*Live update: POLL CLOSED at 7PM Melbourne time
We are very proud to say that our proposal has been approved by the NEM Community, achieving the required 3% Yes vote with a majority of greater than 65%. Thank you to everyone for your participation. We will be keeping you up to date regularly with our progress!
Updated after the vote: added more details on business model from the proposal doc
Vote finished: Poll closed 7pm 18 June 2018 AEST (UTC+10)
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Read the RocketShoes Proposal - our proposal has been out for consultation with the NEM Community on the Forum for the past couple of weeks. Read it below!
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Go to your NEM NanoWallet - or if you don’t have one, download it now, then create an account! Available for Windows, Mac and Linux, or the Mobile Wallet on iOS and Android. Download it now!
(NB on Mac, you may need to go to Settings>Security to allow the App to open) -
SIGN IN AND VOTE - There are two ways you can do this. The easiest from the Desktop clients is to navigate to Services and select See Polls under Voting.
Select RocketShoes Official Vote and choose either YES or NO.
(NB: If using this method, be sure to select Ongoing and ignore the test votes that have now ended).
Alternatively (or on Mobile Wallet):
Send 0 XEM to one of the poll addresses below:
- To vote YES send 0 XEM to NB3HZIQSQGD7ZV73JWPASLIENNUL2H6AQ5SCEGB6
- To vote NO send 0 XEM to NCJ3EFL6FVGO6LR7HPQQUKFCRPQHMGWDVN4S2NYH
- JOIN the RocketShoes Telegram to talk further!
Language versions
A full presentation of translated versions of our documents is now here:
https://rocketshoes.io/languages.html
Full Proposal
Chinese: http://www.nemchina.com/archives/4690.html
One Page Summary
English: https://rocketshoes.io/rocketshoes-1-pager.pdf
Chinese: https://rocketshoes.io/rocketshoes-1-pager-cn.pdf
Dutch: https://rocketshoes.io/rocketshoes-1-pager-nl.pdf
Japanese: https://rocketshoes.io/rocketshoes-1-pager-jp.pdf
Korean: https://rocketshoes.io/rocketshoes-1-pager-ko.pdf
Russian: https://rocketshoes.io/rocketshoes-1-pager-ru.pdf
Spanish: https://rocketshoes.io/rocketshoes-1-pager-es.pdf
Vietnamese: https://rocketshoes.io/rocketshoes-1-pager-vn.pdf
Spot an error? Let us know!
Previous updates
25 May Update: based on feedback from the Committee, we have updated this post to reflect all of the content in the PDF version of the proposal, making it easy to read here. Enjoy!
27 May Update: XEM/USD exchange rates updated to give accurate costing at today’s rate, based on CoinGecko. Added two new sections based on feedback to explain how this project will increase NEM usage and our market strategy. Thank you for helping to improve this proposal!
Download the RocketShoes White Paper (PDF) here:
https://rocketshoes.io/whitepaper.html
See our introductory presentation:
Read the following article:
ABOUT THIS PROPOSAL
Please Note: This proposal is not requesting funding for just an idea.
The core team has already invested approximately USD $100,000 worth of time and money in founding RocketShoes and developing the business model and MVP design. Over the past year we have established a highly experienced and skilled brains trust, project management processes and communications channels, and have agreement to complete the development sprint for Milestone 1, ensuring that we will be able to deliver on time. All we need is the funding.
The RocketShoes team is located in Melbourne, and is working with the NEM Melbourne team. We have also met with the South East Asia NEM team in Kuala Lumpur, and are already working closely with the ProximaX team, also in KL.
We have also developed a secure website, established social media profiles, completed our White Paper, and have delivered a “Meet the Community” presentation at the BlockChain Centre in Melbourne on 21 May, which can be viewed on our website at https://rocketshoes.io/
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This proposal solves the RocketShoes problem (described below) by utilising the NEM blockchain and ProximaX. We are seeking 3.3 million XEMs ($850K USD) to complete the project and move to Series A Round funding (or ICO) by the end of 2019. This funding will allow the team to develop the platform and establish a fully sustainable ongoing business model.
