Hello!
Everyone This is Livia from Dacade, we applied for a grant to develop a community of ZCash into our open source peer-to-peer learning platform for blockchain.
One liner
Creating a Zcash learning community on Dacade.org to foster education and project development within the Zcash ecosystem.
About Us
Since 2017, we have been actively involved in educating individuals about blockchain technology. Our motivation is not solely driven by financial gain, but rather, by our strong conviction in the transformative power of this technology. Our passion and commitment to this space have enabled us to remain active for an extended period.
Furthermore, we take pride in our diverse background and the valuable contributions made by our team members based in African countries. This diversity enables us to approach markets with untapped potential with a unique perspective and tackle them with confidence.
Dacade Team
Arsene Karema - Developer
Blaise Bakundukise - Developer
Dario Aschero - Designer
Emmanuel Nduka - Developer
Emil Wagner - Developer/Manager
Gabriela Acha - Frontend Developer
Moritz Stellmacher - Developer/Manager
Nathania Wong - Community manager
Philipp Klein - Developer
Yannick Musafiri - Developer
We created the Dacade concept with the help of Hannes Klöpper, Former CEO of iversity, one of Europe’s biggest MOOCs) in 2017. His experiences with e-learning shaped our approach to focus on the application of new knowledge and educational peer interactions in contrast to content production and distribution like most learning platforms do.
How far are we:
Dacade is live and collaborating with the Ethereum foundation, Tezos, NEAR, Celo and Algorand to help them advance their educational ecosystems.
Key numbers:
- Dacade userbase: 15054
- Discord community: 5075
- Original Web3 projects built with GitHub repository and mostly demo links: 634
- Feedback given, mostly in the form of GitHub pull requests: 1572+
Description of Problem or Opportunity:
While helping to start a new blockchain protocol, we noticed that one of the biggest challenges to their success was the adoption and scalable education of new developers.
We identified the following challenges with current developer adoption efforts:
- Effective Developer Training is not very accessible - Human feedback from teachers is expensive and hard to scale. That’s why Dacade focuses on an incentivized peer-to-peer effort.
- It is hard to get new developers to educate themselves about a specific technology and build something with it, since there are so many competing alternatives. We focus on practical and engaging learning materials as well as incentives to drive experimentation and development.
- The success of marketing efforts like sponsoring conferences or meetups is often hard to track. Dacade offers measurable results like GitHub repositories or pull requests.
The Zcash ecosystem needs more developers and users who understand the technology and its potential applications. A dedicated learning community can help bridge the knowledge gap and encourage more people to build dApps and other projects on Zcash, ultimately driving adoption and expanding the ecosystem.
Proposed Solution: Describe the solution at a high level.
We want to enable more people to build applications on the ZCASH protocol and create an educational ecosystem of ZCASH learners and educators.
We propose to create a challenge on the peer-learning platform Dacade, to grow the ZCASH developer community.
Scope
Dacade’s ZCASH challenge could have the following scope:
- Developers learn from curated learning materials, basic ZCASH concepts.
- In the tutorial, developers learn how to create a working ZCASH dapp (e.g. a registry).
- In the challenge, developers apply their new knowledge practically and build a working project, published to GitHub.
- After they enter their submission, they receive feedback from their peers.
- Developers go on to give their peers feedback and are encouraged to cooperate on further projects (e.g. ZCASH Hackathons).
- Submissions and Feedback will be incentivised via ZCASH tokens. / Submissions and Feedback will be incentivised via ZCASH tokens and be sent to their integrated ZCASH wallet.
This project will be beneficial for the ecosystem as it will provide a pathway for learners to move forward after gaining an initial understanding of the technology. Often, individuals lose interest because there is no clear next step after an initial introduction of a technology. With Dacade, learners will have the incentive to apply their new knowledge by creating a unique project and receiving feedback from their peers, resulting in a seamless learning experience and a robust educational ecosystem.
Devs will be going beyond building “hello world” contracts or sample dApps, but something unique that they are passionate about.
Solution Format: What is the exact form of the final deliverable you’re creating?
Creation of Learning Materials
- We will curate a selection of general introductory ZCASH learning materials that are in the previously agreed scope of the challenge. These materials aim to explain ZCASH’s basic functionality, background and advantages as well as to give a brief overview of the ZCASH ecosystem.
Creation of the Tutorial
- We will create a tutorial containing video, code and text that explain developer tools and shows how to create a ZCASH dapp. The dapp will feature important basic functionality and make it easy for developers to adapt it for their own needs e.g. celo courses on dacade
- We will create a comprehensive tutorial that includes video, code, and text-based explanations of developer tools and how to build and deploy a functional ZCASH smart contract based on an example use case. The tutorial will cover crucial functionality and provide developers with the necessary resources to customize the contract for their needs. We suggest creating a simple educational contract for a decentralized marketplace. For examples, see our materials for NEAR and Algorand at our website.
