Zoptiks

The young mind is a malleable thing. It learns through mimicry and understands via experience. Career development, however, is the consolidation of psychological, sociological, educational, physical, economic, and chance factors that combine to influence the nature and significance of work in the lifespan of a given individual. (Crisan) Historical research has shown that the modern worker will have, on average, 12 jobs throughout their lifetime, and with the current work climate, that number is anticipated to reach 23 by 2030. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

The existing solution to this problem is a guidance counselor. But let me ask you something, how often can a counselor provide practical guidance for a child’s potential when they have 100+ students to cater to. Perhaps we should even consider that many schools do not have guidance counselors.

Students rely on education and guidance to develop their cognitive awareness of the world we live in. The ability to have a foundation of self; regarding purpose, career, and personal interests is a gift likely to last the rest of their lives. A gift most students will never receive.

Modern education is not serving its purpose; it serves the administrative system, which is funded by good grades and political arenas. That is why our proposal is necessary; Zoptiks seeks to provide the roadmap to a young mind’s opus rei by exposing them to the world at large through modern virtual field trips.

Note: We've linked relevant examples, videos as needed to help explain our proposal.

? Current Platform 

The following can be found in the existing Zoptiks platform today:

? Passport & 16 Virtual Field Trips: A modern learning management system with virtual field trips, a storage drive, activity feeds, a digital 'notebook,' and parent-learner management. 

Our virtual field trips range from wildlife adventures such as the "African Safari" to more career-focused field trips such as "Inside the Human Body" or "Space Explorer."

? App-Free 4D Holograms: An app-free augmented reality delivery system that projects 4D holograms into any space without requiring additional app downloads. 10 in every field trip. Try Here

? 15 Types of VARK workbooks ranging from interactive videos, dynamic quizzes, fill in the blanks, speak the answer, image matching, word search, and more. 3 Per Field Trip.

?? A Virtual Classroom with a live 'cafeteria' for discussions, groups, forums, quests, badges, profiles, etc. Everything is gamified, and explorers are motivated by earning points to redeem souvenirs.

? A Souvenir Gift Shop where students can redeem points earned by completing field trips for souvenirs from around the world.

This proposal seeks to add the following components to the platform:

1) 8 Career-Based Virtual Field Trips: Zoptiks seeks funding to make eight career-focused virtual field trips containing 4D holograms, interactive workbooks, and engaging multimedia to help fill its platform for workforce-bound students. 

We propose to develop 80 4D holograms, 40 interactive workbooks, and 16 multimedia experiences in Phase I, aligned with National Standards such as NGSS and Common Core and the P21 Learning Framework.

2) Data-driven, Personalized Learning Paths: Zoptiks seeks to create machine learning-based personalized learning paths, allowing for flexible pathways across the entire Zoptiks platform.

In Phase I, we seek to incorporate this data into our existing virtual field trips and analyze the data to be developed inferences under four modern worker categories: Thinkers, Builders, Improvers, Producers.

In Phase II, the data gathered from early users will enable us to train an artificial intelligence delivering personality, interest, and comprehension reports geared towards providing feedback as well as equipping teachers, parents, and students with career 'affinities/roadmaps'

Key Components

- Internet Connection, Modern Web Browser, iPad or Chromebook, Valid Email Address

- Augmented Reality Requires a Compatible Device (Tech Specs)

Supplementing Existing Education Practice 

By their nature, field trips are a supplement to an existing curriculum. Zoptiks offers an innovative change in how to deliver a field trip experience through three consistent, commercially scalable methods of delivery:

1) Self-Guided at Home: Zoptiks is inherently built to be a self-guided experience, allowing students to pursue and personalize their experience.

2) Collaborative, Remote Classroom: Zoptiks can easily be adapted to modern 'Zoom' schools, providing unique social learning features to students globally and reporting to parents/teachers via their parental portal.

3) Guided In Classroom: Each field trip can be experienced in a group setting. For example, 4D holograms can be used on a communal iPad, and its content library can be viewed as a class. However, assessments and interactive workbooks require individual user accounts.

