OpenEdu

OpenEdu

About our team

We are a team of experienced lecturers and developers who are passionate about bringing blockchain into real life to solve real-world problems. With our experience in education, we build the platform to push eLearning toward the Open web that is beneficial for everyone. We have learned and contributed to several projects built on NEAR

Inspiration of Project

Collaboration facilitates the active learning of learners and motivates experts to share knowledge to enrich e-learning content. But collaboration among unknown people (learners/experts) is trust-required in Web2 → Trust-requiring becomes a barrier for people to collaborate in Web2 for on-demand learning (learners) or for sharing knowledge on-demand (experts), making e-learning not really an open edu environment

We address the above problem by implementing solutions using blockchain (NEAR) and smart contract to make collaboration transparent and trustless → create a collaborative transparent open elearning platform (OpenEdu).

What it does

Our platform explores blockchain technology and smart contract to improve e-learning and build specialized tools to support NEAR developer education.

We implement the main features as follows to make e-learning really open.

Solution 1: transparent collaborative learning and lecturing

Learners can submit an open request for learning on-demand (i.e., advanced or niche topic) with the amount willing to pay (stake) to initiate a smart contract and a staking pool. Other learners with the same interest can stake into the pool → grow the pool until attract experts/lecturers to fill the demand
Creators/lecturers/experts can initiate a course with specific tokenomics (% incentive) for each chapter of the course for contributors → make it transparent to attract lecturers/experts to collaborate for course creation
Ownership: lecturers/creators are owners of their course content by deciding the tokenomics of the course, selling the course as assets, combining combo courses with others Every decision in collaboration is made by consensus voting and paying incentives automatically with smart contracts

Solution 2: on-chain verifiable skills

Learner's history with their DID is stored on-chain
Learners earn NFT certificate by completing courses and skills’ soulbound token by completing tests (i.e., rust programming skills, blockchain enterprise skill, etc.)
All variable skills and activities → transform into a solution to automate the job recruitment market
Job recruitment with specifying required skills
Job applications by DID with variable skills
Automate candidate filtering and matching with verifiable skills

Solution 3: Tools support for NEAR education for developers

We implement BOS IDE in the platform to enable students to practice coding easily
We implement CopyUI tool to facilitate frontend creation on BOS
We implement RustGPT: an AI mentor for rust programming for the NEAR ecosystem

How we built it

Our technical foundation is rooted in Rust, leveraging the Axum framework and Tokio for the server. Adopting a Microservices architecture ensures optimal speed and scalability, positioning us for seamless future expansions.
Smart Contracts, the backbone of our platform's transparency and data integrity, were meticulously crafted on the Near Protocol.
On the Front-End, we harnessed the power of Next.js to seamlessly manage non-blockchain data such as video content, lectures, quizzes, and assignments. Blockchain data integration was facilitated through BoS, effortlessly presenting vital user information, credit scores, certificates, and badges.

Challenges we ran into &. Accomplishments that we're proud of

Implementing microservices in Rust initially consumed a significant amount of time. Creating a streamlined workflow with high scalability proved to be a complex task. Due to the limited availability of comprehensive resources on building microservices in Rust, the learning curve was steep initially. However, with perseverance, we successfully overcame this hurdle and are currently in the refinement process.
Another challenge we encountered was the intricate business logic embedded within our platform. Executing and resolving this logic on Smart Contracts demanded a substantial amount of time. Determining which data truly necessitated blockchain storage versus traditional database storage was a critical decision-making process. Additionally, synchronizing data between the back-end and the contract posed an exciting challenge. We implemented Near Protocol's datalake to address this, ensuring automated synchronization without compromising front-end performance.
Furthermore, integrating BOS at its current stage presented several minor limitations. Documentation for emerging frameworks and tools like FastAuth remains incomplete, necessitating extensive research and integration efforts

What we learned

Throughout the development of OpenEdu, we gained invaluable insights and expertise in various domains.
Firstly, tackling the implementation of microservices using Rust taught us the importance of persistence and adaptability. Overcoming initial challenges in setting up a seamless and highly scalable workflow in Rust reinforced our team's problem-solving skills and deepened our understanding of microservices architecture.
Secondly, navigating the intricacies of Smart Contracts and their integration into our platform gave us a profound understanding of blockchain technology. We learned to discern which aspects of our platform's business model were best suited for Smart Contract execution and which could be efficiently handled through traditional databases. Additionally, mastering data synchronization between the back-end and the contract enhanced our proficiency in maintaining data integrity across different layers of our system.
Furthermore, integrating BOS and other emerging tools emphasized the importance of thorough research and adaptability when working with cutting-edge technologies. We discovered the value of staying updated with the latest advancements in the tech ecosystem and adapting our approach to accommodate evolving frameworks and tools.
In summary, the development of OpenEdu not only enriched our technical skill set but also reinforced our team's ability to tackle complex challenges and adapt to the rapidly evolving landscape of technology.

What's next for OpenEdu

We plan to complete the main features of the product and will run the product for the next NEAR developer courses with NEAR Vietnam Hub. In the meantime, we continue to develop more features and tools to support developers learning easier.
We plan to develop courses to bootstrap the product with high-impact lecturers in different fields and collaborate with universities to onboard users for the product.
After successfully launching version 1.0 and onboarding a certain number of users, we will run a fundraising campaign to have more funding to develop the product to the next level.