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Midnight Illusions Ltd.

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The ShiraX Challenges: Challenge R - "A+, 100%, 10/10"

Create innovative ways to test reading, writing, and math proficiency. Then track a child's progress, with or WITHOUT account management.

This challenge is closed to new competitors

stage:
Submit to Global Learning XPRIZE!
prize:
$715,000

This challenge is closed to new competitors

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Summary
Timeline
Updates1
Forum1
Teams7
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Summary

Overview

The ShiraX Challenges are an ambitious plan for compassionate coders to
create a self-teaching educational system that will significantly improve
the status quo of impoverished girls around the world,
by providing hope, freedom, and possibility.

Join  •  Code  •  Innovate  •  Win!

 

Background


Global Learning XPRIZE is a competition challenging teams to develop open-source software that will enable children with limited access to schooling to teach themselves basic reading, writing and arithmetic. XPRIZE, a non-profit organization, is the world’s leader in designing and managing incentive prize competitions for the benefit of humanity.

Midnight Illusions Ltd. is a +20 year strong digital media solutions company specializing in award-winning start-to-finish mobile application development services for all major mobile platforms.

The Global Learning XPRIZE is a crowdsourced problem designed for the world to solve. Midnight Illusions has taken on the challenge of addressing this problem by crowdsourcing the solution.

We have conceptually developed our solution, known as The ShiraX System™, from the ground up specifically for the Global Learning XPRIZE competition.  The System will not only achieve the competition goals but has massive potential to greatly exceed them.  And we look forward to adding YOU to our team by working together to fully realize this System!


What is The ShiraX System™ ?


The Cocktail Party One-Liner

The ShiraX System™ is a web-based magic toolbox that will allow anyone to easily create and share their educational app with the world.

The Geek Meetup Two-Liner

The Super Helpful Intelligent Resource Architect (Shira) X System™ (or simply, “ShiraX”) is an open source layperson-friendly modular platform that facilitates the creation of educational apps for Android, iOS, Web, PC, and Mac deployment.

ShiraX blends a highly-intuitive User Interface (UI) with strong User Experience (UX) design principles and strong MVC architecture at its core.

 

Challenge R - "A+, 100%, 10/10"


Click the "Guidelines" tab for more information about this specific Challenge.

 

Prize Payout Structure


PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS AN INDIRECTLY FUNDED CHALLENGE
Awarding of any prizes in any of The ShiraX Challenges is contingent on the Midnight Illusions Ltd. team being chosen as either a Finalist or Winner in the Global Learning XPRIZE.

The following breaks down the potential prize amount ranges:

Global Learning XPRIZE Team Status Prize Payout for
Challenge R - "A+, 100%, 10/10"
Non-Finalist $0 to the winner of this challenge
Finalist $65,000 USD to the selected winner of this challenge
Winner $650,000 USD additional to the selected winner of this challenge

 

Submissions and Team Invites


We will evaluate all submissions, comparing against this Challenge's technical requirements and all other judging factors.  See the Guidelines tab for this Challenge for more information.

Innovator submissions will be short-listed and organized by the top performing submission, onward.  The Top Innovator will be contacted first.  A list of Finalists will also be assembled, in the event that the Top Innovator is unable to continue.

An invitation will be sent to the Top Innovator submission for this Challenge to officially join Team "Midnight Illusions" in the Global Learning XPRIZE Challenge.  The Innovator must meet all Global Learning XPRIZE requirements and sign both an agreement with Midnight Illusions Ltd. and a Team Member agreement with Global Learning XPRIZE.  All documentation and forms will be supplied.  

Should the top Innovator decline the invite, the invitation will then be sent to the Finalist(s) in the order of their evaluation in this Challenge.


Open Source.  Variable IP.


Should our team earn the status of Finalist or Winner, our collective software solution will be open sourced to the world.  As per Global Learning XPRIZE regulations, IP is retained by the team (Midnight Illusions).

Shoud our team not earn Finalist or Winner status, our collective software solution will still be open sourced to the world.  You, the Innovator, will retain the IP related to your code.

