Virtual Mayor
Virtual Mayor is the world's first omni-portal dedicated to educational reform through social networking, gamification and student-driven enterprises.
About You
About You
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Virtual Mayor Inc.
Organization Website
Organization Country
Canada, ON, Toronto
Country where this project is creating social impact
Canada, ON, Toronto
Is your organization a
Other
Your role in Education
Other.
The type of school(s) your solution is affiliated with
Public (tuition-free)
How long has your organization been operating?
1‐5 years
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Innovation
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Idea (you're poised to launch)
How long has your solution been in operation?
Still in idea phase, but looking to launch soon
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
Currently there is more war, hunger, environmental degradation, and worse yet, more ambivalence from the majority of the world’s population to these issues than ever before. It is time for the Majority --not simply the Minority--to facilitate stability, peace, awareness, and pro-activity. Virtual Mayor, the necessary middle point, unites the Minority with the Majority. As this Majority includes the youth, our current education systems must develop empathy in students so that they can be part of the solutions that improve conditions for billions of people around the globe. In order for the necessary educational paradigm shift to occur, new models are required that foster compassion, communication, creativity, critical problem solving, collaboration and cross-cultural relationship building.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
Virtual Mayor is the global omni-portal where students, individuals, and businesses align with non-governmental and governmental organizations to co-create and advance life-affirming programs, inventions, and enterprises. These ventures merge technology, social networking, gaming, education, 21st century leadership, and inclusivity. The Virtual Mayor system offers students and others the opportunity to fully engage in the most meaningful project-based learning environment possible: real life. Virtual Mayor proposes a 20-25% investment in its 21st c. model of project-based learning. By connecting individuals with organizations who also seek to lead and cause conscious system shifts through enterprises (that include the development of services, apps, games and sites), Virtual Mayor activates the enormous—and as yet, relatively untapped—resources that currently reside in the youth and others who will, for the first time in their lives, offer their unique contributions to the world.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
Virtual Mayor (VM) fosters the maximization of human potential by supporting the design, implementation and success of enterprises to create new life-affirming systems that render current unsatisfactory systems obsolete. Learning occurs both physically (in the class and local community) plus virtually on the VM social networking site. Students engage in project-based learning to strengthen their learning abilities plus cause full-spectrum system shifts in a field of their choosing, and for which they have passion.The scope of projects is limited only by the imagination of its creator(s). The major requirement is that each project demonstrates an intention to set and achieve specific measurable results, both for their own sake, and as evidence of the occurrence of a system shift. The VM system also addresses the need all people have for accessibility to cutting-edge learning and, thanks to technology, offers a ‘lifelong’ model that includes literacy and numeracy foundation. Empathy for others can flow with ease once students feel empowered within themselves. Right now we are connecting with academic and resource partners to demonstrate how students can create literacy-based learning objects to benefit both their own learning and the learning of others who can observe and be inspired by the creative ways in which the learning objects are developed. As VMs showcase their skills and craft their passions and projects into entrepreneurial opportunities, they may also earn academic placements, scholarships, prosperous business opportunities, &/or fulfilling employment.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Virtual Mayor is a strategy that integrates three critical needs: educational reform (both in school and retraining programs), engagement of youth, and global collaboration that fosters systemic changes. This integration is critical to the success of any initiative to cause full spectrum systemic shifts. In Virtual Mayor’s case education, psychology, business, entertainment, and technology merge for a powerful impact. In the field of educational reform, Students First addresses a number of issues that affect student performance in schools, but they have yet to propose meaningful project-based learning as a strategy. Free the Children successfully encourages youth engagement in projects, but does not fully integrate these projects into curricula, nor do they offer a social networking site.
Now that you have thought out your entry, help us pitch it.
Define your company, program, service, or product in 1-2 short sentences [136 characters]
Virtual Mayor: disrupt education with mind, body & spirit to improve the world & create your future.
