Below you will learn more about our web-app: the project, the plan, & the perks. 

As of today, you can go to Skoyz.com to watch instructional videos, but your support will allow players like you to:

• log practice and share successes
• create player profiles with all of your achievements, ribbons, and updates
• upload videos to record progress on skills
• join teams & participate in team challenges
• access more instructional videos 
  

What is Skoyz? Skoyz is a web application that allows users to learn, log, and share new skill development with the goal of fostering a culture of curiosity and self-directed engagement. Initial content will include instructional videos for juggling and other skill toys, but this project will allow players to customize the app to any physical skill.

In the 21^st century, we need to be willing to learn new tricks, daring enough to take the risk, and confident that we can master new skills. Why not start practicing that mindset with something fun?

They have been used for hundreds and thousands of years to develop hand-eye coordination for hunting, to entertain the masses during tough economic times, and to impress travelling dignitaries. Although differences in culture, politics, and available resources may create friction between groups of people, a love of play and the desire to develop new skills creates connection and unites communities.

What does Skoyz mean? Skoyz is a name we came up with a few years ago (even before the idea for the app). It is a fun combination of the words “skill” and “toys.” Since skill toys are the tools we use in our workshops to engage individuals and build teams, we knew it would come in handy someday.

Once we had the idea for the app, we knew the name was a perfect fit because skill toys provided the inspiration for the app.

Why juggle or play with skill toys? We have been teaching these skills to teens and adults for over a decade and there is a wide range of benefits leading to whole person wellness.

• Problem Solving: Skill toys give immediate feedback as to whether our efforts are working. If we pay attention to what is happening, make adjustments, and try again, we are practicing problem solving skills.
• Resilience: Dropping is just part of the process of learning to juggle and play with skill toys. It may be a little messy at first, but picking the object up and trying again builds resilience.
• Flow: When we are completely absorbed in an activity and working in our optimal zone of learning, we are in a state of flow which is essential to our overall well-being.
• Physical Break: Most of us sit all day – in the car, at our desks, on our couch. We need more low intensity activities that we can do throughout the day to get up from our seats and move our bodies.
• Mental Break: When we focus our attention on solving a problem at work or school, a mental break can provide the space for the connections and insights to occur. Research shows that the brain is actually very active when “doing nothing.”
• Fun: We all need more opportunities to laugh and play.

Why would I need an app? In order to be successful in learning new skills, learners need a few things: good instruction, a way to track and reflect on progress, and opportunity to share successes with others and feel part of a team. Skoyz makes it easy to learn, log, and share from anywhere.

Where did you get this idea? Paul: I’m an avid skill toy player. I was constantly in search of new skill toys to learn. The more I discovered, the harder it became to keep track of the tricks I was working on and what tricks to work on next. Then one day as I was getting ready to go for a run, I clicked on an app to track my distance and time. That moment was the moment I realized I need something similar for my skill toy practice.

Dawn: Around the same time, I had been struggling with ways we could help the afterschool and library groups that we work with measure the impact of their programs beyond the few hours they spend with the kids each day or week. The idea for creating a team moderator that could communicate with team members, create team challenges, and share custom content took shape.

What has been done so far? We’ve begun developing Skoyz. Today you can browse content and begin learning. Your support of this project will allow us to add the ability for players to log practice and join teams.

What will the funds be used for? We are a juggler and a teacher with limited programming abilities. Over the last year, we made the plunge and began learning a lot about use cases, data bases, and design assets, and other tools that programmers live and breathe. Luckily, we have a team of amazing advisors.

We have invested our money in the development thus far, but need your help to build it out further. Based on estimates from software developers and designers, the amount needed to add the log, share, and team functionality is $30,000. We already have talented programmers that have done the first phase of development, and they are lined up to complete the project once we have the funding.

Why crowdfund? We are coming to you through Indiegogo because we want to start building a team of players today. We want Skoyz to be a community of individuals like you that are becoming even more awesome.

The Timeline:

• Idea for App: Fall 2012
• Research and Customer Discovery: December 2012 – June 2013
• Programming and Design for 1st Iteration: June 2013 - present
• 1st Iteration Release (browse and learn juggling videos): April 2014
• Additional Content (additional skills to learn): Spring and Summer 2014
• Release (learn, log, share & teams): September 2014

How can I help? Choose from one of the many options of Skoyz perks and help us spread the word.

• Let people know about the project through email, social media, and good-old fashioned face to face conversation.
• Put us in touch with press contacts or bloggers that you think might be interested in writing about Skoyz.
• Ask your company to sponsor a team at a local library or afterschool program.
• Post to groups or listservs that you belong to.
• Create and post an endorsement video about this project, working with us, or the awesomeness of juggling.

We have a number of perks for you to choose from and just wanted to explain a few in more details.

Player Accounts: All player and player plus accounts will automatically get a limited edition Founding Player ribbon added to your profile for supporting our campaign.

• Guest Account – available to everyone at no cost; allows the user to view instructional videos and learn on their own.
• Player Account – available to $2 supporters; allows the user to learn, log practice, and share through social media; for players 13 years or older
• Player Plus Account – available to $5 supporters; allows the user to learn, log, and share as well as join teams and customize content; for players 13 years or older

• Family Team – moderator + 5 Player Plus invites
• Club Team – moderator + 25 Player Plus invites
• Division Team – moderator + 100 Player Plus invites
• Minor League Team - moderator + 500 Player Plus invites
• Major League Team - moderator + 1000 Player Plus invites

Create a team for your organization or sponsor a team for a local afterschool program, library, or camp in your area. If you would like to provide this experience for teens, but don’t have a group in mind, feel free to contact us for suggestions of organizations in your area. We have a list of organizations that have Skoyz on their wish list.

Performances, workshops, and other fun stuff: We have included an number of other services that help to bring the juggling and skill toy experience to your community.

• Performance – Paul Miller’s 45 minute comedy juggling show; for more information visit FlowCircus.com
• Team building workshops – Hands-on and interactive session for adult groups; for more information, visit SkoyzWellness.com
• T-shirts & Euro stickers

Paul Miller: An entrepreneur and nationally touring performing artist, Paul brings creativity and enthusiasm to every project he tackles. His early career experiences in the hospitality industry and street performing where unhappy customers could just walk away taught him that connecting with your audience is at the core of customer service. He went on to create Flow Circus, a successful education company promoting active learning and play through the juggling arts. In 2013, Paul co-founded Skoyz Wellness to provide companies with a tool to increase productivity by making individuals, teams, and organizations stronger.

Dawn Daria: An award winning educator and author, Dawn loves to inspire individuals to step out of their comfort zone in order to discover something new about themselves, each other, and the world. Her natural ability to assess group dynamics and facilitate collaboration has been critical to her success as a teacher, educational consultant, and curriculum developer. She has taught a variety of skills to a wide-range of ages, but her favorite has to be working with teens. They are primed for risk-taking and self-discovery, but at the same time their fresh perspective on the world has much to teach adults. In 2013, Dawn co-founded Skoyz Wellness to utilize her knowledge of learning, motivation, leadership, and teamwork to engage individuals, strengthen teams, and enhance organizational culture.

Our thanks:

We want to thank you in advance for supporting our campaign, helping to spread the word, and providing more opportunities for teens and adults to play and learn.