Dojo | Devpost

Dojo Web App Landing Page
Dojo Web App Modal Form
Dojo Web App Video Page
Dojo Prototype!

Inspiration

The general consensus is that mastery over one skill is better than knowing many skills. We are all masters at some skills, and apprentices at others. We were inspired by the possibility of trading skills and supporting one another on different learning journeys. Moreover, there is a constant demand for teachers in all aspects of life, from education and life skills to music and art. Yet many people are discouraged from learning new skills due to barriers such as availability and affordability. Why is it that there are so many teachers with no students, yet so many students with no teachers?

What it does

At Dojo, we connect people looking to trade skills and develop friendships. Emily may be a master at coding, but an apprentice at guitar. Anthony may be a master at guitar, but an apprentice at coding. Dojo seeks to connect Emily and Anthony to grow together. Using technology from Vonage, people can instantly video call and learn from each other. People can also connect in The Open Dojo, specialized communities focusing on a particular skill where apprentices can share progress to masters.

How we built it

The web app was put together using React, and the video calling aspect was incorporated by taking advantage of the Vonage API.

Challenges we ran into

Lack of experience and conceptual knowledge were great hindrances in the development process. React was new to most of our team members, and it was difficult to learn on the fly. In addition, the video calling feature was incredibly difficult to implement. For whatever reason, we could not get more than one person on the call at a time. However, after hours of tinkering combined with the help of a mentor, we were able to get it done.

Accomplishments that we’re proud of

For most of the team, this was our first hackathon, and we are proud that we were able to produce a semi-functional version of what we had set out to create. The interface is as we had prototyped, and overall although it is not the most complex project, we are proud of ourselves for sticking it through.

What We learned

We learned that there are many more things to learn. This is just the beginning, and as every master was once a beginner, this experience has inspired us to set out on the journey to mastery. We also learned a lot about the development process as a whole, from initial idea to deployment, and of course about front-end development and accessing APIs.

What's next for Dojo Web App

There is a lot in store. Our existing functionalities are in the early preliminary stages, and we hope to flesh out the app more in the near future to create the user experience that we envisioned. We are also looking to incorporate additional exciting social features such as adding friends and messaging so that we can foster a greater community of students and masters. The idea has infinite potential, and as we learn and grow in our capabilities, the possibilities of this project can only increase.