DebateFest Learning Academy Portal Development

Website

DebateFest.com

Platform

WordPress (Hosted on Hostinger)

Purpose

Develop a modern online learning academy that prepares students for DebateFest competitions through a structured 20-day learning experience.

The Academy should provide an engaging, gamified learning environment similar to Coursera, Khan Academy, Canvas, or Duolingo, while maintaining DebateFest branding and emphasizing critical thinking, public speaking, collaboration, research, and leadership.

Overall Goals

The DebateFest Academy should:

Prepare students before entering DebateFest competitions.
Release one lesson every 24 hours.
Encourage daily engagement.
Track student progress.
Reward achievement through badges and certificates.
Provide dashboards for students, coaches, parents, and administrators.
Integrate with the existing DebateFest WordPress website.
Branding

Theme Colors

Primary Blue

#103A80

Secondary Blue

#1F5FBF

Gold

#F4C542

Background

#EEF3FA

Fonts

Poppins
Montserrat

Design Style

Modern
Clean
Rounded corners
Large cards
Soft shadows
Professional educational appearance
User Types

The system shall support multiple user roles.

Administrator

Can

Create courses
Upload videos
Upload worksheets
Create quizzes
Create badges
Create certificates
View all students
View coach reports
View parent reports
Release announcements
View analytics
Export reports
Student

Can

Login
View dashboard
Watch lessons
Download resources
Complete quizzes
Earn XP
Earn badges
Track progress
Receive certificate
Register for DebateFest
Coach

Can

View roster
Monitor progress
View quiz scores
Download reports
Print certificates
Send announcements
Parent

Can

View child's progress
View certificates
View quiz scores
View attendance
View completed lessons
Login System

Secure login

Forgot Password

Email Verification

Remember Me

Profile photo

Role-based access

Dashboard

The Student Dashboard should resemble a professional LMS.

Sections include

Welcome Banner

Displays

Welcome back, Student Name

Current lesson

Course completion percentage

Motivational quote

Continue Learning button

Today's Lesson

Displays

Lesson number

Title

Estimated time

Status

Continue button

Course Progress

Circular progress indicator

Completed lessons

Remaining lessons

Estimated completion date

Learning Statistics

Display

Lessons completed

Learning streak

XP earned

Badges earned

Quiz average

Time spent learning

Daily Challenge

Displays

Today's challenge

Submit activity

Earn bonus XP

Debate Tip of the Day

Random motivational tip

Upcoming Lessons

Shows

Lesson title

Unlock date

Locked icon

Countdown timer

Resource Downloads

Student Journal

Research Organizer

Vocabulary

Worksheets

Graphic Organizers

Coach Notes

Notifications

Displays

Announcements

Competition reminders

Coach messages

Parent messages

Course Structure

Twenty Lessons

Each lesson follows identical structure.

Lesson includes

Video

Embedded YouTube or Vimeo

Lesson Objectives

Bullet list

Vocabulary

Important terms

Reading

Supporting content

Example

Sample debate

Activity

Interactive assignment

Downloadable Worksheet

PDF

Quiz

5–10 questions

Automatically graded

Reflection

Student journal

Homework

Optional

Lesson Release

Lessons unlock every 24 hours.

Example

Day 1

Lesson 1

Unlocked

Day 2

Lesson 2

Unlocked

Lesson 3

Locked

Day 20

Lesson 20

Unlocked

Students cannot skip ahead.

Gamification

Students earn XP for

Watching lessons

Completing quizzes

Completing activities

Daily login

Learning streak

Debate challenges

Badges

Examples

Research Rookie

Critical Thinker

Great Listener

Master Speaker

Evidence Expert

Question Champion

Team Collaborator

Debate Leader

Champion Debater

Leaderboard

Optional

Displays

Top XP

Top quiz scores

Top streaks

Top schools

Top coaches

Certificates

Automatic certificate

Includes

Student name

Course

Completion date

QR verification

Digital signature

Download PDF

Print

Coach Dashboard

Displays

Class roster

Progress

Lesson completion

Quiz scores

Certificates

Attendance

Upcoming lessons

Parent Dashboard

Displays

Student progress

Today's lesson

Quiz scores

Certificates

Badges

Announcements

Admin Dashboard

Manage

Students

Coaches

Parents

Courses

Lessons

Videos

Worksheets

Certificates

Badges

Notifications

Reports

Competition Integration

Dashboard includes

Upcoming DebateFest competitions

Register Team

Practice Debates

Competition Calendar

Resources

Resource Center

Organized by

Student Resources

Coach Resources

Judge Resources

Parent Resources

Downloads

Videos

Templates

Search

Search lessons

Search worksheets

Search videos

Search vocabulary

Mobile

Must be fully responsive

Desktop

Laptop

Tablet

Phone

Performance

Fast loading

Optimized images

Lazy loading

Caching

Minimal plugins

Security

SSL

Role permissions

Protected lessons

Secure downloads

Spam protection

Accessibility

WCAG 2.1 AA preferred

Keyboard navigation

Screen reader compatibility

High contrast support

WordPress Requirements

Hostinger compatible

Latest WordPress version

Preferably built using:

Custom WordPress theme or child theme
Custom Gutenberg blocks or Elementor compatibility (depending on the existing site)
WooCommerce integration for paid courses (if needed)
Tutor LMS Pro or LearnDash integration for course management
Clean, well-documented code
No unnecessary plugins
Future Expansion

The platform should be designed to support additional academies without redesigning the system, such as:

DebateFest Elementary Academy
DebateFest Middle School Academy
DebateFest High School Academy
Coach Certification Academy
Judge Certification Academy
Parent Academy
Summer Debate Academy
Public Speaking Academy
Leadership Academy
Deliverables

The freelancer should provide:

Fully functional WordPress-integrated DebateFest Academy.
Custom dashboard for all user roles.
Responsive design for desktop, tablet, and mobile.
Reusable lesson template.
Content drip (one lesson unlocked every 24 hours).
Quiz and progress tracking.
Badge and certificate system.
Resource library.
Administrator documentation explaining how to add lessons, videos, quizzes, and downloadable resources.
Source code and ownership transferred to NSIA upon project completion.
Success Criteria

The finished product should feel like a polished commercial online learning platform rather than a collection of WordPress pages. Students should enjoy logging in daily, easily track their progress, and be motivated to complete all 20 lessons before participating in DebateFest competitions. The system should also be easy for administrators to maintain and flexible enough to support future DebateFest educational programs.