What are two actions that children naturally engage in? If you think, ask questions and play, then you are correct! With this in mind, the co-founders of Big Bang Academy, Nixon Chan and Sara Tong, developed an educational app called Big Bang Lab that seeks to ‘revolutionize’ self-directed learning in STEAM. Through a storytelling format and charming characters, the app offers over 100 lessons with hands-on experiments, mini games and checkpoint quizzes. The company has also outlined a trajectory of goals to demonstrate how the funds will be used, with an emphasis on empowerment of women and girls in the science field:
Is this a venture that you would invest in? Check it out!
As an EVA and a mother of a toddler, this particular venture is one I would consider because it is an app I would download for my daughter! The pitch itself was not the best, but the content on the kickstarter page provided ample information to convince me otherwise. The background of the co-founders and their personal story towards the startup made the pitch more compelling and credible (as engineering graduates from the University of Cambridge). Though there are a plethora of children’s apps available, I believe their competitive edge is with the storytelling format which appeals to a younger audience and the engaging hands-on activities, not to mention that the STEAM field is a hot market. The site lays out a venture plan and timeline with how the proceeds will be spent and a stretch target that coincides with their value of supporting the representation of girls in STEAM by providing “offer 1-year unlimited free access of our web app to 100 girls from our community partners”- that is an incentive that I can stand behind.
I would not invest in this kickstarter based on the pitch. If we deconstruct the pitch, I wish they more so clearly stated the gap that the app will address. They state that it will revolutionize STEAM learning, but didn’t clarify how they would in comparison to other apps or even in-class learning. This app is similar to other apps that I have seen, but it is different because it is focusing on STEAM. I have seen math and literacy games with a similar format. However, I question how many parents and teachers would purchase this app, versus a similar math or literacy app because from my experience, parents focus on these two areas for at-home learning, more than science. They didn’t clarify how the users/buyers would be reached, which was unfortunate because marketing is pivotal to the success of this app, as education apps are quite competitive. They also didn’t talk about the competitors, and they are entering a competitive market. They wanted about $110,000-200,000 as an investment for user experience and the addition of more games. Right now, they have 100 games. I think this would have been more successful if they gave us better insight into what one of the levels look like. Also, there is a DIY part of the game where the children can experiment at home. However, this requires parents to purchase supplies to actually conduct the experiment, so I am not sure how much parents would use this. I think if they focused on what a level looks like, an example DIY activity, the competition, and marketing, they would have had a more successful pitch. For the above stated reasons, I would not invest in this kickstarter.
I would not invest in this venture in its current form. Although, I felt that their emphasis on learning being aligned with the curriculum of three different countries and basing their platform around an inquiry-driven model was compelling, they were trying to do too many things at once for it to be effective in all areas. My first concern is that I do not believe that this program would be effective for all ages. For the pitch to be more convincing I would have expected to see some visual representation of the product being used by older children, closer to 12 years of age. As children get older their questions tend to be more complex and less predictable, so I would want more information on how the program stays centred on student inquiry with the material meant for older grades. The characters that guide the user through the experience seem engaging for younger learners but would not hold the attention of a child over 10 in the same way. Encouraging girls to develop a passion for STEM is also a cornerstone of their business practice, which, while a worthwhile endeavour, seems to be mentioned mainly for marketing purposes. There is nothing about this program in particular that encourages a love of STEM in girls in particular and although they say that they will give free subscriptions to 100 girls through partners it is unclear who these girls are, how they will be chosen and wether this will be a yearly occurrence or a one time event. I would be very likely to invest in this venture if they limited they program to children under the age of 10 and provided more information on how they plan to encourage girls to participate in STEM.
I’m particularly intrigued by the section where the creator mentions “hands-on experiments” and DIY time. It’s widely understood that hands-on experiments require a significant amount of tools and equipment. Merely having a mobile app that offers videos or simulation games involving tapping and dragging wouldn’t truly provide an authentic hands-on experiment experience. While the app could potentially offer instructional videos guiding users through the experiments, solely following a video isn’t necessarily educational. Perhaps I’ve misunderstood this aspect, but I genuinely care about and value this component. It would greatly benefit from further elaboration and additional details to clarify the intended educational experience.
I’m particularly intrigued by the section where the creator mentions “hands-on experiments” and DIY time. It’s widely understood that hands-on experiments require a significant amount of tools and equipment. Merely having a mobile app that offers videos or simulation games involving tapping and dragging wouldn’t truly provide an authentic hands-on experiment experience. While the app could potentially offer instructional videos guiding users through the experiments, solely following a video isn’t necessarily educational. Perhaps I’ve misunderstood this aspect, but I genuinely care about and value this component. It would greatly benefit from further elaboration and additional details to clarify the intended educational experience.