Dave Horn
Hi Everyone, Thanks very much for all the great discussions, input, and ideas. I definitely know that I will be drawing upon a lot of them as I continue to progress through education and administration. I have two suggestions for revisions to this course. The first is a minor structural one, where I’d have liked […]
Continue reading Future Consideration Posted in: Uncategorized Hi and welcome to E3 Consulting. We specialize in building mobile e-Learning programs and training for educators, and are actively working to re-shape the mobile e-Learning market. Take a look at our introductory Elevator-pitch video to find out more. If you are interested in possible venture opportunities, read our Venture Pitch for further details. A […]
Continue reading Hi and welcome to E3 Consulting. We spec… Posted in: Venture Forum
Hi Dave,
I think that your focus on mobile devices is very fitting for the current educational technology market! This is certainly an area with potential for growth in the next several years. I thought that the tone of your pitch was very professional, though you spent quite a while explaining mobile learning, which was good information, but did not tell me specifically about your venture.
I am interested in the venture itself, as the market is strong and there is interest in the area. I am curious how you plan to work around the built in teacher dislike of mobile devices – is there anything other than teacher training? As well, do teachers pay for the training or is it included with your company’s consultations?
Nice work, thanks for sharing the ideas!
-Meggan
One of the strategies I am taking with teachers and mobile devices is to actually have all of my teachers have one and we have provided several initial training sessions plus in school support teams. Training would involve not only the whole school, but also building up a team at each school to peer-mentor and then we could provided on going training and program development. The school/school board would pay for the training, though I do see potential in offering extra courses for teachers who were particularly keen, could be a great way to accumulate new staff and contacts.
Dave
Hi Dave,
Thanks for sharing your pitches. Thought you did a great job like all of us. It was nice to see the man himself speaking about the venture as this adds some amount of credibility. The voice over was very clear and so too the lighting. I do agree with you that many of our youths own a device or two. I would say, too many! The concept was clear and its features.
I do notice you did not mention your marketing team.
You spoke about the potential investment, market share, I would certainly love to hear more about global market to make a decision on investment.
~ Shawn
Thanks for the feedback. I can’t actually tease my students about mobile devices as I border on owning too many as well. The trick is to find ways to make use of them and then they become less of a distraction.
Dave
Hello Dave,
I like how you presented a reflection along with your venture pitch. It gave me an idea of where you were coming from and how this idea could actually become a reality.
I felt that your Elevator pitch was clear and genuine but a little “over the minute time limit”. I would liked to have received more details about the future of your venture and yearly goals.
All in all a good venture and you have definitely found an investment area that hasn’t been tapped.
Donna
I know it was over the minute mark, I had practiced speech without filming and was around the 1:05 mark, but for some reason seemed to be slower on camera. Definitely something to work on.
Thanks for the feedback.
Dave
Hi Dave,
As an investor I would have to say that I am interested in your initial proposition, however, I am wondering why there was no mention of the partnership with Mindstorms in your elevator pitch. That partnership with your company seems pretty important and as an investor, I worry when you say that Mindstorms can pull out of the agreement early. I think to rest my mind at ease, your company would need to secure a long term contract with Mindstorms to ensure that the venture is able to reach its full potential before having something devastating happen like Mindstorm withdrawing. Three years seems a little short to give your services time to reach their full potential.
Also, I am a bit confused with the end product that your company is providing. Are you providing only mobile e-learning solutions and support or are you providing a BYOD learning support? Perhaps a combination of both? I think if I were to invest, I would like to see your company provide services specific to the institutions you are servicing, be it either an e-learning platform and support or BYOD. Also, I would like to see long term contracts signed with the institutions that you are providing your solutions to and services available to them once the contracts are completed at additional cost.
All in all, your idea is good, but I would need to know more about the long term future of E^3 before signing over my $250,000.
Thanks,
Kenton Hemsing
Hi Kenton
I had originally made note of my partnership with Mindstorm, but then was trying to cut down word length, which still ended up being too long once on film, but should have found a way to keep it as the partnership is important.