The user experience of Zoptiks is similar, if not better, than existing learning management systems such as Canvas or Blackboard. Furthermore, each field trip will be aligned with the National Council of Social Studies standards, Next Generation Science Standards, P21 learning frameworks, and real-world professionals/consultants.

Cost 

Free to Start – The first field trip is 100% free for new explorers.

Individual Membership. We've been selling lifetime memberships for $120 to generate revenue and attract early adopters. Eventually, this will be a monthly/yearly software as a service model priced at $15-30 per month or $180-360 per seat/year. A seat can be a student or teacher. We have teachers that have one seat and share with their entire classroom... which is fine by us. Our goal is to support all the children we can.

Classroom Membership. Eventually, this will scale up and be priced similar to the individual memberships, except that teachers will gain unique features.

Zoptiks has donated hundreds of memberships to foster care organizations globally and is running a 'Buy 1 Give 1' campaign, which allows our customers to write off their donations on their taxes.

View Current Pricing Here

Intended Education Outcomes Interest and Career Pathway Exploration.

Career pathways that existed decades ago will not exist in the future. Every virtual field trip explores the socioeconomic structure of a career and introduces students to potential pathways such as STEM. For example, our wildlife-themed field trips may explore zookeeping, while our Ancient Egypt experience features archeology.

Cross-Curricular Engagement, Awareness, and Empathy. 

Students are bored of "Zoom school," and market research shows this is consistent across the entire spectrum of education. The Zoptiks platform, on the other hand, relies heavily on interactive, engaging experiences geared to student comprehension and increased levels of empathy as students are exposed to a variety of scenarios and environments beyond their local influence.

Stimulate Creative Thinking and Learning. 

As we age, imagination is one of the first human assets that deteriorate; however, growth occurs alongside focused creativity. Zoptiks' virtual field trips naturally seek to inspire and stimulate creativity and critical thinking by exposing young people to next-gen technology such as augmented reality while fostering the discovery of world cultures, careers, and beliefs. Our virtual field trips challenge students to critically consider the 'why' and 'how' questions of the world powered by oratory, critical thinking, hands-on problem solving, and language exposure.

Zoptiks' primary users for this proposal will be students in Grades 3-8. Students with severe learning loss due to COVID-19 derived socio-economic conditions will be of particular interest. 

Several “remote settings” (besides schools) where Zoptiks is utilized are public libraries, churches, YMCAs, tribal centers, and children's hospitals.

Inner-city children and rural schools see the most benefit from our platform. Often, these demographics do not have the financial resources to go on field trips. Furthermore, they don't have guidance counselors to help them succeed post-graduation.

? Project Team and Company

Full Stack Developer/Lead: Hari Kunduru is a full stack developer with certifications in business analysis, quality assurance, and database development. Hari earned a B.S in Biology from The Ohio State University; he began working with the United States Air Force to modernize their SBIR program’s software.

Having founded Zoptiks in 2017, Hari has led technical and sales teams to find product-market fit, ensuring the viability of Zoptiks as a business. Since that time, Hari has developed relationships with various zoological organizations, worn several hats, and had endured the gritty process of creating a viable startup. 

Hari will focus on product development, marketing, business development, and general proposal delivery. He has architected the current Zoptiks platform from scratch.

Curriculum Creator: Rachel Schmitt joins the Zoptiks team with core teaching and curriculum development experience. Equipped with a Master’s Degree in Education, focused on Curriculum and Instruction, Rachel specializes in instructional technology. She has evolved with COVID-19 distance learning as a high school English teacher at Orange County Public Schools in FL. Rachel has direct experience working with middle school students in language arts at Seminole County Public Schools.

Furthermore, Rachel is a member of the National Council of Teachers of English, a certified FLDOE instructor for English 6-12, Socials Studies 6-12, and is constantly recognized as one of Florida’s Best and Brightest educators. Her work with distance learning and curriculum development in Zoptik's target segments strengthens our ability to deliver quality educational content to our customers.