 

Post-HeroX Challenge &
Global Learning XPRIZE Timeline


The ShiraX Challenges on HeroX represent one key component of our solution submission to Global Learning XPRIZE.  After the winners are announced for each HeroX Challenge, with your assistance as an official Team Member we will continue to enhance the System, while our team educators load in English and Swahili content, to meet the requirements of Global Learning XPRIZE.  This process will occur from mid-Sept to end of October 2016.  We officially submit to XPRIZE before November 1, 2016.

After submission, we wait to hear back from Global Learning XPRIZE to learn if we have made it the semi-finalist level (currently March 1, 2017).  In the interim, solution development will continue, as we are able to submit updated software at each evaluation milestone.

Should (no....WHEN!) we make it to the Finalist announcement (currently July 10, 2017), we will arrange prize payout with each ShriaX Challenges HeroX sub-challenge Winner, as per the "Finalist" Prize Payout Structure outlined above.  Solution development will further continue, with our assistance as an official Teal Member from July 2017 to September 2018.  We will have several opportunities to submitted updated code while our solution is being tested in the field (with appox. 800 children in several villages in Tanzania), further enhancing our opportunity to fully win Global Learning XPRIZE.

Should (no...WHEN!) we make it to the Global Learning XPRIZE Grand Prize announcement that team Midnight Illusions has W-O-N (currently April 2019), we will arrange prize payout with each ShiraX Challenges HeroX sub-challenge Winner, as per the "Winner" Prize Payout structure outlined above.

And of course, we'll have to arrange some sort of massive party to celebrate!  ;)

 

Additional Rules


Who can participate:
The Challenge is open to individuals and teams. To be eligible to compete, you must comply with all the terms of the Challenge as defined in the Challenge-Specific Agreement.

Selection of Winner:
Based on the winning criteria, one or more prizes will be allocated, pending the performance of the Midnight Illusions team in the Global Learning XPRIZE.  See "Prize Payout Structure", above.  In the case of a tie, the winner will be selected at the discretion of the Judging Panel.

Submissions:
All Team submission materials must be submitted online on or before August 12, 2016 at 11:59pm EST. No submissions will be accepted after this time. Incomplete submissions will not be accepted. All submissions must be received online, via the Challenge website, and all uploads can be in PDF format only. Submission reporting requirements are detailed in Judging.

Challenge Guidelines are subject to change. Registered competitors will receive notification when changes are made, however, we highly encourage you to visit the Challenge Site often to review updates.

 

The ShiraX Challenges are an ambitious plan for compassionate coders to
create a self-teaching educational system that will significantly improve
the status quo of impoverished girls around the world,
by providing hope, freedom, and possibility.

Join  •  Code  •  Innovate  •  Win!

 


Guidelines

Technical Code Requirements


Technical code requirements for all ShiraX System components are listed below.

  • Code runs on PHP 5.6 or higher
  • Renders to a web browser as HTML5 and CSS3.  Responsive (mobile) layout.
  • JavaScript allowed
  • MySQL Database

Also please note the following:

  • Flash is not permitted
  • Java is permitted, however:
    • Preferential treatment will be given to solutions that do not include Java programming.

 

Code Development Outlines


Watch for the Guiedelines to be posted shortly ...

 

Timeline
Updates1

Challenge Updates

1 update
July 2016
Midnight Illusions Ltd. · July 27, 8:52 a.m.

More is Better: Breaking Down this Challenge Into Smaller Sub-Challenges

Hey there present Innovators tackling this Challenge and future Innovators ready to take on the ShiraX Challenges!  We have a very exciting update for you!

We know we've created a massive project here and that when we win Global Learning XPRIZE, the global impact on children around the world will be incredibly humbling and inspiring.  We can't wait to see how it all plays out.

To further ensure a successful Challenge set and submission, we are currently breaking down this Challenge into a number of smaller sub-Challenges.  This includes the Challenge's current items, which will either remain the same, or be expanded on.  We are also adding in a number of additional items, to round out the Challenge.

You can still compete in this Challenge in its entirety, or elect to compete in one or more of the smaller sub-Challenges.  This will make it easier for Innovators to pick and choose from a larger Challenge "buffet", as it were.

Watch for the revised Challenge set next week.  We will also revise the overall Challenge timeline to allow for more coding time.  If you have any questions, do get in touch.

Cheers and keep up the awesome coding!

Jason Bavington
Project Director

Forum1
Teams7
Press
FAQ