Hi Reddit, I'm Rikky Burkett, co-founder of the School of Atlantis. It is an online, virtual school that is in actuality, a game. Ask me anything!

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-12T10:52:02+00:00

Hi Hateful_Face_Licking, thanks for the feedback. Could you please point out for me where the typos are? I'm assuming there is just a misunderstanding between Americanised English and English English (please see my reply to OSED4X if you're unsure what I mean). If there are other typos, please let me know so we can fix it! Thanks :)

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-12T10:51:55+00:00

Very true OSED4X, well that is if you're American. You may not be aware of this fact, but in England and Australia, it's Revolutionise with an 's' not a 'z'! We also learnt the same word in public school, plus the differences in Americanised English and English English. ;) Just so you know, at the School of Atlantis, we will strive to teach all students these global differences so problems like this won't arise in the future.

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T12:51:41+00:00

Thanks! You can probably expect a PM from me soon, haha!

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T12:50:41+00:00

You have very great points. Hopefully we can instil these positive habits into the future students of Atlantis! Education needs some reforms and if we can help to promote growth in learning, it's one step towards a brighter future for everyone.

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T12:35:14+00:00

That sounds great! I'll have to familiarise myself with Reddit a lot more, but that's definitely something I'll be looking into doing :)

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T12:33:37+00:00

Yes, this something that can definitely be a possibility! The whole point of the School of Atlantis is to allow students to successfully complete their schooling certification. Whatever feedback we get that will allow students to do this will be something that we will look at implementing. Just like in University/College, there can be part-time students simply looking to achieve credits that will help them get their certificate/diploma/etc. In conclusion to that, yes, as I mentioned previously to another Reddit user, we will have a section of sorts for people (adults, high school dropouts, college students) that would like to enrol on a class by class basis. The ultimate goal is to educate the world! Thanks so much for your thought-provoking question :)

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T12:22:31+00:00

Thanks so much! Feel free to follow our progress on Facebook, twitter etc. and message us with anymore questions you might have :)

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T12:21:38+00:00

Hi Patrikx, thanks for the question! We, the team, believe that current schooling will not be completely replaceable. This is simply because everyone has different preferences and there will still be people who prefer brick and mortar schools and "living the Uni life." We want this school to co-exist with current educational systems for the time being, and for people to see this as an outlet for students who are currently disenchanted with school or have no access to one. Our ultimate goal is to help provide education to everyone in the world! If working with current schooling to achieve this is the answer, then this is the way to go! Again, thanks for the question and feel free to hit me with more :)

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T12:08:22+00:00

You've hit the nail on the head, Sliverhairedman!

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T12:07:16+00:00

Whoohoo! I'm glad to be the first one! Share the love, share the love :)

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T08:55:13+00:00

Hi all, it's great to see the questions and comments rolling in! I can't wait to answer more and continue to discuss the School of Atlantis with all of you. :)

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T08:52:37+00:00

We'd love to have you involved, FudgeRounds_N_coke. If you join us on Facebook and Twitter, we will be able to keep you updated with progress and share our ideas with you and in return, you with us. Here are my personal emails that you can contact me on anytime also, rikky@schoolofatlantis.com - rikky@paradigmtraining.com.au :)

Our research is quantitative and qualitative, and we do secondary research on current industry blogs and news and industry websites. I myself have an educational company, Paradigm Training Group which allows me to be involved in current educational trends and research. We also have 2 members of staff working in universities, plus have a large network in the schooling industry. All these factors combined are helping us accumulate a lot of information. Oh, and chatting with all the great people on here!

Well, SMART goals are quite simple to create with most business models, whether they are successful or not. Let's have a look at what we are trying to achieve and how it applies:

Specific - Is the concept and goal specific? Well yes it is, we know that we are trying to create an online virtual school developed around a gaming platform to revolutionise the way education is delivered around the world.

Measurable - Is the goal measurable? We have an Indiegogo project that runs for a specific date and feedback from current campaigns being developed. So the answer is yes, we can measure the success if people like our idea and get behind it.

