Tech Project
Description of the challenges faced by the Tech Project
VR Unity is the platform that Appyness Online is built on and Zeeko has the resources in Unity Development to support the artist. Appyness Online is a peer to peer education platform where young people teach each other about internet safety Challenges 1) Artistically constrained 3D environment where there is an opportunity to be creative to create quality content to engage young people with the content to produce better learning outcomes 2) Create suitable immersive content to engage but not harm young people with 3D immersive content 3) Zeeko has surveyed over 50,000 young people on their digital behaviours. The challenge is to interpret this research and create visual content to engage young people and create awareness about challenges online.
Brief description of technology
Cyberbullying is a major challenge for school, taking the lives of many young people each year. The latest statistics from the EU estimate that up to 40% of children will be damaged by contact with cyberbullying each year. However, schools struggle to find engaging ways to educate children about cyberbullying, and change their behaviour. With this project, we have the opportunity to change that. The artist will be provided with Zeeko's customisable Virtual Reality platform, Appyness Online, as well as with VR headsets and a Unity Developer who will help them integrate the work. The artist will work alongside Zeeko's in-house developer in order to create video-based immersive storytelling experience, capture from three points of view – that of a cyberbully, a cyberbullying victim, and a bystander. The system will then be taken to schools, where children can use VR headsets to interact with the different stories from each character's perspective. Through engaging with these stories, children will be able to develop empathy for each of the key actors in cyberbullying. This will ultimately work to reduce cyberbullying, through an approach using radical empathy and cutting edge immersive VR technology.
What the project is looking to gain from the collaboration and what kind of artist would be suitable
Zeeko would be so excited to collaborate with a creative, innovative video artist, who has experience creating engaging characters and stories, most especially artistry that is appealing to young people. The artist would be given the freedom to work closely with experts in the field of psychology, unity development and education. By working alongside our current team, the artist will be given the flexibility to create and pioneer new ways to educate young people. Pupils in the classroom today have a fantastic opportunity through the medium of technology to learn new concepts. The artist will be at the forefront of this, by collaborating with Zeeko! The content for these students will be 3D, engaging and will compliment our curriculum for teaching young people critical thinking skills. They will be Innovative and artistic and have the chance to use State of the art technology. Who would be suitable? 1) Creative thinker 2) Innovative videographer 3) Diverse background from a different industry 4) End to end project management experience.
Resources available to the artist
Office space with a team of colleagues in Nova innovation centre in Dublin. Team of developers, psychologists and illustrator to support artist Technology laptop and IT support and reliable wifi connection Part of Research & Development team HR Manager support through training and development plan with reviews in Month 2, Month 4 and Month 6.