Creation of the Challenge
- We will jointly design a challenge that requires developers to write their own dapp and upload the code publicly to GitHub. The challenge will be designed with the aim to enable the creation of a wide range of interesting ZCASH dapps.
- Under guidance from ZCASH, we will design and implement a challenge requiring developers to build and deploy their own ZCASH contract and publish the code on GitHub. The challenge will be designed to encourage the creation of a wide range of interesting and innovative contracts on ZCASH.
Implementation on Dacade
- Learning Materials, Tutorial and Challenge will all be implemented with the necessary descriptions and designs on the Dacade platform.
Alternatively
3.5 Implementation of a ZCASH white-label solution
Learning Materials, Tutorial and Challenge will all be implemented with the necessary descriptions and designs on the ZCASH powered peer-to-peer learning platform.
- The evaluation of submissions for the challenge will be conducted in a fair and impartial manner using a standardized scoring system created in partnership with ZCASH. The system will be based on pre-determined evaluation criteria and will be used to objectively assess the quality of the submissions
Reward Distribution
- We will distribute (€15k) ZCASH token for the best submissions and feedback.
- We suggest experimenting with immediately tradable tokens as well as time-locked tokens which only become tradable after a certain holding period for the recipients.
Payment Issuance
- Participants who submit high-quality projects and provide constructive feedback will be rewarded with ZCASH tokens as incentives. These tokens will be transferred to the developer’s ZCASH wallet. We will also provide guidance on how to set up a wallet for those who need it.
Alternatively
- 3.7 ZCASH wallet integration
- Dacade will integrate a ZCASH wallet into the platform, making it easy to payout incentives in ZCASH tokens.
Technical Approach:
Our approach includes:
- Collaborate with Zcash experts and our experienced content creators to develop accurate, engaging, and diverse learning materials.
- Design a range of challenges and hackathons that prompt learners to create dApps and projects using Zcash technology, catering to different skill levels and interests.
- Develop an intuitive, user-friendly platform for submitting, reviewing, and providing feedback on projects.
- Implement a reward mechanism for outstanding submissions and helpful feedback, with a verification system to ensure fairness and prevent abuse.
Dependencies:
We expect to have an onboarding call to discuss the scope of the challenge, available materials, best practices and an introduction to the tech stack. During the project runtime, we would like to have a direct contact person for tech-related questions as well as biweekly calls to review the progress. We would also appreciate it if the ZCASH could communicate via their communication channels at the launch of the challenge and provide updates about the progress, such as featuring applications that have been built by participants or spotlighting participants with particularly interesting stories and backgrounds.
Execution risks:
Adoption: In this proposal, we didn’t allocate any additional marketing budget and rely only on our community and the ZCASH community. If the initiative is not properly advertised on the side of ZCASH, we might run into adoption issues.
Technical complexity: The program may be too technically complex for some developers to understand, resulting in a high drop-out rate. To mitigate that risk, we make the materials as beginner-friendly as possible and target the right audience in our community.
Maintaining engagement: The program may not be able to maintain the engagement of the developers, who may lose interest after the initial challenge is completed. For that we incentivize developers to give feedback to their peers, but we also need a good pathway for learners for their next step in their ZCASH journey.
Unintended Consequences:
The primary negative consequence of a successful project is increased demand for educational resources, which may strain our ability to provide ongoing support. To address this, we will work to create a self-sustaining community of developers and users.
Evaluation plan:
This project will be beneficial for the ecosystem as it will provide a pathway for learners to move forward after gaining an initial understanding of the technology. Often, individuals lose interest because there is no clear next step after an initial introduction of a technology. With Dacade, learners will have the incentive to apply their new knowledge by creating a unique project and receiving feedback from their peers, resulting in a seamless learning experience and a robust educational ecosystem.
Devs will be going beyond building “hello world” contracts or sample dApps, but something unique that they are passionate about.
We will create an educational ecosystem for ZCASH that will educate and connect new developers in a scalable, accessible and social approach.
Key Performance Indicators [Impact Metrics]
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Number of learners who create their own custom contract
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Educational feedback that was given to the projects of the learners
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Number of learners who go through the learning materials
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How metrics will be tracked & reported: Reporting Source > We created a google spreadsheet for the reporting that shows the state of the deliverables and the progress of the success metrics on a weekly basis. The numbers of submissions and feedback are also freely viewable in the overview of the challenge on dacade.
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Process: We will update the spreadsheet every Monday with the numbers of the previous week and send a short summary of the current state to an email or post it in a forum of your choice.