We have completed several initial stages of development, including establishment of RocketShoes PTY LTD as a company, a core team and brains trust, ideation and MVP workshops, lean canvas, pitch deck, white paper and initial software requirements including wire frames. We have established a project management approach with regular project communications using Telegram, Slack and Trello, and the team is engaged in the NEM Telegram and Community Forum channels. An estimated total of approximately $100K (USD) in set up costs and team time has been invested in the project prior to this proposal submission.
Our development partner is TypeHuman, a well-established and highly regarded Blockchain venture studio that is building Web 3.0 who will be completing the development work for Phase 1 on top of this, prior to receiving the first milestone payment. Together, this represents a significant investment from a team that is highly committed.
There are numerous positive outcomes for the NEM Community from RocketShoes being powered by the NEM Blockchain, including the introduction of a compelling use case in the education vertical, increased platform and market exposure, the introduction of a NEM development team within a new Geo (Melbourne, Australia) and increasing transactions of XEM.
Our recommendation is that our proposal is supported by the community, allowing us to build the first significant educational content platform using the NEM blockchain to showcase its strengths.
INTRODUCTION
The world is full of centralised systems. They have served us well, but we know in our hearts there is a better way. The days of the Learning Management System (LMS) are numbered, and media management solutions are costly, insecure, and often don not let you easily find things when you need them. The introduction in May 2018 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws in the EU signals that the days are numbered for centralised educational platforms that do not attend to appropriate data protection of their users. Blockchains have demonstrated how digital currency can be securely transferred without the need for intermediaries. We need new tools that allow digital assets to be created, stored, and used in the same way, while still allowing them to be seamlessly integrated into our digital lives.
New decentralised technologies like IPFS are making it possible to do this in smart and useful ways. The focus is shifting from learners accessing content inside an LMS to supporting the connections between learners and teachers, learners and their peers, and learner generated content. Rather than one system to do everything, people are turning their attention to creating a bunch of smart systems that work well together to suit everyone’s individual learning journey. In short, what we need is a new kind of open educational content platform that can support the decentralised web, and provide key features like assignment submission, discoverability and interoperability at an API level. Enter RocketShoes.
In order to ensure long term growth, the NEM blockchain must be able to communicate a strong value proposition with real-world use cases which highlight its versatility as a smart asset platform. At the same time, a Global EdTech Landscape 3.0 (Aug 2017) study by Navitas found that over $50b has been invested in the educational technology industry in over 50 countries. Long dominated by universities and schools, there is a renewed focus on corporate and continuing education in the private and public sectors. Large organisations such as financial institutions and hospitals are increasingly investing in EdTech as a way of retaining and further developing the workforce, and there is a stronger push in higher education to strengthen connections between students and industry.
ROCKETSHOES PROBLEM
Have you ever noticed that organisations like schools, universities and large organisations have educational content like video, pictures, learning resources, and student work all over the place. Let’s face it. In most organisations, the whole area of digital media is a mess. When you need them digital assets are often stuck inside a system and we don’t even know what’s in there.
Today, the best option for video is often put it into Vimeo or Youtube where it’s insecure or gets lost forever. Commercial media management systems are usually expensive, hard to scale, and content becomes a burden for the organisation.
When you have lots of stuff, as a learner or as someone managing learning content, discovering, finding and managing content is a huge pain. Surprisingly, it is often quite difficult to enable uploading of student-created content into a learning management system (LMS). There are other environments such as Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) that can be better at doing it, but they are just another system that needs to be integrated. In fact we have noticed that it can be such a pain that teachers often avoid getting students to submit stuff at all unless it’s pretty standard like an essay.