It was definitely a guess on how long a partnership with Mindstorm should/would reasonably make sense, and as I consider it now I think I would have mentioned the option to approach several other companies, which make similar products as a secondary option.
The goal was to provide both plans,support, and training for mobile e-Learning so it appears I need to make that clearer.
Thanks for the very useful feedback.
Dave
Hi Dave,
The E3 Consulting venture with its focus on using mobile devices for quality educational purposes is certainly targeting a growing market in education. Personalized learning and the need for students to develop 21st century skills are also hot topics. You captured my attention but didn’t fully describe what you’re marketing and how E3 Consulting satisfies the challenge of assisting educators in allowing for personalized learning options or the development of skills.
Claire
Hi Dave, the market you are entering is very large and as an investor this is what I like to see. You appear to be a great fit for the role of CEO and I agree that mobile devives will become more common and accepted in the near future and it appears that your venture is well positioned to take advantage of this. I would have liked for you to mention your partnership in your elevator pitch as this would be very interesting for an investor to know. I am interested in investing in your venture but need some more information on what exactly your product is and how as an investor I make money.
Cheers,
Greg
Thanks for the feedback, I will definitely be working on the clarity of the products/services and how investors can make money.
Dave
HI Dave,
I thought you came across as defintely good CEO material in your elevator pitch! It was punchy and passionate and I was ready to read on with the venture pitch.
In reading the venture pitch I thoguht your clear and succinct approach was engagng. I also liked your personal signoff at the end like a letter. If I understood you correctly the company is offering services and product which is a bonus for the invevstor. The relationship with Mindstorms seemed to be a separate venture? and it was good you raised the risks of losing their partnership and involvement. I did start to feel like this was a significant risk, but your argument about the “vast potentials” won me back.
I would certainly be considering investing and would want to know more.
Great pitches!
denise
The partnership with Mindstorm was to allow us to provide schools the opportunity to create a more immersive and interactive environment along with the mobile-e-learning program.
I think I would re-adjust the partnership issue, with a back up plan of seeking partnerships with other companies, which produced similar products.
Thanks for the feedback.
Dave
Dave, I was impressed with your elevator pitch. You presented your product with clarity and passion. What it may have lacked in detail, it made up in your obvious commitment to the concept.
I read in your responses that the actual ‘items’ that are being ‘sold’ are plans, support and training for educators to use mobile devices within their teaching practice. I can agree that this holds immense potential and would impact classrooms and teaching across the country. For that reason, I propose that you take your venture to the Colleges of teachers in each jurisdiction or even to the union leaders since there could be benefit from partnering with the organizations to whom you wish to market your product.
Helen
I really like that idea of the college of teachers and unions, thanks.
Dave
Hi Dave,
You mention that schools are currently not meeting the needs of students. I know that kids are generally not learning math properly, and from the research I’ve seen, it’s primary teachers’ lack of knowledge and confidence in math and educational psychology that leads kids, especially girls, to do poorly in math and science. Technology programs aren’t going to change that.
As for literacy problems, the best solution I’ve seen is to get kids to develop the habit of reading regularly on their own time in a way that they enjoy it. The kids who were by far the strongest in my classes in spelling, composition and general knowledge were those who had a thirst for reading.
It’s easy to say that devices increase engagement, motivation, communication and creativity. However, this is a broad, sweeping statement that without proof and explanation is unconvincing to me. Supposing schools that use your services don’t show improvement in students’ results, your company could lose a lot of credibility. I understand that you’ll be doing research on the use of interactive surfaces in education. That’s great. For it to be convincing, I would have to be sure that the methodology used is sound and that you can explain in detail how different aspects of your e-learning programs improve learning. Specificity is important.
If your venture is about helping schools to integrate the use of mobile devices into their programs, then I would have liked to hear specifics about well-designed implementation plans that take into account the needs of your various potential clients. I need to know how you would assess the needs of a rural public school with a small amount of students versus a college with enrollment in the thousands. That said, I’m glad your plan is to increase your market gradually while making revisions as necessary.
You’ve presented a graph showing the number of students enrolled in online courses, but your venture seems to be about in-class use of technology which would be in competition for online courses. That graph could be an indication that the students who want to use technology are leaving face-to-face environments, and that those who are still in class are more the type who would prefer traditional teaching methods. Therefore, the use of that graph to support your venture is unclear.