Content Creator: Brandon Hall joins the Zoptiks team having run live virtual field trips for classrooms around the nation via Learn Around The World.

Theoretically, a competitor to Zoptiks, Brandan recognizes the value of asynchronous programming and the effect of global citizenship, deciding to become a partner in our venture. Brandon brings unique experience by being one of the few people who have worked with the concept of virtual field trips for over seven years. Brandon is a passionate educator that understands the needs of students and teachers alike.

Brandon will examine the curriculum alignment, create case studies and work with teachers to perform education research as described in our proposal for every new field trip designed as well as assist in educating teachers about the concept of a virtual field trip.

~25 Freelancers and Contractors

Zoptiks leverages nearly 25 freelancers and contractors ranging from graphic designers, teachers, photographers, drone pilots, user feedback specialists, writers, and more to run our platform.

We live in a world of systems and bureaucracy, especially in education. At the moment, Zoptiks is an enrichment platform, but with MIT Solve's backing, we can become a proper education provider. 

Here is how we anticipate MIT Solve to assist Zoptiks in breaking our glass ceilings:

Financial - 

Any amount of financial support will support our growth and product development. The $10,000 grant will allow us to create more virtual field trips. Perhaps a virtual field trip to MIT? 

Technical -

Our platform is well-built, but we will improve it as our userbase provides feedback. Zoptiks is also backed by Amazon's technical team, who we consult for various software development and cloud management help. 

There is a need for user feedback and an introduction to the best STEM educators with whom we seek to collaborate withe; to provide high-quality material to our explorers. 

Legal -

Zoptiks is an Ohio LLC., Dewalare C-corp, and North Carolina Nonprofit. We are COPPA, FERPA, GDPR, and CCPA compliant and take our explorers' privacy seriously. 

We want the opportunity to introduce our platform to modern educators and guidance in licensing premium content.

Cultural/Market -

We're a pretty easy-going bunch to work with but have trouble reaching and communicating with foreign markets or accessing attractions.

Often it's a language barrier. To help with this, we are recruiting local ambassadors worldwide to help Zoptiks reach a global audience. As an organization that has grown and scaled solutions globally, we'd like your mentorship.

As a revenue-generating business, we're not so much approaching MIT Solve for the money (it doesn't hurt) but more for the mentorship, network connections, guidance, and 'clout' from one of the best STEM universities in the world. 

Who better help us nurture tomorrow's engineers, scientists, explorers, and entrepreneurs?

Also, the MIT name would further support our legitimacy as an educational solution. When Amazon backed Zoptiks via their EdStart program, doors that were locked before began flying open. We anticipate the same would happen with your backing as well. 

Please note that we don't only intend to take from MIT Solve. We actively promote and share our sponsors on social media, our website and also integrate their products/services into Zoptiks to create mutually beneficial partnerships. 

Technology

-App Free 4D Holograms. Our holograms are animated and can transform any space into a learning area. Our explorers love taking pictures with them. 

This is surprisingly effective because it actually gets our explorers using the platform more, furthermore, it reduces complex platform-specific development costs.

Gamification and Souvenir Gift Shop. Our explorers are rewarded for completing field trips and are receiving real souvenirs. Motivation is a powerful factor in our explorer's success rates.

Oftentimes, other courses and curriculums will have very low completion rates, ours are much higher because of our incentives whether it be through quests, badges, souvenirs, or certificates.

100% Web-Based Progressive Web Apps. Zoptiks is 100% web-based, built for Ipad but works great on Chromebooks. This allows Zoptiks to provide an equal playing field for all our explorers.

We've found that many schools are not allowed to download extra apps on their devices and many parents/children don't want another extra app to download. Our explorers typically open up a new browser window just for Zoptiks with 3-6 tabs for our various apps.

Zoptiks guides explorers digitally, in the same place where they are exploring the internet; the web browser.

