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  • troos 6:29 pm on July 28, 2012
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    Tags: educational technology, , professional development,   

    In Ed-Tech Pro-D, I provide an opportunity for teachers who may not wish to complete a degree in educational technology an opportunity to participate in some extended professional development within a community of practice.  Please find my venture pitch and elevator pitch embedded below. Tim Venture Pitch: Elevator Pitch:

    Continue reading Ed-Tech Pro-D: Professional Development for Educators in Educational Technology Posted in: Venture Forum
     

    • Jody McKinnon 4:49 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Tim. I was very impressed with your presentation and the amount of detail that you have put into it. I am not in BC so I was a shocked to see that much investment in PD! I have no idea what it is here in Ontario, but my guess is that is less! You have tapped into a much needed area. PD is not that enjoyable anymore and you have identified those pain points so well. I think this idea has lots of potential. My only real criticism is the music in the longer pitch. I was not a fan of it. Otherwise, good job.

      Good luck

      Jody

      • troos 4:51 pm on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Jody:

        Thanks for your comments. I think you would be surprised at the amount spent on PD in Ontario. I suppose I chose the music based on personal taste but should have thought more about broader appeal.
        Tim

    • Yves Mainville 11:25 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Tim,

      I am very impressed with your presentation and I think it holds great value. The pitches were very slick and thorough. I think the team makeup is win-win and will prove to be a huge asset to this venture.
      I was sold at pain point #2!
      I thought there were many commonalities with the EduNexus pitch and I am sure they would like to explore partnership possibilities.
      The use of ‘pain points’ was clever and really helped sell the concept.
      I am comforted by the clear direction of the company, the thoroughness of the presentation and feel like my investment would be a solid one.

      Count me in.

      • troos 4:54 pm on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Yves:

        Thanks for your support. I think there were several ventures in the area of professional development that had similar slants but individual strengths. They would all do well to amalgamate these strengths into one venture.

        Tim

    • dmcinnes 2:13 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Tim,
      Your pitches are thorough and clear. Seems like you have a good concept. Amongst my peer teachers, technology training is always the area that they seem to be missing or wanting. There is an attitude that teachers should go out and just get trained themselves (self-serve style) to teach in the 21st century, but for many technology training is very intimidating. That is why the individualized coaching and guidance would be helpful. I don’t think I am convinced to invest, but I might be on the fence.
      As Jody mentioned, the accordion music in the venture pitch was killing me! 😉
      Overall well done!
      David McInnes

      • troos 4:56 pm on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        David:

        Sorry about the music. I guess I am just not in touch with what would have a broader appeal. I was trying to find something that would make the listener relax to some extent but still stay engaged. Maybe lowering the volume would have helped.

        Tim

    • kimnoel 1:22 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Tim,

      Well done! Your elevator pitch sounds great – have you considered a career in media? Ha!

      Professional development for teachers in technology is an area that is certainly lacking, and I think that you have a viable venture here. If only teachers could get a day for their online professional development!

      Smiles, Kim

      • troos 4:58 pm on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Kim:

        Thanks for your supportive words. With the amount of time it took me to put this together, I don’t think anybody is about to request my services in media. :-). Time would certainly be the limiting factor in getting teachers to participate in this venture.

        Tim

    • Dennis Pratt 8:08 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Tim;

      As the others have mentioned it iis obvious that you have put a great deal of thought and planning into this venture and it could be up and running in no time. Teachers are always looking for simple solutions with ready-made plans where they can implement what they learn as soon as they leave a professional development session. I see this working across BC and then into other provinces, as well. I would like to know more about the product itself and maybe see some examples of the professional development your team has planned for these teachers. Overall, great work and I hope to see the venture in full swing somewhere down the line.

      Dennnis

    • Danielle 5:58 am on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Tim,

      This is a fabulous venture and the thoroughness of your of your research and the professionalism of your presentation has me convined. I think the ProD issue is a global problem and I feel we face many of the same issues you mention where I live. I really like your advisory team and I think with a little market research among teachers and distracts, you have a winning venture! Well done!

      Danielle

    • jtpatry 11:15 am on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hey Tim,

      Very well done Elevator and Venture pitch, uber professional for sure! I truly believe that Professional Development offered in this particular manner would be something that teachers and other professionals would be wiling to commit to. You mention wikis and blogs for teachers to access, would ProD have a webinar data bank that could also be used to view for various PD opportunities?

      Thanks for sharing and good luck!

