2 acquired in Month 6 (as needed)

2 acquired in Month 9 (as needed)

Custom Dome NFTs:

10 Cornucopias Custom Domes, Common Rarity, Large Size: 12,000 ADA

Salary for Advisors/assistants to the School Board and Students:

Project Manager: $20/hour, 10 hours/week, 32,000 ADA

(2) Project Assistants: $15/hour, 10 hours/weeks, 24,000 ADA ea, 48,000 ADA Total

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

This project represents direct outreach and on-boarding to one of the most important demographics for blockchain adoption: Students. It is also the demographic with some of the largest barriers to entry. The Cardano Ecosystem would benefit greatly from an established group of student users in a variety of ways. These include:

1) Positive introduction of the blockchain to the general public through a safe and trusted source, the school system.

2) Users of the network introduced at a young age encourages life-long adoption of the platform.

3) Leaning on one of the more advanced multichain projects in the ecosystem, Cornucopias, will give a large group of support that has the capacity to deliver products consistently to this new group of users, bringing a positive sentiment towards the Cardano ecosystem.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agreed to Fund10 rules and also that data in the Submission Form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.

I Accept