Web3 Learning Platform for Online Courses, Certificates and Hackathons

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Tim Nguyen

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Entity (Not Incorporated)

[GENERAL] Co-proposers and additional applicants

Trieu Dinh Nguyen

Nguyen Nhat Huy

Tran Phong Phu

[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] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

We will upgrade our Fund11 funded learning plarform danolearn.com with Web3 features to make all of that processes easy and transparent via Cardano wallets and smart contracts.

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

No

[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.”

No dependencies

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

Yes

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

The web3 part of the project and all the contents (courses, lessons, quizzes, coding exercises...) will be fully open source and all contributions are welcome.

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

Problem Identification and Approach

The current landscape of online learning platforms lacks integration with blockchain technology, specifically within the Cardano ecosystem. Traditional platforms like Udemy or Coursera lack the transparency, security, and student verification mechanisms that can be provided through a decentralized system leveraging Cardano's capabilities.

Our proposed solution aims to bridge this gap by developing a cutting-edge learning platform powered by Cardano's blockchain, offering unique features that cater to learners, educators, and the broader Cardano community.

Unique Solution and Importance to Cardano

Our learning system will allow users to log in seamlessly with Cardano wallets, ensuring secure and transparent authentication. Educators will have the opportunity to upload and monetize their courses, leveraging smart contracts for seamless transactions and user verification. The issuance of NFT certificates upon course completion will provide verifiable credentials, enhancing the credibility of learners' achievements.

Furthermore, our platform will periodically host hackathons, a feature designed to foster engagement and skill development within the Cardano community. By locking rewards in smart contracts before the event, we ensure fair distribution to top performers, showcasing the efficiency and reliability of Cardano's blockchain technology.

Engagement and Impact

Our project will engage learners seeking quality education, educators aiming to monetize their knowledge, and developers looking to participate in hackathons. By leveraging blockchain technology, we will create a transparent and trustless environment that benefits all stakeholders.

We aim to demonstrate impact by measuring key metrics such as user engagement, course enrollment, NFT issuance, and participation in hackathons. Our impact will be showcased through verifiable data on user satisfaction, completion rates, and community growth.

Conclusion

In summary, our proposal offers a unique solution to a critical problem within the online education sector by integrating Cardano's blockchain technology. This project not only supports the Cardano ecosystem's expansion but also drives innovation in education and community engagement. We are excited to contribute to the growth and development of Cardano through this transformative initiative.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

Bringing Value to the Cardano Community

Our project will deliver significant value to the Cardano community through tangible outcomes and strategic initiatives:

- Adoption and Engagement: Success will be measured by an increase in the number of active users on our platform, particularly those interacting with Cardano's blockchain features. We aim to attract and retain users who are new to blockchain technology, thereby expanding the Cardano user base.

- Educational Impact: The quality and quantity of educational content hosted on our platform will serve as a metric for impact. Increased enrollment and completion rates in courses will indicate improved access to education within the Cardano ecosystem.

- Innovation and Development: The number and diversity of projects developed during hackathons will reflect the level of innovation and collaboration within the Cardano developer community. Successful projects deployed on Cardano will demonstrate the platform's capabilities and encourage further development.

Measuring Impact

To measure impact, we will utilize a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics:

- User Metrics: Track user registration, course enrollment, completion rates, and user feedback surveys to gauge user satisfaction and engagement levels.

Blockchain Metrics: Monitor the number of transactions on Cardano related to course certifications, NFT issuance, and hackathon participation to assess blockchain utilization and activity.

- Community Feedback: Conduct regular surveys and community forums to gather qualitative feedback on the platform's impact on education, innovation, and economic opportunities within the Cardano community.

Sharing Outputs and Opportunities

We will produce comprehensive documentation and impact reports detailing project milestones, lessons learned, and recommendations for future initiatives within the Cardano community.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

We already have a working platform & process, and also have released an interactive Aiken course already at danolearn.com. And we also have very experienced development team both in Web2 and Web3 (danogo.io).

The platform was funded in Fund11 and several tests/hackathons have already organized.

For this project, we will add Web3 features to the existing platforms like Cardano wallet authentication, Cardano payment for paid content, minting NFT for course certifications, locking fund & reward for hackathon winners. We have a dedicated team of 15+ developers experienced in working with the Cardano blockchain to implement these Web3 functionalities into the project.

Another portion of the works for this proposal are for creating the course contents (lessons, quizzes and coding problems) and hackathons. We have internal developer team (10+) that can contribute to this already, and we will be looking for external contributors also to speed up the progress.

[PROJECT MILESTONES] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Core functionality (3 month)

Release first version of the Web3 version of the platform which include these features:

• Allow wallet authentication
• Allow blockchain payment and courses enrollment for learners
• Release the first Web3-enable course

Minting NFT for course certificates, additional courses, and first hackathon (3 month)

• Minting NFT as the certificate for students who have successfully complete the course
• Onboard 01 Cardano-related courses uploaded from community
• Release the first hackathon

Web3 hackathon (3 months)

• Make hackathon reward rules transparent with smart contract which will lock rewards and auto distributed to the participants
• Organizing the second web3 hackathon that should reach at least 100 participants
• Onboard 02 more community courses
• Collecting feedbacks from users and process crittical improvements

Continuos improvement

Milestone outputs:

- Additional 02 courses

- Additional 01 hackathons

- Platform improvements based on community feedbacks

- Overall reports, lessons learned

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Tim Nguyen (Technical Architect & Lead), he is also the Tech Lead of the danolearn.com in Fund11

Le Thu Thao (Community Lead)

Software Engineers:

Tran Phong Phu

Nguyen Nhat Huy

Trieu Dinh Nguyen

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

• Development team: ~ ₳70.000
• Infrastructure: ₳5.000
• Marketing: ₳5.000
• Course & hackathon content preparation ~ ₳20.000
• Hackathon rewards: ₳20.000

Total: ~₳120.000

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

We under estimated the development cost since we will self-fund for this project as well. The actual development cost should be much higher.