      Jon

      • troos 5:05 pm on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hey Jon:

        I believe you have suggested a great addition to the services offered by my venture. webinars would be an excellent way of connecting with many teachers and demonstrating methods and resources online. Thanks,
        Tim

    • sheza 11:35 am on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Tim!
      Very professional elevator and venture pitch. Your elevator picth was clearly designed with the investor in mind and you captured my interest by your very straight-forward display of diagrams and statements that related to the venture’s success. Even though I was slightly confused about how the venture would make its money (as usually online communities of practice are open-resources) I was still interested to move onto your venture pitch where I then got this answer. I especially see the need for your venture since you are right in stating that much of PD learning is reduced to flash-in-the-pan ideas.

      All the best!

      Sheza

      • troos 5:07 pm on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks Sheza. It is difficult to fit all you want to say into the one minute time slot for the elevator pitch. I guess the point is to choose what will most likely capture the attention of and convince an average investor.
        Tim

    • mackenzie 4:37 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great job I loved the clarity. I was pleased with the visuals including the embedded video in your presentation, I wish the music was different but you can’t have everything. I was wondering how much money was necessary to achieve your goals and how long it would take to get my initial investment back. Are you an educator yourself or are you going to be a CEO full time. Professional development is a problem and I like your solution, I was I knew more about what types of resources you would offer.

      • troos 5:12 pm on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Steve:

        You picked out my weak areas. 🙁 I had a hard time putting a monetary value on exactly what I would need. It would depend on a host of factors and would take significant market research to determine. You are the third person to comment on the music so I’m convinced I need to do a better job at selecting something more appealing. Thanks for your supportive comments.

        Tim

    • Bridget 5:56 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Tim,

      Thank you for sharing your pitches and after reviewing your elevator pitch I have the follow comments.

      I like the way you stated your concern at the very beginning concerning the insufficiency of current PD. I enjoyed your presentation and the way that you had your picture beside the diagrams in the introduction. However, I sometimes did not know where to look and I had to go back and re-watch it a few times to get a clear of what you were proposing.

      Listing the fact that there are three other managers was great except I found myself wanting to know a name or see a face.

      I also found myself wondering why you were looking for an investor if there is $40 000 000 available from the BC government for education. I understand that they might be backing you in some way but I would suggest being more specific in how they are supporting you financially.

      Bridget

      • troos 5:18 pm on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks Bridget:

        I felt that depending on the type of listener, they could either focus on the animated graphics or on the video and get the same information. I undertand your concern regarding the distraction of trying to follow both. Regardig the management team, I guess I felt I had gone far enough in creating a fictitious venture with me as CEO with a management team. Creating personalities and faces for these team members certainly would have added to the presentation. I think my venture pitch at the end outlines my needs for the investment. I would have initial setup costs for webspace, hardware and software, marketing, technical expertise, and office space among other things. Thanks for your helpful comments,
        Tim

    • toddpowell 10:54 pm on August 5, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Tim,
      The amount of effort and detail that you put into your pitch was amazing. Very well done. You had me at hello, as a fellow BC teacher!! I believe that a project such as this has so much validity, especially with the battle that we are facing today!!

      Cheers,
      Todd

  • troos 1:05 pm on July 4, 2012
    0 votes
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    Tags: advanced organizers, , metacognition, , visual learning   

    Hi Group 5: I enjoyed your presentation on mind mapping software.  I’ve always thought of concept maps as learning tools but you’ve used it quite effectively as a teaching tool. As a science teacher, I would rate concept mapping as one of my top educational tools to engage students in deeper thinking and metacognition.  I’ve […]

    Continue reading My experience with mind mapping Posted in: Week 09: Visual-Intensive Learning
     

    • Sherman Lee 11:09 pm on July 4, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Tim,

      Thank you for sharing your experience with mind mapping with us! As you have said, mind mapping is a great tool to pull ideas together and organize thoughts. It might be a bit weird of an analogy but it reminds me somewhat of the pensieve in Harry Potter (the instrument used to review memory) as it does have the advantage of letting you see your past thoughts at a glance and hence make easier connections that way.

      It is interesting that you mentioned a map comparison function for computer generated maps. How do you envision this would look like? I am interested because when I read that comment, I was trying to imagine a way of doing it. The only way I could think of that would work is that the mind map would have rigid structure to allow for easy comparison that the computer would recognize. The different versions must share some commonalities, such as wording, for the computer to be able to sort the nodes and compare them effectively. Am I understanding what you proposed correctly? This could possibly be the next venture in mind mapping 🙂

      Sherman

      • troos 3:27 pm on July 7, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Sherman:

        Yes, the versions would need some commonality but not necessarily as rigid as you imply. I think two ways that this could be done would be to use tags consisting of related words; possibly smart-tag suggestions from a database in the program as the mind map is being created. Another way would be to simply compare the maps to a database containing synonyms and other related words to see if similar connections are being made. With a growing ability in computer analytics, I should think this to be possible.

