By Team Bisaya Hackers
UPGrade is a gamified, "learn-to-earn" educational platform designed to transform the student experience. By turning academic milestones into cooperative boss fights and rewarding daily study habits with real-world school supplies, UPGrade shifts classroom culture from isolated competition to a collaborative "Bayanihan" system.
UPGrade syncs with a school's Learning Management System (LMS) and translates academic progress into an engaging RPG-style adventure:
- The Dashboard: Students log in to view their custom avatar, track their Level and XP, monitor their Barya (in-game coin) balance, and face off against the current "Active Boss" (e.g., a looming Midterm Exam).
- The "Sari-Sari Store" (Marketplace): A dedicated hub where students can exchange their earned Barya for actual, physical school supplies (e.g., yellow pads, black pens).
Learning is no longer a solo journey. UPGrade forces classes to work together to defeat academic challenges:
- Minor Attacks (Daily Review): Students complete daily flashcards and AI-generated review quizzes. Correct answers act as "basic attacks," chipping away at the Boss's HP and ensuring continuous daily engagement.
- Ultimate Attacks (Major Assessments): When a major exam drops on the LMS, the app pulls the class average score. If the class hits the target average (e.g., 85%), it unleashes a massive "Critical Strike" that defeats the Boss.
- The Cooperative Catch: Because the ultimate attack relies on the class average, high-performing students are incentivized to host study groups and help struggling classmates. If one student fails, the boss might survive!
UPGrade features a self-sustaining model designed to directly benefit students:
- Earning: Students earn Barya for dealing damage, maintaining login streaks, and participating in class-wide Boss defeats.
- Funding: The ecosystem is sustained by non-intrusive, highly targeted, education-adjacent ads (e.g., college review centers, student meal discounts, stationery brands).
- Redemption: Students generate an in-app QR code to claim their physical items at partnered school cafeterias, libraries, or local sari-sari stores.
- Inclusive & Equitable: Directly tackles financial barriers by providing essential school supplies to students who might struggle to afford them.
- Lifelong Learning: Replaces isolated rote memorization with active peer-to-peer tutoring and community success.
This interactive prototype was built using modern web technologies to demonstrate the core user journey:
- Frontend Framework: React 18 with TypeScript
- Styling & UI: Tailwind CSS, Framer Motion (for fluid animations), Lucide React (Icons)
- Build Tool: Vite
- AI Integration: Google Gemini API (Powering dynamic study materials and interactions)