Identify what is innovative about your solution in 1-2 short sentences [136 characters]
VM students "C" different: Compassion, Confidence, Cross-cultural bridges, Collaboration, Creativity, Communication, Critical thinking
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
This solution is just being implemented in its current form now, and data regarding its impact will be available soon. Different elements of the solution have been implemented in school and camp settings with hundreds of students benefitting from holistic literacy programs. The digital and project-based aspects of the solution are new.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
Within the next 3 years we intend to conduct Virtual Mayor workshops and integrate programs into 100's of elementary and secondary schools. Our experiences with teachers, parents and students have shown us the need and desire for effective education that develops the whole child as curriculum demands are met. More systems recognize the need for character based education, project based learning, collaboration and preparation for a technology-driven global market. Virtual Mayor meets these needs and ensures that all students open up empathically in the process. It is due to the matching of the needs to the elements of our solution that will help us grow our reach. To date, every school we have approached has been very interested in learning about how to participate in our current pilot.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
Launch The First Five Days and Virtual Mayor in 100 schools around the world!
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your six-month milestone
Task 1
Complete phase 1 of our pilot projects- completed by June 30, 2012
Task 2
Ensure that we have developed the social networking platform that can accommodate the growing number of users.
Task 3
Enroll 100 schools to launch The First Five Days and Virtual Mayor programs when school starts in September 2012.
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
Launch our First Annual Virtual Mayor Award Showcase Competition for the best enterprises identified by a global community.
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your 12-month milestone
Task 1
Create and communicate competition rules and regulations.
Task 2
Enrol sponsors for the competition: prizes, marketing and award venue.
Task 3
Announce the competition globally and accept entries.
Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world [125 words]
The defining moment for Virtual Mayor occurred in July 2010 when I was asked to be a campaign manager by a Toronto Mayoral candidate. As I investigated the possibility I could not find vision, integrity and follow-through among the candidates that aligned with my sense of what was needed. Thus, my desire to engage more people in democratic processes arose and Virtual Mayor, a web site for discussion of local issues was born. Out of a personal desire to be even more involved in the democratic process, I ultimately placed my own name on the ballot. After the election I merged the understanding I gained in that process with my previous 12 years in educational reform and realized that people must be a part of a meaningful system of support, education, and integration of all stakeholders to truly bring forward systemic changes that are needed. I soon saw how Virtual Mayor could harness technology to provide both the platform for this integration and a powerful model for education reform.
Sustainability
Tell us about your partnerships
Our partners include public and private schools with whom we are currently piloting our solution. They will be listed on our project development site soon.
Other partners include social enterprises whose work supports the needs of Virtual Mayors. One such partner is SoJo, an online resource for social entrepreneurs that focuses on user-friendly interfaces that learn how to support users by remembering their learning preferences. We are currently collaborating with SoJo as we conduct interdependent research and provide valuable data to assist teachers in better understanding their students.
What type of team (staff, volunteers, etc.) will ensure that you achieve the growth milestones identified in the Social Impact section? [75 words]
Generally the staff requirements are fairly small, approximately 5-7 full-time staff. This will include a full-time researcher for preparing and synthesizing research metrics; a communications person; an administrative assistant, a receptionist, and 2-3 web site managers, plus part-time legal advice regarding intellectual property and philanthropy. Our showcase event will require approximately 50 volunteers, which we expect to draw from the community of students with whom we will be working.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
We are looking for teachers and schools who want to pilot our solution with us. We provide a structure for innovative literacy programs and metrics regarding learning progress in a variety of areas and you provide students and instructional time. Legal advice regarding IP philanthropy also needed. Funding for staff involved in research, marketing and administrative work, too.
 | 8 weeks agoDiane Devenyi said: Hello Ravi, thanks for your interest! Virtual Mayor intends to impact all areas in which people can imagine, plan and follow through ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 8 weeks agoRavi Saxena said: Hello, This is very exciting. I was wondering if you could walk me through a typical example of how this would all play out. Say I ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 11 weeks agoDiane Devenyi said: Thank you Dara! We are launching our first pilot to demonstrate the impact of project-based learning in meeting both the traditional ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 11 weeks agoDara Feldman said: Hi Diane, Such unity in inviting all key stakeholders to disrupt education and focusing on mind, body & spirit to improve the world & ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 13 weeks agoDiane Devenyi updated this Competition Entry. |
| 13 weeks agoDiane Devenyi updated this Competition Entry. |
| 13 weeks agoDiane Devenyi submitted this idea. |