        Tim

    • janetb 9:22 am on July 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Tim,
      I have used mind maps/webs in very similar manners to those you described. I appreciated your distinction between using them for learning and for teaching. I think this is the first time I have seen them used as instructional tools, rather than as formative assessment tools. I hadn’t formally made that connection until you mentioned it. Thanks!
      Janet

  • troos 7:22 pm on May 31, 2012
    0 votes
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    Tags: e-learning, Encebo, entrepreneur, ,   

    Claudio Erba is the founder and CEO of the Italian company called Docebo (dō-CHAY-bō), an e-learning company that has developed an open-source LMS.  It can be run on the cloud as SaaS on a fee per-user basis or it can be purchased and installed locally.  Docebo differentiates itself from competitors by having small and medium […]

    Continue reading Claudio Erba founds Docebo Posted in: Week 04: Entrepreneur Bootcamp
     

    • Deborah S 7:25 am on June 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great summary! Your comment about the continued growth of the company despite competition is consistent with a report I read from Bersin & Associates. The author of the report, David Mallon, suggested that the number of LMS providers continues to grow fuelled by the entrance of smaller companies.

      Deborah

      • troos 4:01 pm on June 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Yes, there does seem to be many small but successful ventures in the LMS, CMS, SMS and TMS markets. It also seems, however, that for every new idea that makes these ventures successful, another one is bought out and absorbed by the larger corporations such as Blackboard. For example, a company called MoodleRooms, providing online hosting and technical support for the Moodle platform was recently bought by Blackboard so now Blackboard has invested in Moodle. It all seems rather strange to me but I guess if you can buy out the competition, that is one way of maintaining a market status.
        Tim

    • mackenzie 2:29 pm on June 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      It’s interesting to see a product, originally created for education being specialized for businesses. Usually it’s the other way around. It’s also great to see they are succeeding by becoming specialists in business training. I wonder what might happen if other LMS providers get wind to the market potential for business. Although, my experience tells me that these companies are slow to shift (Moodle creators agree) and therefore may never catch up to Docebo, especially if the company continues to evolve to meet the needs of its customers. I wonder what Docebo offers that Blackboard and Desire2Learn don’t?

      Cheers, Steve

      • troos 4:05 pm on June 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Steve

        I think Docebos main catch for the business market is their willingness to adapt their technology to suit the needs of their clients. They even offer to provide full course development and learning object creation for their clients. This is very attractive for businesses since they do not need to hire educational experts to do this development.
        Tim

    • gillian 9:40 am on June 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Tim,
      I am curious how the company can refer to itself as “open source” if it requires user fee for web-based users or a purchase price for downloaders?

      • troos 2:12 pm on June 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Gillian
        Open source just means that the source code that the software is developed with is made available to the clients. There is no patent or copyright on the particular programming of the software. In this way, if they so desire, the clients can redesign the code to fit their personal preferences. Docebo does offer a free version for up to five users; essentially to try it out. There are also several examples of companies who offer Moodle, also an open-source product on a per-user fee basis (MoodleRooms and Lambda Solutions to name two).
        Tim

  • troos 7:25 pm on May 24, 2012
    0 votes
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    Tags: , , , SchoolManager, SMS   

    Analyzing SchoolManager Credibility and Management – The absence of the presenter’s picture as well as the complete absence of the product developer reduces the credibility of this pitch.  The presenter does ot seem personally connected to the product.  The producers experience is significant but no information regarding an organized team is presented.  With the predicted […]

    Continue reading Venture Analysis of SchoolManager Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
     

  • troos 8:54 am on May 22, 2012
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    Tags: , CloudConnect, ,   

    Although I find the idea presented in this elevator pitch intriguing and feasible, I find the pitch lacks certain elements that would convince me to invest.  Credibility and Management:  Although mention is made of a strong management team with years of experience, the presenter never provides his own name or position.  In addition, the presenter’s […]

    Continue reading EVA Analysis of CloudConnect Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
     

    • Deborah S 5:54 am on May 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Tim,
      You raised a good point about being able to see the person making the pitch. There is a great deal of information that is delivered non-verbally and being able to see the person making the pitch would probably have enhanced the presentation. It’s difficult to provide all the information a potential investor would be looking for in an elevator pitch. I think there’s a balancing act between trying to be engaging and communicating critical information. I guess we’ll have an opportunity to figure this one out for ourselves in our final assignment!