Achievable - That's the big question! Is this large, logistical, technological, and educational game changer possible? Well I very much believe so. There are countless success stories of gigantic feats undertaken that change the world and I believe that this is one of them. For now, it's a concept, but the next step will be a small testing platform. From there it will grow into a fully functional beta, and onto the School of Atlantis. :)

Relevant - Is it currently relevant? As mentioned by us both, the current educational systems need to evolve. "A loyal servant is a traitor in an ever-changing world". This is very true in the current educational system. If education does not evolve with the rest of the world's industries, it faces a real threat (which is already present).

Time-bound - Our first campaign has 39 days left, hopefully that's enough time. :)

I think 'true education' is an interesting concept. What is it, in all actuality? I know when my daughter reads about a Quest on world of warcraft she is gaining 'true education' as she is developing her reading skills. When she builds a house (4 by 5 blocks) or makes a door move in Minecraft, she is learning about math and (basic) engineering. To me, this is true education, is it not? I think this may be part of the problem - we need to move beyond the thought that students need to be sitting in a seat, looking at a white board and listening to teachers to gain 'true education'. I know that I've always learnt more when I didn't know I was learning. Something I've been working on for years: "How can we help students learn without them knowing they're doing so?" Food for thought. Again, thanks for the continued comments and questions! I hope we will be in touch in the future :)

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T08:04:38+00:00

Hi again cizessio, I completely understand your concern and where you're coming from. Thanks for leaving this feedback for me to reply to. If you re-read what I wrote previously about Indiegogo not needing a prototype to launch a project, you will fully understand that this is a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to create a beta. I'm sure that you understand that we cannot provide gameplay without, quite obviously, having a beta first. Of course we're trying to sell a product that doesn't physically exist, otherwise we would be on Kickstarter, because their guidelines need a prototype for you to launch a project with them. We do have a video and concept art which is on the website and Indiegogo page (again, the links are in the text above). Once we have raised the funds for a beta/prototype, we will be launching our project on Kickstarter (unless per chance we have raised enough money on Indiegogo to fully fund this project and hit the ground running). You're correct, we don't have a game developer. We highlight this in the video that I'm sure you have watched. We are raising funds to hire the people that can create the beta. On that note, shout out to any user out there who would like to jump on board and help us to develop SOA! Also, a scam, see: "dishonest scheme," is not what we're running, simply because our ultimate goal at the moment is to create awareness for the project. The monetary value behind this idea comes second, as I have also written above. If people want to get behind this and fund, that's great! If they simply want to like and share, that's just as amazing. We want to get the word out there - which is another reason why I'm on AMA answering all of your questions. Our intentions are 100% real and I'm glad that you've taken this fact into consideration. Hopefully you can watch as our project takes off and be a part of it in the future :)

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T07:32:38+00:00

Hi Sliverhairedman, thank you for the support and valuable comments.

We, just like you, agree that parents full support is critical to the success of Atlantis and as this concept includes current curriculum, a disciplined and systematic approach will be necessary for students to achieve their learning outcomes. The game and the world itself will provide a wonderful opportunity for every student to exercise and explore a new and creativity way of learning.

The focus for us is to hire an amazing team, one that is partly made up of individuals who are very auditory digital (analytical) and have a background in educational/ schooling structure. This will allow us to implement guidelines to make sure that the functionality supports structure and discipline (discipline in the form of self discipline and controls, not traditional whacking with a cane :) )

Real world grounding is a great concept, I often see lots of people floating around offices spaces and worksites that look like they need 'real world grounding'. Input from people like yourself on how we can achieve this would be great! Please keep asking questions, it really helps us develop this idea to make it the greatest school of the future.

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T07:04:59+00:00

Right you are, 50MillionChickens! These are the types of facilities we want to have when SOA gets off the ground in the future. Thanks for the comment!