Good luck with your venture. I’m not interested in investing, but if you enhance your presentation, I’m confident that you’ll find someone else who will support you.
Cheers,
Dan
Hi Dan
Thanks for the great feedback. I fully agree that Technology is no magic bullet that will suddenly make kids who were struggling have no problems. That’s why one of the main services was going to be teacher training and development, both on technology but embedded into that are pedagogical shifts. Clearly something I need to make more evident.
Assessing the needs of the schools, would have been accomplished through our initial assessments of the current programs, infrastructure and goals for the school. One of the advantages to a flexible consulting company is the ability to customize to the needs of the user.
Thanks again.
Dave
Otavio Goood is the founder and CEO of Quest Visual, which developed “World Lens.” His partner in the venture is John DeWeese. World Lens is an smart-technology application, which can be used to convert foreign languages and objects into familiar content for the user. Their goal is to help the people of the world communicate, […]
Continue reading Quest Visual Posted in: Week 04: Entrepreneur Bootcamp
Hi Dave,
This is certainly an interesting app. I have many international students in my classes who would benefit from it, especially since it doesn’t require the user to be connected to the Internet (and we cannot get Wi-Fi connections consistently through the concrete walls of the computer labs). I checked out the website and liked the fact that you can simply point your phone at text and have it translated instantly. This would certainly help students in a test situation where they need to know the translation of a question very quickly.
Deborah
I suppose the trick would be guiding students how to use it appropriately so that it was used to build their skills rather than permitting them to bypass having to learn the language or concepts.
Hi Dave,
As a second language teacher I think this app has much potential. You are right, this type of venture would not have been possible 10 years ago . . . just imagine what apps folks will be able to come up with in another 5 years or so! The possibilities are unlimited!
Marie-France
So, the sci-fi geek in me harkens back to the Star Trek Universal Translator. Not the first sci-fi gizmo to make it into the real world and undoubtedly not the last! If only transporters were coming soon …
Thanks for the summary!
Janet
interesting to see what types of new products are going to be produced in the future. It’s interesting that many of the research into a technology for one purpose are often then producing spin-off applications (research into cloaking technology is better refining use of light in optics and computing power).
As the new Director of Technology at Fraser Academy, I am in charge of creating and developing an equally new e-Learning program for our senior school. I selected the Gartner report on Strategic Technologies for 2012 because knowing where and what technologies are developing will enable my team and I to build a dynamic and […]
Continue reading The Gartner Report: A Crystal Ball? Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi Dave,
Can these “reports” accessible to anybody? I followed the link and found a press release, but links leading to reports came up with “register / purchase” prompt. Maybe I missed the entry?
Hi Dave,
Great post! My workplace is also steered towards implementing iPads now as well, instead of having a person type up the meeting minutes we are beginning to use the app on the iPad that would transcribe the audio into text which saves a lot of our time as employees. It is amazing to see how tablets and iPads are playing such a role in our society in education, work, and our personal lives nowadays.
Karon
Hi Ping,
Did you click on the link Dave hyperlinked in his post? I didn’t get the “register/purchase” prompt.
Maybe give it another try later?
Karon
Hi Karon,
I entered the link, and saw the press release, there are “top 10 strategic technologies for 2012”, but I thought that was like a summary, and I expected more details. So I traced some links on the Gartner site, and found lots of reports titled “Cool ventures in XXX area”. When I tried to open them, I was redirected to the register and purchase page.
Ping
Sorry Dave and Karon,
I made a misunderstanding. When I saw Dave’s post, I thought he was just sharing something interesting for us to discuss. I didn’t realize this was his Week2 report. Sorry I hopped on the 2A instruction. I think I’d better sit down and finish my reading homework before talking more 🙂 Good post, Dave.
Ping
Hi Ping
Sorry for the confusion. I had just read and analyzed the summary reports but had not explored further. It does look as though you need to be a member if you want to get real in-depth data, but I didn’t realize that. I will be sure to be more thorough next time.