Ease of Implementation

Special Needs Friendly. We have a specialized widget to hyper-personalize our platform and provide insights to identify special needs at a young age. (Vision Impairment, ADHD, Cognitive Disability, etc.)

Cost-Effective. 

Zoptiks is 75% cheaper over a one year period compared to going on an actual field trip. Also, we are sometimes the only option for exploratory experiences, such as for kids in children's hospitals or socio-economically disadvantaged kids.

Personalized Results and Activity Logs. 

Our platform adapts its difficulty to our explorer's capacity. Quiz questions get harder or easier, and there is no 'golden' path for explorers to follow, enabling interest-based learning.

Bigger Platform and Social Learning

Extra resources such as Zoopedia (modern animal book), Storybook (timeless value-based tales like Aesop's fables), Map (a modern atlas), Desk (various educational tools), and Arcade (educational games)

Locals, Scouts, and Library provide projects and resources to help our explorers venture into entrepreneurship and career opportunities.

Classroom is a global virtual classroom with profiles, groups, forums, and Parent Portal where we give parents tools to help their kids succeed.

? Prior Existing Products/Prototypes and Research 

There are a few virtual field trip platforms that already exist, such as VirtualFieldTrips.org or Discovery Education. The former is a collection of narrated slideshow videos that will put you to sleep. 

Discovery Education does provide a comprehensive set of activities. Still, it does not bring any unique technological experiences to the student, such as augmented reality, artificial intelligence, or the personalization and gamification that Zoptiks provides.

Regarding career pathway development, two services: My Future Edu and Claim Your Future provide basic counseling pathways for the individual. Albeit in an outdated model that is not effective in the modern workforce.

The current Zoptiks platform is an operational web app that serves thousands of explorers weekly and is built on the latest technologies… some of which are not even mainstream yet. Anyone can go to Zoptiks.com and embark on 16 different field trips, join a virtual classroom and explore the world through their digital passport. 

Zoptiks is also GDPR & COPPA* compliant.

Within the next year, we plan to achieve the following:

-Reach 100,000 explorers on our platform, whether they are paid memberships or not. 

-We recognize that we still have to achieve a better product-market fit, and our platform is not 'perfect' UX or content-wise.

-24 new virtual field trips by EOY 2022 + implementation of THEO (a virtual guidance counselor) 

Every field trip can expect the following:

- An interactive video & 360 virtual reality version

- 10 augmented reality experiences relevant to the subject

- 6 VARK workbooks & 3 lessons for teachers to guide group discussions.

- 2 Adaptive quiz modules that adjust their difficulty.

- 2 Explorer stations or lessons using slide decks, Google Earth, VR, etc.

- Modern implicit and purposeful feedback loops throughout the system.

Within the next five years, we plan to achieve the following:

-Reach 36 million explorers. 

-Expand beyond our scope of virtual field trips and begin full-fledged STEM curriculum development using 4D holograms. 

-Become the world's most comprehensive virtual field trip platform and the best educational tool provider at any price. 

We will become a company that rivals Pearson, McGraw-Hill, or Scholastic.

Sales are our golden compass, but we also measure the following in our platform:

-Churn

-Weekly Users

-Monthly Users

-Field Trip Completion Percentage

-Affinity and various NPS metrics

-Social Engagement

-Content Production

-Engagement Rates

We also have a dozen other metrics that we are keeping track of, but at the moment, these are the most 'viable'. Zoptiks has its own analytics engine for both our Passport (LMS) and the entire platform, but we also leverage 3rd party tools like Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarify, and Hockeystack to understand our user's journey.

Experiments

Sample. The testing sample for prototype development may be considered for all of Zoptiks’ platform users as of April 1, 2022. However, the focus group will be in three classrooms from grades 6-8. The educators themselves are from unique learning environments where career counseling is a rare and valuable resource.

Iterative Data Collection. Students in Grades 6-8 conduct “concept testing” as they move through each field trip. Their engagement and interest are measured by Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, Zoptiks’ proprietary analytics engine data (feeding into THEO), and their in-app ratings and comments regarding the field trip aspects. Their comprehension is measured through quizzes, interactive exercises, and built-in touchpoints.