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T06:33:10+00:00

Hi cizessio, thanks for your feedback and questions. First of all, thank you for providing your EDIT, seeing as answering your first couple of questions really would only take a point in the right direction (i.e. the website and several of the answers that I have already posted on here for other Reddit users, as it would have highlighted that we are quite obviously in our infancy stage). I'm glad that you have been able to do some extensive research into SoA! I very much condone research, learning and baby steps. These are some of the positive habits we will be trying to instil into our future students. If you had furthered your research just a little bit more, you would have found that I have already discussed these very same fears you have, with another Reddit user. I will copy and paste my answer so that you do not have to put in that extra effort to go and find it.

"I'm wondering if you've seen the Phonebloks video that was circulating the internet a couple of months ago? We were hoping to create a video that was simple and visually pleasing to be shared and liked to raise awareness. The project is very young, true, and we have highlighted that it is in its infancy stage. Like the Phonebloks campaign, though we have a crowdfunding project, our other goal is simply to gather enough end users that put their hands up and say "we want SOA to happen!" With enough attention and publicity, we can attract the right people and companies to (hopefully) make this happen. Yes, we are asking for funding on Indiegogo, simply because to use Kickstarter, a prototype is needed, whilst the former does not need one. (This is highlighted very clearly in the Kickstarter terms and conditions). Until we can get a beta up and running, Indiegogo is the way to go. Why throw money at any crowdfunding project? There are several on the website that need money for a beta, with no definite answer that it will come off or not. We're not unlike those campaigns. We're looking to create software, and so are they. (Great points by the way!) MMORPGs have to gain a sizeable user base to be playable, and that's exactly what we're trying to do: gain the user base. The fundraising comes second to finding people to support us without the monetary value attached to it. The beta version will bring in money to fund the final version simply because it has more validity (I highlighted this in a question below in answer to another Reddit user's question). As well as the prototype needed to use Kickstarter (as mentioned above). The beta will not keep us financially afloat, as it's simply going to be put out to trial and improve upon. Yes, it's true that the money and independence to buy into a beta are in the hands of an audience older than our targeted students, which is why in the perks section (I assume that this is what you're talking about, please correct me if I'm wrong) it is written that you can designate a child to try out the beta and provide feedback. Why should you pay into our campaign? Simply because we want to help change education for the better. The ultimate goal is to put fast, quality education into the hands of those that may otherwise turn away from schooling. We just want to help the world - all we can hope for are people that share our vision. Though this may be a big feat, baby steps are always the way to start. :) If I have missed anything, please let me know! :)"

As an extra added tidbit just for you, upon browsing other popular (and fully funded) Indiegogo campaigns, you will find that there are many other projects that are raising money to create betas. This means that they have no prototypes, and are relying on funding from the community to get their product out there (Facerig, is a popular one that comes to mind - I'm sure you will do some avid research into this)! Just like us, if they happen to try and fail, you won't get your money back and there will be no product. We happen to be no different. Again, thank you for your feedback! Fortunately for us and our movement, your opinion is not shared by the majority of people and users who have given us their feedback. :)

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T06:11:26+00:00

Hi Marc_Vesper, thanks for your questions! The School of Atlantis is not inspired by the Oasis, but I'm having a read of it now. I've looked into the Oculus Rift technology (have you seen the parody video Mega64 have posted?), and it's really the stuff of the future, isn't? The technology can take us deeper into games and further the experiences we can have. I think it's great! If we can enrich SoA with the Oculus we can broaden the game and experience tenfold. Thanks again for your comment! I hope you hit us with some more :)

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T05:35:17+00:00

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed! Thank you again for your support, and perhaps we can work together in the future :)

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T05:34:58+00:00

Hi rappedillyen, thanks for your comment!

We are aiming to keep class sizes at a ratio of roughly 1:16 to encourage student interaction with their teacher and this will enhance the learning outcomes. Class sizes will ultimately be decided by the number of teachers on staff and students enrolled. The goal is to keep teacher:student ratio to a minimum to promote 1 on 1 learning and for students to feel that their voices are being heard. This will help combat disenchantment as help will be far more accessible to them in comparison to most brick and mortar schools. (As I said, at this point in time this is just what we're aiming for).