Dave
Hi Dave,
Thanks for being the first one in 🙂 I was not quite certain what to do so I am just watching and learning as I go.
I am not certain as to the timeline that you have on your design and development piece, but I understand from my experience with such implementation that often deadlines drop quite quickly (I have never been a part of a team for formal education so I am not quite sure if your world is similar to mine). With that said, I do agree that the quick summary would help efficiently focus on topics of interest rather than spending seemingly endless hours on research (which I think is important but not exactly favourable when dragged on).
Just a question though, do you think you would supplement information on this website with further, more in-depth sources? I saw your conversation with Ping and I understand that there is a membership available for purchase. Would you make this purchase? Or would you seek out other resources?
Cheers,
Sherman
Hi Sherman
Our project is making decent progress, but a few deadlines have been missed, luckily they were part of an older plan. I liked that the report gave an initially summary of potential tools and there associated benefits and drawbacks. These in turn would serve as starting off points for further investigation and I wouldn’t just rely on one report or source for deciding on whether or not to pursue a venture. Even if a source is good, I believe it’s valuable to look from multiple angles (I think it’s the skeptical scientist in me).
I suspect that I’d look to follow the reports and updates for a bit prior to purchasing an account.
HI Dave,
I am fascinated by oyur move to iPads. Our CEO decided to bring them in last year for all staff, but with little real planning about how they would be integrated in. We have had lots of problems and they are mainly used for email and sometimes meetings. I use my laptop more than many use the iPad and with fewer tech hitches. Love Karon’s idea about audio transcribing – will have an explore.
Hi Everyone My Name is Dave Horn and I am currently teaching Senior Sciences and Mathematics at a small school in Vancouver. Starting currently and continuing onto next year, I’ll become the director of educational technology and will be responsible for developing the e-Learning program at our school. It is for this new admin role […]
Continue reading Hello Everyone Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi Dave,
Congratulations on your new role! I think we took ETEC 512 or 511 together in Fall 2011.
Let’s have a great semester together!
Cheers,
Karon Wong
Hi Karon
Nice to “see” another familiar face.
Dave
Congrats on your new role Dave.
Looking forward to learning with you this semester.
Leonora
Great costume. You must have been in a full sweat wearing it!
Actually it was my brother who both built it and had to wear it, though I did help him some refinements around the edges of the sheet metal so that he didn’t inadvertently cut off his arms. I was very impressed that he had fabricated it.
Hi Dave. Nice to “see” you again!
Janet B.
HI Dave,
Nice to see you again. Your new role at your school sounds interesting. Congratulations!
Claire
Dave,
Thanks for sharing your photo blog. Some great pics in there!
Your new admin role sounds very exciting and very well suited to this course and the MET program in general. Good luck with it all.
gillian
Hi Dave, nice to meet you! The costume is hilarious! You could definitely market these, and of course offer a discount to METers! 😀 Looking forward to working with you! Danielle
Hi Dave,
Awesome photographs Dave!! You’ve captured some great images. Thanks for sharing them.
Adriana
Before you publish your posting, please make sure that you select a category (eg. Introductions) as well as assign some meaningful tags (keywords).
Denise 12:46 am on August 4, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I agree Dave, lots of good learning to use for the future.
Agree too about your two suggestions.
Denise
gillian 10:48 am on August 4, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Dave,
some very practical suggestions for ease of course navigation through a blog platform such as this. While I see the value of having everything ‘out there’ in regards to this course creating an OER, it does point to some obvious disadvantages when compared to an LMS platform. Your point was made extra clear this week as I was hunting down the venture pitches assigned to me for evaluation. It would have been great if this somehow made easier and less time consuming. Perhaps we could have each created our own subpage?
gillian
Deborah S 8:12 am on August 5, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Dave,
I agree with both of your suggestions. I struggled with the navigation in this last section of the course, as well as in weeks one to three as older posts were several pages back, making them time consuming to locate. It would also be nice to have a full list of who had posted comments into each post instead of person 1, person 2, person 3 and xx others are discussing. When I pop into the course throughout the week, it would be nice to quickly see which posts I had responded to and which ones I hadn’t.
Deborah