Formative Assessment. The baseline for this research is the theory that each individual has a level of baseline interest in an area of interest. By comparing the expected results with those generated from THEO, Zoptiks can create a baseline feasibility metric which can then be expanded upon quantitatively via associated data points, as well as qualitatively to help understand how the alignment of education outcomes compares to real life.

Zoptiks is partnering with classrooms from the Greater LA Unified School District, deep urban classrooms, as well as the Georgia Cyber Academy, a sample of rural classrooms, to establish a core demographic of 250 remote students and three middle school classrooms and their educators.

In addition, Zoptiks will continue operating and delivering virtual field trip experiences to an existing user base and new customers such as homeschoolers, parents, hospitals, and foster care organizations.

Virtual field trips are not new; researchers have been exploring the notion since the democratization of the internet, establishing a methodology to help conform to educational practice (Klemm, 2003).

 However, the capabilities of the early internet limited the effectiveness of solutions as they comprised nothing more than just videos and supplementary worksheets (Stainfield, 2000). Examination of early research justifies the expansion of Zoptiks beyond typical video and print-out worksheets, bolstering a new level of capabilities.

Modern technology has changed the premise that virtual field trips are based on, and a pandemic-fueled economy has driven the adoption of online education. The rise of the tablet, namely the iPad, has enabled effective learning practices and improved student engagement (Walling, 2014).

 Furthermore, the rise of technology-enabled socioeconomically disadvantaged students who faced problems, such as high gas prices or distance from venues in the cases of rural communities, to supplement their education with new activities (Devaney, 2008, Lester, 2012). Based on user trends from the previous recession and the current COVID19 pandemic, Zoptiks addresses a clear and growing need in the distance learning market.

There is significant empirical support to suggest that virtual field trips, in a rudimentary form, are effective in boosting educational metrics (Handin,2018). A study performed by Clewell in 2005 correlated virtual field trips to improved reading scores (Clewell, 2005). A similar study conducted in 2008 showed distinct improvements in historically reluctant students attributable to virtual field trips and interactive technology (Scott, 2008). On this basis, Zoptiks can rest its empirical claim to being an effective solution.

? Citations 

Devaney, L. (2008). “Gas prices fuel rise in virtual field trips,” eSchool News, 11(8), 28.

Handin, S. and Leeman, J. (2018). “Maximizing Learning and Engaging Students in Elementary Social Studies,” Journal of Practitioner Research: Vol. 3, Iss. 1, Article 4.

Klemm, E. B., & Tuthill, G. (2003). “Virtual field trips: Best practices,” International Journal of Instructional Media, 30(2), 177-193.

Lester, L. (2012). “Putting rural readers on the map: Strategies for rural literacy,” Reading Teacher, 65(6), 407-415. doi: 10.1002/TRTR.01062

Scott, J., Parr, M., & Richardson, W. J. (2008). “By hook or by crook: Engaging reluctant readers and writers through the use of technology and virtual field trips,” International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities & Nations, 8(4), 35-42.

Stainfield, J., Fisher, P., Ford, B., & Solem, M. (2000). “International virtual field rips: A new direction?” Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 24(2), 255-62. doi: 10.1080/713677387. Walling, D. R. (2014). “Can virtual be as effective as real?” In Designing Learning for Tablet Classrooms (pp. 97-103). Cham: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-02420-2_16.

Watts, A.G., Sultana, R.G. Career Guidance Policies in 37 Countries: Contrasts and Common Themes. Int J Educ Vocat Guidance 4, 105–122 (2004). https://doi-org.ezproxyberklee.flo.org/10.1007/s10775...

Plant, P. Quality in Career Guidance: Issues and Methods. Int J Educ Vocat Guidance 4, 141–157 (2004). https://doi-org.ezproxyberklee.flo.org/10.1007/s10775...