      Deborah

  • troos 5:16 pm on May 16, 2012
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    Tags: , , horizon, , report, ,   

    The NMC Horizon Report is a publication from cooperation between the New Media Consortium (NMC), Consortium for School Networking and the International Society for Technology in Education.  The authors indicate the report “identifies and describes emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, research, or creative expression within education around the globe” […]

    Continue reading A Review of the NMC Horizon K-12 Report Posted in: Uncategorized
     

    • gregcamp 9:02 pm on May 16, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great post,

      Sounds like there is lots of useful information in this report that a technology company or entrepreneur would find useful to stay current with trends and to keep their product or service appealing to the market. The problem with technology is that it is a 1 time purchase for the most part and constantly needs upgraded. This is especially true from a public education standpoint where budgets don’t exist that allow technology to be upgraded and maintained properly. If a venture can come up with a low cost solution to this problem or atleast put lots of thought into it as they develop their product or service their chance at success will increase substantially.

      Regards,

      Greg Campbell

    • Deborah S 5:39 am on May 17, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      A really informative summary! As Greg pointed out, it appears the report has a great deal of information that would be useful to educators. I think it’s very helpful that they explained how the items were chosen (a shortcoming of the report I reviewed). Including a prediction about the timeline for general implementation would allow educators to remain close to any new developments with the emerging technology.

      Deborah

    • janetb 4:55 pm on May 17, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Thanks for the review. I had looked briefly at the Higher Education Edition and it looked promising. I also had noticed the timeline and thought it would be helpful as a rough outline for planning ahead.

      I appreciated your comment about the bias in the report. Big business, funding and politics certainly all play their role in educational technology.

      Janet

    • HJDeW 8:04 pm on May 17, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Tim, when looking at the short list for the NMC K-12 2012 report (http://k12.wiki.nmc.org/file/view/2012-Horizon.K12-Shortlist.pdf), there are significant differences between items identified for K-12 educators and those found in the Horizon Higher Ed report. I found that an interesting anomaly but think that it a reasonable response to varying technological needs and issues at each level of education.
      Helen

      • Denise 4:15 am on May 20, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        HI Helen,
        I too looked at the NMC reports and noticed the difference. I actually thought it was less an anomaly and maybe more of a recognition that K-12 is different to higher education? Just reflecting on the UBC cube – K-12 is a different market focus, has different buyers, and maybe different market status and competition.

        I thought that there were 3 different NMC reports (including museum education) was a strength of the reports.

  • troos 8:28 pm on May 8, 2012
    0 votes
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    Tags: , , moodle, Nature, , ,   

    Greetings all: I am looking forward to learning with you all through this course.  It is one of my 5th and 6th MET courses I am taking this semester (also taking 530).  Nice to see a few familiar names but I look forward to getting to know each of you.  I am a senior secondary […]

    Continue reading Hello from Tim Roos Posted in: Uncategorized
     

    • Dennis Pratt 9:16 pm on May 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hey Tim;

      I will have to bounce some ideas off of you as I am the new technology coordinator for our school this coming year. No-one has been doing it before me. We will see how it goes. Enjoy the term.

      Dennis

      • troos 4:24 pm on May 10, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Dennis:

        I’d be glad to help where I can. So far my experiences have been a combination of installing/integrating hardware such as projectors, interactive whiteboards, document cameras and doing Pro-D sessions on Moodle use and interactive whiteboard use.

        Tim

    • dubiend 12:09 am on May 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Tim,
      You’re in a K-12 school? I’d like to hear about how that works!

      Which science courses are you taking? I bet that using tech tools makes those subjects easier to teach! There are some abstract concepts in higher-level chemistry and physics that are much easier to explain with the help of graphics and animations.

      • troos 4:20 pm on May 10, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Danielle:

        The K-12 school concept works great for us. We have a total of about 400 students separated into three main buildings. We share computer labs, music and art facilities and gym. Under one main administrative umbrella we have vice principals for each of the three sections.

        I am currently teaching Science 10, Chemistry 11 and 12 and Biology 11 and 12 as science courses. I also teach Math Principles 12. Technology access has definitely made teaching more interesting for both the teacher and the student. I’ve also used animations in Biology with good success. I also have an extensive set of Pasco Probeware that I try to integrate in labs. Next year I am looking forward to using a class set of dedicated netbooks in my instruction. Really looking forward to see how that goes.

        Tim

    • chrisaitken 6:53 am on May 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Good seeing you again Tim.

      • troos 4:27 pm on May 10, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Chris

        Our project in 511 seemed to work out well. I look forward to working with you again in this course.

        Tim

    • bpgore 8:08 pm on May 10, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Tim,
      Good to see another science/math teacher.
      Looking forward to working with you.
      Bridget

    • mackenzie 3:42 pm on May 13, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Tim,
      Great to see you again! You are going to love 530. Take some time to get to know Von Glaserfeld as he has some interesting points of view on teaching science. I am looking forward to working with you again.
      Cheers, Mac

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