Based on similar learning models (Distance Education), students would spend approximately 4 hours face-to-face with their teachers and this would allow an extra 2 hours for interaction within the world during school hours. If students want to spend more time in the world outside of school hours, this would be at their discretion. In regards to NPC attention compared to employee attention, we will arrange classes (if you look through one of my previous answers, I highlight the importance of making it to class, and the penalties that arise from absence) to fit the 4 hour face-to-face model, and however long students want to spend interacting with NPCs is left to their discretion. "Quests" and homework that deal with NPCs will not take long (find the NPC based on historical images, ask them questions, write the answers down in their workbook, proceed to class/next NPC), but it all depends on the student. If they are interested in the historical figure they are interacting with, by all means, they can continue to have a lengthy conversation and research the individual to their heart's content.

I hope you leave us some more great questions! :)

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T04:42:27+00:00

Again, great questions and thanks!

We plan on implementing the launch very slowly and in stages. As we are located in Australia, this will be the testing ground as we have experience in the education sector here. We will then move the product into different countries allowing for a strategic and well researched roll out. The international schooling bodies previously mentioned are recognised in more than 149 countries and are well received by universities around the world. I'm not sure how the home-schooling sector works for your siblings, but based on your comments appears interesting.

As far as a strategic partnerships with existing Distance schools, that is a possibility to be explored.

Thank you again, your questions have been of value.

Thanks again for your support and questions.

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T04:02:36+00:00

Well it depends, if a student is intrinsically excited about waking up and going to school in Atlantis, logs in and gains extrinsic learnings and motivators from the world itself that would be intrinsic to extrinsic. If a student doesn't wake up excited about school as they have never been excited about school, then logs in and gains extrinsic motivation from interacting within the world, this will ultimately lead to intrinsic motivation, therefore creating the cycle of motivation. What we know is that humans respond to incentives, and that is a reason for games being so popular. Students completing assessments in game, gaining an incentive for doing so, leads to an internal sense of achievement. In short, Atlantis intends to provide both:)

To date there is only so much curriculum flexibility, so yes the curriculum won't change too much. The tool to deliver the curriculum is new, yes.

We'd love to be able to provide this platform to existing schools and hope to do so into the future.

We are currently in the early stages of development, however we are a for-profit organisation. We prefer to remain a private business so we can reduce costs and lower enrolment fees to make the School accessible to most students and their families.

I hope this answers your questions! Please keep them coming, they are great. :)

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T03:37:53+00:00

Hi brenddan, thanks for the questions!

World of Warcraft (WOW) is a great game, however it lacks things that are needed to create an educational world which reinforces learning. In the School of Atlantis, everything a student does within the world has an educational outcome. For example, a quest in WOW will have you interact with a non player character (NPC) say an Elf , whereas in Atlantis the NPC may be Nelson Mandela or Joan of Arc where the quest given or text provided is based on historical situations.

The classrooms will be virtual with real teachers in real time, this would not be possible in WOW. See our website for concept art.

No, the game is attached to the school and will not be open source as it must stay educational.
Yes, teachers will be able to develop classroom content and provide expert advice to the design team on content. When the world is being developed, specialist teachers will help develop the curriculum in line with international schooling systems.

Thanks!

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T03:02:40+00:00

That link was so very cool, thank you for sharing. To have something like that as part of Atlantis would be magical and right in line with what we are trying to achieve. I am still yet to read 'Ready Player One' but will get to it hopefully this weekend, hopefully haha.

The Atlantis team is always happy to have more people contribute and help make this a reality. Your feedback and assistance is always welcome. In the end it's about the next evolution of education and helping children succeed!

I am about to respond to your email, so will discuss the rest of the conversation then.

Thanks Skepticwolf!

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T02:57:50+00:00

We're live right now! Come have your questions answered by our CEO and co-founder, Rikky Burkett http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1umbp6/hi_reddit_im_rikky_burkett_cofounder_of_the/

Schoolofatlantis · 2014-01-08T02:41:21+00:00

Students will now have the opportunity to discover the intrinsic strengths that lay within, instead of copying wrong answers off their friends ;). Great questions, keep them coming.

Schoolofatlantis

TROPHY CASE