Crişan, C., Pavelea, A., & Ghimbuluţ, O. (2015). A Need Assessment on Students’ Career Guidance. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 180, 1022–1029. https://doi-org.ezproxyberklee.flo.org/10.1016/j.sbsp...

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2021, November 30). NLS FAQS. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved Jan 14, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/nls/questi...

National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies: A Framework for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2022, from https://www.socialstudies.org/...

Next Generation Science Standards. (2021, January 07). Retrieved January 15, 2022, from

Our core technology is a progressive web application that utilizes the following: 

- WebAR (Developed by Apple and Pixar)

- Virtual Reality 

- Machine Learning models

- Natural Language Processing

- LMS/LRS

- 50+ microservices

- Cloud Computing

- 3D Modeling 

- Video Production

- Software Development

The user experience of Zoptiks is similar, if not better, than existing learning management systems such as Canvas or Blackboard. 

Furthermore, each field trip will be aligned with standards from the National Council of Social Studies, Next Generation Science Standards, P21 learning frameworks, and real-world professionals/consultants.

Zoptiks does not discriminate based on gender, race, ethnicity, or any other prejudice. We work with teachers from all over the world and actively recruit local ambassadors (fluent in English) to support our growth. 

Our product is about exploring and raising empathy among cultures in a digestible way for all kinds of people. Our platform is special needs friendly and is 100% web-based to limit technological requirements as much as possible. 

Zoptiks donates memberships to children in foster care and underserved demographics through our foundation.

Our values are modern education, sustainability, and wildlife conservation, and we hire primarily on skills, experience, and if they are the best fit for the role. 

As with any tech organization, we can do better by improving our inclusivity and are working with Amazon's ReStart program, OBT Workforce, and VentureLab to support nontraditional employment pathways.

Our platform operates under a SaaS model.

Our customers are homeschoolers, teachers, schools, children's hospitals, parents, and curious kids.

Here is a list of features across our platform that is delivered through our various web apps (all a part of our website)

Virtual Field Trips

• Interactive Videos 
• 4D Holograms 
• Adaptive Quizzes 
• Google Earth Voyages 
• VARK Workbooks 
• Gamification 

Passport & Classroom

• Calendar 
• Drive 
• Parent Portal 
• Groups 
• Cafeteria 
• Badges & Quests 

Desk

• News & Events 
• Interactive Multimedia 
• IQ, EQ, and CQ Tests 
• Health & Wellness Tools 
• Stock & Crypto Tools 

Resources

• Watch 
• Map 
• Storybook 
• ZooPedia 
• Library 
• Arcade 

Entrepreneurship

• Locals 
• Scouts 
• Affiliate 
• Events 
• Marketplace 

Parent Portal

• Virtual Permissions Slips 
• Projects & OKRs 
• Time Tracker 
• Task Manager 
• Birthday Tracker 
• Calendar 

Our customers subscribe to Zoptiks because of the interactive, exploratory adventures we provide that are also educationally aligned and are fantastic enrichment opportunities.

Zoptiks is currently bootstrapped and financially profitable through membership sales. We believe people speak with their money, and sales are our primary indicator that we are doing something right.

Zoptiks also makes digital zoo maps for zoological organizations, is a federal contractor in the SAM system and provides services in our growth process. 

We plan to grow and scale by selling more, which allows us to stay grounded, strengthen our core business, and evolve into a robust and recession-proof business. 

Grants such as MIT solve and any investments we receive will support our evolution into becoming that business.

Zoptiks started out selling lifetime memberships to early adopters. Our first venture into this was on Appsumo.com. 

Amazon has graciously supported us with server credits, resources, and other growth opportunities, such as sponsoring our conference booth at SXSW EDU.

Our founder, Hari, raised ~50k back in 2017 via Indiegogo and a group of 10 angels for the original zoo map app concept but has since bootstrapped the company opting for slower yet sustainable growth as we navigated the current education market.

We are scrappy, gritty, and aren't afraid to get our hands dirty to get the job done. We understand value on a microeconomic level and do not spend our resources lavishly.