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Frequency: Weekly.
total budget:
$50000.00 USD
The hardware/software budget primarily covers the costs associated with creating and hosting the learning materials and challenges on the Dacade platform. This includes:
- Developing interactive tutorials, videos, and other multimedia content that will help learners grasp ZCash concepts and integration effectively: €15k
- Designing and implementing practical challenges that encourage learners to apply their knowledge and skills, and demonstrate their understanding of ZCash services: €5k
These costs are essential for delivering a high-quality, engaging, and effective learning experience for developers, ensuring the educational ecosystem is robust and well-maintained.
The services budget covers various aspects of the project, from marketing and promotion to the evaluation of submissions and community support. This includes:
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Rewards for learners: Providing incentives in the form of tokens to encourage learners to complete the challenges and give feedback to their peers, fostering a sense of community and collaboration: €15k
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Marketing: Implementing targeted marketing strategies to promote the educational program, reach potential developers, and raise awareness within the ZCash community: €5k
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Evaluation of submissions and feedback, incentive issuance, and community support: Ensuring the quality and fairness of project submissions and peer feedback, managing the issuance of rewards, and providing ongoing community support throughout the learning process: €10k
These costs are vital for attracting developers to the program, ensuring a seamless learning experience, maintaining engagement, and creating a strong, supportive community around Cash. The services budget ultimately contributes to the long-term success and sustainability of the educational ecosystem.
Cost
Creation of Learning Materials: €15k
Creation of a Challenge: €5k
Rewards for Learners: €15k
Marketing: €5k
Evaluation of Submissions and Feedback, Incentive Issuance, Community Support: €10k
Total:€50k
Milestones
Milestone 0:
- Description: Upfront payment
- Duration: N/A
- Date: N/A
- % Payment: 30%
- Costs: 15k
Milestone 1:
- Description: Course Creation and Implementation
- Definition of educational program and learning objectives in collaboration with ZCASH
- Creation of tutorials
- Curation of educational material/challenge
- Implementation of course on Dacade
- Testing
- Launch
- Duration: 4 weeks
- Date: Week 4
- % Payment: 30%
- Costs: 15k
Milestone 2:
- Description: Reviews, Payments, and Community Building
- Evaluation of submissions
- Evaluation of feedback
- Performance marketing
- Issuing rewards in tokens (suggested amount)
- Create a workshop concept based on the Dacade & ZCASH course and all necessary workshop materials
- Provide briefing materials and onboarding briefing events for ZCASH trainers
- Performance Marketing for workshop
- Hold workshop on Discord and Youtube
- Duration: 12 weeks
- Date: Week 16
- % Payment: 40%
- Costs: 20k (from these are 15k rewards)
Milestone 3 (Optional):
- Description: University ambassador program
- Create a workshop concept based on the Dacade & ZCASH course and all necessary workshop materials
- Provide briefing materials + process for the onboarding of a Dacade & ZCASH ambassador (in combination with onboarding calls with the Ape Unit team)
- Implement this as a feature on the existing Dacade platform
- Duration: N/A
- Date: Week 15
- % Payment: N/A
- Costs: N/A
Milestone 4:
- Description: Performance rapport on which further continuation can be strategized
- Duration: 1 week
- Date: Week 17
- % Payment: N/A
- Costs: N/A
Start up funding - detailed explanation:
upfront Payment
Start up funding - USD value of payout upon approval of grant:
$15000.00
Milestone 1 - estimated completion date:
06/01/2023
Milestone 1 - USD value of payout upon completion of deliverables:
$15000.00
Deliverable 1.1
Course Creation and Implementation Definition of educational program and learning objectives in collaboration with ZCASH Creation of tutorials Curation of educational material /challenge Implementation of course on Dacade Testing Launch
Milestone 2 - estimated completion date:
09/01/2023
Milestone 2 - USD value of payout upon completion of deliverables:
$20000.00
Deliverable 2.1
Reviews, Payments and Community Building Evaluation of submissions Evaluation of feedback Performance marketing Issuing rewards in tokens. (suggested amount) Create a workshop concept based on the Dacade & ZCASH course and all necessary workshop materials. Provide briefing materials and onboarding briefing events for ZCASH trainers. Performance Marketing for workshop Hold workshop on Discord and Youtube.
Deliverable 2.2
Rewards (15k€)
Milestone 3 - USD value of payout upon completion of deliverables:
$0.00
Milestone 3 - estimated completion date:
09/08/2023
Deliverable 3.1
Performance rapport on which further continuation can be strategised
Total proposed USD value of grant:
$50000.00 USD
How was the project timeline determined?
The project timeline and budget were determined based on our prior experience in creating similar learning communities for other blockchain projects, and by considering the scope of the proposed Zcash learning community. Our aim is to create a high-quality, engaging platform that effectively supports learners and fosters the growth of the Zcash ecosystem.