Most organisations produce a lot of audiovisual content, pictures, and documents, but it often gets stuck in a particular system and does not integrate well. Imagine you want to find everything on a particular topic, but some of the best stuff is in lectures on your local media management server, and your system doesn’t search there. Worse, it may be somewhere outside the organisation, like Youtube or Vimeo, and you have no idea it’s even there.
Customer Segments:
- Universities
- Vocational Education and Training (VET)
- Corporate Education & Training
- K-12
ROCKETSHOES SOLUTION
Phase 1
RocketShoes will be a web 3.0 solution, with the MVP being an end user client interface, and the end of Phase 1 (first 12 months) developing a beta of the enterprise platform.
Users will be able easily add their digital work into the RocketShoes wallet. Users will be able to select items to send to another user, or submit for assessment. Upon submission, the file will be time-stamped on the NEM blockchain and the digitally-fingerprinted (hashed) file will be downloaded to the user’s browser. A certificate of registration is issued confirming the file’s timestamp and fingerprint.
This digitally-fingerprinted file can now be used to verify the authenticity of the assessment item. Users can easily drag and drop this digitally-fingerprinted file onto the dashboard for it to be verified. Once the file is verified, a certificate of verification is issued confirming the file’s authenticity.
Phase 2
A RocketShoes Wallet will be released as a mobile phone app for both iOS and Android. An app will afford better phone and tablet feature integration, including recording video and audio directly from the device for transcoding and storage, and sharing content like photos, videos and documents from other apps, as well as push notifications and other workflows.
Users will be able to save in common formats, pin content to a device or node, and will have the option to set default data protection settings. For example, if the user chooses automatic encryption for photos, videos, audio recordings and documents, every time a photo is taken or a video or audio is recorded or a document is created, it will be encrypted by RocketShoes before a cryptographic hash is created and the object is passed to storage via ProximaX to the appropriate IPFS node.
If the user chooses to share content publically, they will be able to select the works from their galleries or file storage system to register as and when they wish to without needing to go to the RocketShoes web platform, and (optionally) without encryption. Where encryption is used, the RocketShoes Wallet will seamlessly store the appropriate private and public keys for sharing.
Phase 3 (Year 2-3)
RocketShoes will be made available under an open source license, in order to further build on the platform, increase adoption and integration of RocketShoes APIs. In addition, at this phase of the project we plan to release an open source common code-base version of the platform as a ‘cloud’ style service, allowing adoption in not-for-profit contexts at cost or free. New features will be curated and adopted in the enterprise, based on feedback from the open source community and user base.
The funding from this community proposal will make this future a reality.
BUSINESS MODEL
RocketShoes will use a business-to-business (B2B) as well as a business-to-customer (B2C) model, once established.
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Business-to-Business
The Phase 1 revenue model that will establish the viability of the business is a B2B model based on platform subscriptions, targetting first customers in University, K-12 and Corporate education settings. The enterprise platform will be designed to suit these markets, with banded subscriptions based on support level (bronze, silver, gold) and metrics in line with industry practice. Client engagement, a pilot process, and market analysis will guide pricing and investigation of potential further markets such as Business-to-Government (B2G). -
Business-to-Customer
In Phase 2 (year 2 and beyond) the revenue model expands to include microtransactions based on an open sourced, common code-base “cloud” platform that includes a marketplace allowing end users to trade and sell educational content. The decentralised design will be based on best practice in Dapp Store marketplaces at the time of development. We will seek to leverage existing platforms to achieve this using an API approach.
Lean Business Model Canvas
CORE TEAM
Associate Professor Matt Riddle has over two decades of experience in leading digital innovation, transformation and strategy. Currently Director of Educational Innovation at La Trobe University, with previously was a Research Associate at the Centre for Applied Research in Educational Technologies at the University of Cambridge. Matt started his career at the University of Melbourne in 1993 in multimedia development and e-Learning, contributing to a series of award-winning projects over thirteen years.
Matt Carter is the author of Minds and Computers: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence. Currently Director of Learning Environments and Analytics at La Trobe University, Matt has an extraordinary breadth of programming, technical and pedagogic knowledge, and has overseen the development of novel whole of enterprise systems.
