For suggestion of this course, I would hope that the “emerging marketing analysis” to be reduced by 1~2 weeks, giving more time to exploration of really successful ventures. We could study their early pitches, match their venture plans with their real corporation trails, and discuss the secrets of them to survive through risks and chances. […]
Continue reading For suggestion of this course, I would h… Posted in: UncategorizedUncategorized RSS Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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ping
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sheza
Constructive Suggestions…
It was a pleasure working with you all this term. I really enjoy MET courses as they allow us to learn from each other, work collaboratively and share insights on a variety of topics in our field. As a suggestion for improving participation in future cohorts, I think having a greater opportunity to work with […]
Continue reading Constructive Suggestions… Posted in: Uncategorized -
unclereg
Suggestions for future…
Hello, Great comments so far, lots of suggestions that I agreed with. Not much to add, just that it was difficult to find certain submissions. Though I liked the hyperlinked searchable words at the right-hand margin of the screen for quick reference. As for the assignment descriptions, I would suggest putting at least one sentence […]
Continue reading Suggestions for future… Posted in: Uncategorized-
ping
Hi Regen,
I missed the self-reflection like you 🙁 Agree with your that there should be a description of this in the assignment outline. I even think that reflection is not so necessary, as we are not sure whether we will base our A3 on the A1 analysis at that early stage.
Ping
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Dennis Pratt
Participation Suggestions
I was quite happy to see that this course was not going to be heavily based on postings and comments as my last course had over 6000 submissions and felt overwhelmed by the amount of reading and writing. I did find, however, that each blogging platform used throughout the course had positive and negative characteristics. […]
Continue reading Participation Suggestions Posted in: Uncategorized-
gillian
Dennis,
I do agree that the quality of postings did seem higher than in other courses (I am sure many of those 6000 posts were “thanks” and emoticons). As I felt that there were less opportunities to participate, I felt pressure to ensure I made the most of the opportunities I did have.
gillian
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gillian
A few final thoughts and suggestions …
As many of you have noted, this course has been quite a journey or ‘venture’ in itself. I did, however, find that my own participation came in ebbs and flows and fits and starts. After some reflection, I think that the weblog platform and missed opportunities for further engagement could be improved. When it comes […]
Continue reading A few final thoughts and suggestions … Posted in: Blog Café, Uncategorized-
janetb
Hi Gillian,
Great comments – I, too, found the navigation in the blog format a little off-putting at times. I also found that there were more individual comments about concepts, but far less interactive discussion about them than in other courses.
I also agreed with your comment about “the Ask” part of a venture. I was stumped on that, too. I also had no idea what is generally considered acceptable for both amount and timeline on the Return, so more guidance on those would have been helpful.
Thanks for your post,
Janet-
gillian
Thanks for your reply Janet – it was nice to know I wasn’t alone :). I was happy to have the opportunity to express my thoughts.
gillian
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vawells
Hi Gillian
Great suggestions to facilitate greater participation! The format of the blog did not lend itself to interactive discussions but instead as Janet said posts were mostly comments about concepts covered. For me a LMS offers more structure, ease of use and facilitated more collaborative learning opportunities.
Enjoy the rest of your summer
Valerie
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gillian
Valerie,
Thank you. Best to you for the rest of your summer as well.
gillian
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Dennis Pratt
Gillian;
Great ideas. I did like that this course was not “post heavy” as some courses eat too much time reading and posting comments. I believe the amount of time on discussions should match the weight of the mark given to it but that seems to rarely be the case. I agree that some things were difficult to navigate and I am aware of a few instances where directions were unclear.
Enjoy what is left of your summer.
Dennis
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gillian
Dennis,
I agree that there have been some courses where participation expectations have been overwhelming and the value placed on them rather … um … underwhelming. The value in this case does seem to match the time and effort allotted; however, I do feel that there were missed opportunities for learners to give and receive constructive feedback which would have helped to build a more supportive and active community.Cheers to the rest of your summer as well.
gillian
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Deborah S
Hi Gillian,
I agree with your comments about navigation. I found it time consuming to locate the posts I was supposed to provide feedback on this past week. I had the same problem in weeks two and three of the course before the group presentations started. While it may have been easier to administer the course in a LMS, I was happy to get experience with this blogging tool and I’m certainly feeling more confident with it than I was at the start of the term.Deborah
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gillian
Deborah,
It certainly was a valuable learning experience in regards to using a weblog as a learning platform. While I still prefer the accordances of an LMS, weblogs are a less costly alternative.Thanks for your comments and I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer.
gillian
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Danielle Dubien
Hi Gillian,
I agree that it would have been useful to have more information about estimatiing the value of the “ask” and “return”. I was able to estimate some values, and having watched Dragon’s Den a few times, I had a bit of an idea of values that were reasonable. Perhaps references or a video on cost and profit estimates would have done the trick.
