INTeacher App is a mobile app that provides teachers with tools to support students with diverse abilities and special needs. As an affordable app that can be accessed by phone, tablet, or computer, it provides teachers with over 100 microlessons and on-demand UDL support.
Here is the link to our co-authored venture pitch website: INTeacher App.
Be inclusive. Make a difference with INTeacher.
Please let us know your thoughts.
Joyce Lo and Joseph Kwan
FEEDBACK – I believe the on-demand, microlearning aspect of your venture has significant potential. I wonder however, if perhaps you could seek a partnership with a well-established leader in the field (university, organization, etc) to give the learning experience more credibility. When I personally seek PD opportunities, the organization that delivers the content is an important deciding factor. Well done!
Hi Josh, we think it is a wonderful idea to have an app that incorporates both on-demand support and microlearning. The idea of this app came from my experience as a teacher and then transitioning to becoming a special needs parent. I get to see what inclusion is like from different perspectives. There is definitely a need for support for teachers in learning more about how to create true inclusive classrooms. We have experts in the field working on the development of the app, but I like your idea about seeking a partnership with a well-established organization in the field to give the learning experience more credibility. We need to pay attention to optics.
Hi guys, I’m glad to see micro learning is up here and you tackled it from the viewpoint of a venture. In my last course, I had created a micro learning website/mobile with a group and being just an assignment, it never went further. I think micro learning for teachers to upload their own content and foster learning in their class promotes independent growth and exploration of teacher talents in how they create and adapt to different learning needs using tech. I am surprised however, about how there is no competition yet which allows you to be in better position to run with this 🙂 Perhaps a co-design session with educators can help refine content further and improve the app.
Well done!
Luke
Hi Luke, thanks for your encouraging words! The INTeacher app has great potential in that teachers can get short and focused lessons to learn and gain skill sets for the areas that they find are lacking. In addition, if they have any questions or need help in planning a lesson that is inclusive, they can access the on-demand UDL support. We did think about allowing educators to collaborate and upload their own content on INTeacher, but it was not going to be a part of the app. It was going to be on the INTeacher website where users can go to share and learn from each other. It is a great idea to build the upload/share function onto the app so information can be more central for easier access. Thank you for the idea!
Where can I get an INTeacher shirt ??? Love the idea of providing teachers access to modern and cutting-edge materials to enhance their abilities in the classroom. I’m wondering if you have any thoughts / concerns on how to get teachers to buy in — they’re super busy as you said. Maybe there’s an opportunity to establish partnerships with school districts and institutions as a whole to create incentives? I’m thinking there’s potential here to establish a community of instructors on the app as well…
Hi Lyon, if you join our team, you get the INTeacher shirt for FREE! You asked about whether we have concerns on how to get teachers to buy in because they are super busy. Our INTeacher app is developed for this reason. Teachers are busy so they need help that can be accessed anytime anywhere. Our goal is to provide support to teachers so that promoting inclusion in the classroom does not become a daunting task. From my experience as a teacher, I do not know who is in my class until September each year. By the time I see my students, I do not have time to go take full online courses on how to deal with a number of different learning needs and challenges. With INTeacher, teachers can search for the topic they want and complete a lesson in 5-10 minutes. If they do not have time to complete a micro lesson, they could just use the on-demand UDL support. Thanks for the idea for establishing partnerships with school districts and institutions to create incentives for teachers to use the app. That is something we would need to look into. Perhaps the certificates that teachers receive after completion of their microlessons can be submitted for recognition.
Hi both,
Fun that you did it as a team! Micro-learning is an interesting one – I am not convinced by it at the institutional level. I think like language learning apps (Duolingo for example) it has potential at the individual level but I am not sure that targeting school districts. I definitely see the need and wonder if it would be best framed as a lesson provider for teachers? I was definitely surprised that there is no competition – but that might be something to think about.
Hi Siobhán, our INTeacher app is unique in that it offers microlessons AND on-demand UDL support for teachers who work within the K-12 education system in Canada. In our venture pitch, we stated that this is our target group. There are approximately 70,000 teachers in British Columbia and over 700,000 teachers in Canada, there is a need to provide K-12 teachers with the tools to develop their skill sets and confidence in providing an inclusive classroom environment for all students. The buyers for this app are the BC Ministry of Education, district school boards, and school administrators who want to invest in their education support programs and teachers. Research shows that in order for teachers to be able to create inclusive class settings, they need to have training and support. Our INTeacher app was created to fill this gap. As a quick analogy, if we are a taxi company, we need to provide our drivers with GPS in their vehicle. Without the GPS, the drivers could still drive, but would need more assistance and guidance in finding their way around the city. The taxi company is like the school board, the drivers are like the teachers, and the GPS is like our INTeacher app.
Hi Joyce and Joseph,
The IN teacher app is a good solution to the problem you pose. Indeed it would be beneficial to teachers to have an app where they can access training to be able to help them meeting the needs of their students. One suggestion that I would have is to have at least an example of they types of training that I could find in the app. For example, is the training to help with IEPs?
Thank you,
Adriana
Hi Adriana, thank you for taking the time to review our app. On our INTeacher app website, we have listed some examples of the microlearning courses that users can take to earn badges and certificates. From experience as a teacher and a special needs parent, training is important especially when it can target and fill the gaps in our knowledge and experience. This is why we have designed the app so that the user can choose their own path of learning and choose which topic to focus on. Right now we do not have a specific course on training to help with IEPs. Thank you for your suggestion. That could be one that we can develop in the future. Here is the link to our INTeacher app: https://sites.google.com/view/inteacherapp/inteacher-app