Originally posted by MET student Molly on 23/09/2018
I came across this Kickstarter pitch for immersive language training through VR technology.
ImmerseMe: Using Virtual Reality to Learn Languages
8 responses to “ImmerseMe: Using Virtual Reality to Learn Languages”
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No, I would not invest in ImmerseMe for Education… but as a French as a second language teacher, this pitch definitely has me excited and intrigued.
This technology addresses a pain point when teaching second languages… Getting students to engage in meaningful dialogue and conversation! In today’s overcrowded classrooms, this is near impossible and it is essential when learning to speak a second language. The solution ImmerseMe offers is great for most students who are too shy to practice speaking a new language aloud for fear of embarrassment (which is usually over half the class)!
I believe ImmerseMe would be a great personal translation tool (to be used for travelling and leisure), but due to curriculum constraints it has a long way to go before the company is able to build a sizable enough library to teach the content the curriculum requires. I also believe there is too much competition in the AR & VR market in Education.
Yes, I would probably invest in this venture. I would definitely be interested in hearing a more detailed venture pitch. My analysis of the pitch (and Kickstarter site) is as follows:
1. CEO & Team: Scott Cardwell seems, as much as I can tell from the video, like a confident and capable leader for this venture. He has 10 years in online languages education, which is expertise that I trust to be useful for designing this product as an educational tool. He also has experience launching another online language learning platform. Additionally, Scott seems to have recruited a team with expertise necessary to provide a premium product (e.g. award-winning videographer, language expert, IT expert) and appears to have already put in a good deal of effort to network, seek feedback about and grow support for his product.
2. Venture Concept: The venture seems to be an original take on language learning, by building providing truly immersive experiences to build student confidence in real-life interactions and speaking skills. I would want to do more research on competition. Their Kickstarter site mentions wanting to beat any competitor response and claims that it will be the first VR-based languages content.
3. Marketability: ImmerseMe is targeting K-12 education through partnerships with schools. They will provide supplementary materials for teachers and have experts in the Australian Curriculum as part of the team. I would be curious to know if they have the capability to adapt the curriculum for a global market, or if they plan to market only to AusNZ schools. They also plan to reach holiday and business travellers but have not mentioned what partnerships or marketing techniques will be used to reach this audience. According to their Kickstarter page, ImmerseMe has the advantage of being first to the scene and is looking to be the first to build exclusive relationships with education clients.
4. Venture Plan: I would want more detailed information here. How many schools do they need to subscribe over what period of time? is the plan to achieve that? They do propose a 3-5 year timeframe as being critical and a $15,000 investment requirement, as well as other logistic support for their film crew. Other questions: do schools have budgets that will support purchasing an ImmerseMe subscription? They plan to launch all 10 languages immediately… will these be of sufficient quality after the single filming tour? Once they have partner schools and the product is launched, how do they plan to expand and improve ImmerseMe? What returns can investors expect and over what period of time?
Bottom-line: as an Australian-trained teacher, traveller, and language-learner who struggles with speaking confidence I am extremely optimistic about this product. However, I am also aware that I may also be blinded by my excitement as a potential user. That said, in addition to providing finances, these qualities could also allow me to connect ImmerseMe with travel agents, schools and curriculum experts in Canada, the US and Australia, as well as assist with global connections. Prior to pledging support, I would ask for a more specific financial and market plan covering requirements and expectations for the next 5 years.
On a more recent COVID note: I would also want a revised plan of market trends and expansion capabilities during the pandemic. Has enough content already been captured, or do travel restrictions impede content creation? Are more schools likely to sign on now that there is a push for online and blended learning? Will fewer holidaymakers and business travellers mean a significant loss to their customer base? Or, will a lack of travel mean more people want virtual travel experiences?
Hi Jessica!
I agree with you!!! I really liked your comprehensive analysis.
I would invest in this venture as well. As someone who works in the ESL industry in Asia, using VR in education has been a hot topic, and even though there are lots of people making the hardware glasses part, there seems to lack quality content used for education. I think Scott has a good team set up and he seems to understand quite well that having actual educators onboard is important in creating quality content. Most importantly, I think he is driven by passion and intrinsic motivation rather than simply to make money.
I think it’s important for him to also search for hardware providers who are looking for quality content, that way he can also keep updated on what kinds of content is in demand in the market. One area I would be more concerned with is his plan to upgrade. In the VR industry, everything has to be updated so quickly so that your product doesn’t look “old”. So I would want to know what language programs he also planned, and what his future plans are in terms of iterative updates.
Emily
YES, I would invest in this venture. I can see a tremendous amount of potential here, both as an educator and as the founder and editor of a digital travel and culture magazine.
As an educator, this is a fun and interactive way to practice and apply your language learning, with language educators involved. As a travel writer, this is something that my readers would love, especially right now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it would allow for some virtual travel and culture learning, along with a bit of dreaming for when the pandemic is done.
I have another hat though as an EVA, and that is one of a filmmaker. In this regard, I see that Scott is charismatic, has an air of ease about him and is likeable. This is important, as if he is filming everyday people and businesses, he needs to set them at ease in order to have them come across relaxed and not staged on camera. I am glad Scott has a professional videographer on the project as the quality of video / filming makes a huge difference in VR as to whether people get motion sick. In this bent, I’d want to see more of Tim’s videography before investing.
I do have a few potential concerns as an EVA, which will have me digging deeper before I invest. These include:
– some of the testimonials come across as stage (Anne-Marie Morgan for example appears to be reading off of a script)
– some of the travel shots showed a guy that looks like Scott having a wild time, so I’d want to know that I am not simply funding his holiday
– are they giving back to the communities they visit / are they paying for their home stays and the people and establishments where they film (I am of the opinion that as travellers and filmmakers we need to give to the communities we visit and not just take – plus I’d be leary of a venture that can’t pay their own way while on a work assignment)
I had the same thought about the rigid testimonials! I’m assuming these are just ‘normal’ people who aren’t very comfortable being in front of the camera (and gave them the benefit of the doubt) but it did create hostage-situation vibes.
I think giving back to the communities is a great idea. It sounded like they were looking for donations of time, lodging and businesses, as well as young people to help connect stories around the world. However, I wonder if they could also use this as a platform to inform the global customers of local issues and initiatives, and perhaps provide donations of the technology to local communities that support the project?
Chuckling at the description of ‘hostage-situation vibes’. Aptly put.
I would not invest. My reasoning is simply – experience that VR in the educational space is not going to based on the use of VR headsets! I think the future here will be using VR web-based 360 tools (a more traditional example would be Google Earth) and hopefully more AR based apps for interactive activity. I have tried to incorporate VR headsets into teaching and learning pedagogies in higher education institutions and the obstacles are many: cost, physical (people with glasses) and motion sickness. Students do love the 360 videos and images and that is why I say that VR web-based tools are possible.
I agree with the comments above though that the idea of an interactive learning tool for languages is really important and I can appreciate why the teachers and students who Scott Cardwell interviewed would really be excited by it. However, the reality of incorporating VR headsets into our classrooms is not going to be successful as so as an EVA I would not invest. I would see this market as being prime for AI as well as potentially AR using tablets and phones rather than headsets.
I can appreciate Scott Cardwell’s passion in the pitch and it is clear that he sees that language learning lacks ‘excitement’ in general. I would encourage him though to look at the research which in recent times has illustrated that educational institutions are not ‘biting’ on the VR headsets, but VR training is certainly huge in the private company sector. See point 52 from this Hackeducation blog (http://hackeducation.com/2019/12/31/what-a-shitshow), or this detailed report on VR headsets generally from The Verge (https://www.theverge.com/a/virtual-reality).