Kieran Nolan is a qualified Network Engineer, certified Cloud Migration Architect, and Educational Technologist, with certifications from Google, Microsoft and Cisco and a Degree in Network Engineering. He has 10+ years of experience working in K-12 schools. Under Kieran’s leadership, Wooranna Park Primary School has established itself as an exemplar in introducing the digital world to students. The school has led the way in establishing a ‘24/7 International Virtual Learning Environment’ in Minecraft, Victoria’s first CoderDojo, Australia’s first Immersive Education Club (iED Club), the World’s youngest Cisco class, and the very first ‘School on the Blockchain’.
Nick Byrne is CEO and co-founder at Type Human; and a recent fellow of Intersticia Foundation. He and partners founded TypeHuman because of a belief that we need to accelerate the adoption of Web 3.0 technologies in order to bring about a more human centric web. TypeHuman operates as a Blockchain Venture Studio, and is working with leading organisations across Australia.
MILESTONES
RocketShoes is seeking 3.3 million XEMs ($USD 850K) to be utilized as follows:
Q1 Milestone: Minimum Viable Product
25% (825k XEMs / $212,500) to be disbursed upon completion of the following:
Completion of the MVP, a Proof of Concept RocketShoes web client:
- Students can upload and browse digital assets
- Digital assignment assets can be submitted and verified on the NEM Blockchain
- Student receives time stamped verification of submission
- Digital assets appear in RocketShoes wallet
- Press Release for RocketShoes stating selection of and support for NEM Platform and ProximaX
Q2 Milestone: Teacher Tools
25% (825k XEMs / $212,500) to be disbursed upon completion of the following:
- Completion of Teacher view in RocketShoes web app:
- Teachers can browse classroom assignments that have been submitted for assessment
- Teachers can upload and browse content to their own wallet
Q3 Milestone: Content Management
25% (825k XEMs / $212,500) to be disbursed upon completion of the following:
- Maturation of distributed content management features of RocketShoes, allowing users to:
- Browse rich media content
- Publish free or sell content with XEM
- Discover public/institutional content
- Share content (e.g. via social media with a link, embedded in a website or on the NEM blockchain)
- (Optionally) automatically encrypt content with a private key
Q4 Milestone: Enterprise Beta
25% (825k XEMs / $212,500) to be disbursed upon completion of the following:
- Release of beta version of Enterprise level tools allowing:
- Creation and sharing of curriculum/course content
- Institutional/organisational dashboard allowing core learning analytics capabilities
- Development of iOS and Android RocketShoes Apps
Future Road Map (funded by Series A or ICO)
Year 2 Milestones
- Focus on platform tools allowing:
- Integrations such as SSO, LTI, Classkit, and others
- Exploring and discovering federated assets
- Collection and bundling of assets for portfolio, auditing and accreditation purposes
Year 3+ Milestones
- Deep integration with learning relationship management tools
- Release of open-source ‘cloud’, common code-base platform
- Tools to provide content development, curriculum development, course mapping and auditing of content in RocketShoes
- AI/smart tools allowing content recommendations
NEM COMMUNITY BENEFITS
Summary of how this Community Funding Proposal will positively benefit the NEM community and beyond:
Education Use Case for NEM. There are currently almost no compelling NEM use case for an educational platform utilising the NEM Platform, nor ProximaX. RocketShoes opens up the capabilities of NEM and ProximaX to a new vertical market with global potential, increasing the visibility of the NEM Blockchain.
Introduction of NEM Technology to new platforms. RocketShoes is taking a highly integrated, API Approach. An important aspect of the development approach is to focus on APIs that connect RocketShoes to existing legacy technologies, such as Learning Management Systems, Student Information Systems, School Management Systems, Content Management Systems, and many others. This means RocketShoes will connect NEM into an increasing range of contexts.
Education Market Exposure for NEM. RocketShoes will be undertaking extensive engagement within of the existing higher education, K-12 and educational technology community in order to achieve brand recognition, client development, and first customer goals. We will use EduGrowth to offer pilot programs for member organisations, schools and universities working to secure first customers, and forums such as EduTech, ASCILITE and industry events to raise awareness about RocketShoes and decentralised technologies.
Supporting NEM Developers. RocketShoes will establish a strong and active NEM development team in Melbourne working on a significant project. Once the core platform is established we plan to make an open source version available to the NEM Developer community worldwide, and establishing a common code-base “cloud” service for end users, allowing uptake in non-profit contexts at cost or free, as well as fostering development in the full spirit of open source.
Increased transactions using XEM. Once RocketShoes is established, the Phase 3 design involves educational content of value being traded and sold via a marketplace with microtransactions on the NEM Blockchain, increasing usage. See the next section for more.
HOW WILL ROCKETSHOES INCREASE NEM USAGE?
The existence and future development of ProximaX (particularly evident when it supports Catapult) will allow us to focus firmly on the end user application and APIs that bring value in an education context. This is where the project lives. The reason it is so important (and also why it will drive adoption) is that people involved in learning (including students, teachers, administrators, leaders) includes just about everyone, everywhere, and they have lives that involve learning in many contexts, from school, to university, to work, up-skilling and re-skilling. It’s actually huge.
The reason Blockchain is so important to RocketShoes is that there is a huge number of points along that journey that involve some kind of transaction. Every assignment submission is a transaction, but so too every grade, every qualification, micro-credential, internal audit point, standard achieved, policy check, regulator audit, and so on.
Once RocketShoes moves beyond its pilot phase there is an increased potential for peer to peer sharing, and markets for certain digital assets. To give an idea of scale, some universities in Australia have up to 80,000 students and 5,000 faculty/staff. This is dwarfed by some institutions in places like China. In corporate settings, organisations like Cisco have a million students. Clearly there are many assets in those systems that have value to other learners – which is when they could be sold, generating another transactional point suited to a Blockchain.
At an organisational level, RocketShoes is a way for content to be managed, which means needing to ascertain authorship, ownership/IP, authenticity, and all kinds of things that are actually a royal pain right now in most places. BlockChain is also extremely helpful for this process – and when someone in an organisation wants to do something of this nature it is going to generate calls to the NEM Blockchain.
MARKET STRATEGY
RocketShoes will adopt a number of strategies to develop its proposition for the education market, including:
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Client engagement and development will be an integral part from Day 1. In fact it’s started much earlier than Day 1 as we’ve already met with several potential pilots, including Wooranna Park but also one of the big 4 banks, and other potential partners. Two of the core team are from the university sector and we have extensive networks in tertiary education both locally and internationally. We will be signing up early adopter pilots during the third quarter.
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Offering a pilot program, including leveraging existing channels such as EduGrowth. This is something I am personally familiar with as I have been heavily involved with EduGrowth, including the pilot program, both in university and K-12.
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Partnering to succeed. We will work with existing education platform providers to make RocketShoes APIs which connect to those platforms. This will bring the platform right in to existing environments – consider for example an assessment or personal learning platform that would like to be able to leverage RocketShoes functionality. This will be possible via an API. LMS platforms and providers will be able to offer RocketShoes as an option. We both win.
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We will of course use a combination of digital and interpersonal communications channels, and have already established a website and the usual social media channels like Twitter and Telegram. However experience shows that we will establish ourselves in this market by getting out there and presenting! Demonstrations, conferences, networking, articles, press releases, podcasts, keynotes.
Thanks for reading!
For further details, please see the full White Paper linked at the top of this post, and see our website. Please also feel free to get in touch.
Matt Riddle
Email: matt@rocketshoes.io
Twitter: @RocketShoes_io
Website: https://rocketshoes.io/
Telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/G5EZ_xD8P-aUmhbwG76eHg