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toddpowell
Looking back…. and looking forward.
After looking back upon our very fast time together, there were a few things that I can offer as suggested improvements. First of all, the WordPress platform is one that a colleague and I are seriously looking at for future use in the classroom (over other learning environment platforms). The one thing that I struggles […]
Continue reading Looking back…. and looking forward. Posted in: Uncategorized -
mariefrancehetu
In retrospect
Hello, This has been an overall great learning journey . . . I learned much about learning ventures (fictional and real) and felt there were brilliant ventures out there I would love to add to my technological tool box. The highlight of the course, in my opinion, were the OER’s; I really enjoyed viewing, participating and communicating […]
Continue reading In retrospect Posted in: Uncategorized-
Meggan Crawford
Hi Marie-France,
I like your adjustment of the OERs to get extra time for feedback on the pitches. I definitely agree that this adjustment would be helpful and everyone would still be able to engage with all of the OERs. It also might help to keep people fully engaged with each OER, as it felt as though people were more focused on their pitches than the OERs in the last few weeks.
Good thinking!
-Meggan-
mariefrancehetu
Hello Meggan,
Thanks for responding . . . It is a bit normal to concentrate on the pitches as they require quite a bit of time to create, so it would be nice to have extra time to work on them without feeling the need to cut back on OER participation.
I think the idea of gathering constructive criticism in an open forum at the end of a course is daring and useful. I think all MET courses should do this, there is always room for improvement and to get a learner’s point of view is a great way to improve the learning experience from course to course.
Cheers!
Marie-France
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Denise
Hi Marie-france,
i agree about your comments about the community of practice.
I can see some benefit in your suggestion about the OERs and more time for pitches, but I also wonder what the benefit of sprucing up the pitches for final submit would be (apart from better marks?) . I have learnt a lot from people’s comments and seeing other pitches . What I would suggest rather than more time revising the pitches that we submit the pitch reflection after the week of feedback and reflect on what we noticed when we posted, what we learnt from other people’s comments and other pitches and then outline changes we would make.
Cheers
denise-
mariefrancehetu
Hello Denise,
I think that if the peer evaluation is part of the project it would really make it more ‘real’. In real life one would never launch a venture pitch unless it has been seen by an audience willing to give you feedback. Whether you actually get a better mark or not is irrelevant, but the creation process is more complete if you include a peer review that allows you to make changes (or not) to your presentation.
I like your idea of reflecting on what we learnt from peers’ comments, and instead we could say or outline the changes we did make.
Cheers!
Marie-France
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Denise
HI Marie-france,
I don’t think we are disagreeing. I absolutely agree – peer evaluaiton has been incredibly important – I am just not sure I would want to redo my pitches (esp as they are hypothetical). The advantage of the reflection after viewing everyone else’s pitch and feedback is that is integrates it all without the need to redo the pitches.
denise
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toddpowell
I really appreciated your comments on the communication and postings. I found it difficult if I wanted to be in a “discussion thread” with someone, who had posted a day previous. There were so many posted after, that I know that the individual who I was aiming at wouldn’t be reading mine.
Cheers,
Todd -
gillian
Marie-France,
Some very constructive ideas. I think overall an overall message is emerging through yours and others’ suggestions is the missed opportunity to engage more fully in a community of practice.
gillian-
mariefrancehetu
Hello Gillian,
Any suggestions on how to improve or increase opportunities to engage more fully in a community of practice?
Marie-France
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gillian
I have mentioned a few in my own post above yours, but I think the best opportunity is one mentioned by others and that is the opportunity for peer feedback on assignments.
gillian -
Dennis Pratt
Marie-France;
I agree that a category needs to be mandatory as I submitted a post and then realized it was not in the proper category. Once I figured out how to switch it over some of the editing was changed and there was no way to change it back.
Good suggestion!
Dennis
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Dave Horn
Future Consideration
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-
Denise
I agree Dave, lots of good learning to use for the future.
Agree too about your two suggestions.Denise
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gillian
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?
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Deborah S
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
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Sherman Lee
Participation Portfolio – Course Suggestions
Hello everyone, Like many of you have mentioned, this was another amazing term here in MET. There were some rough times throughout this term, but I think we did a great job! I have learned a lot in regards to ventures. I don’t think I am meant for it, but at least I know a […]
Continue reading Participation Portfolio – Course Suggestions Posted in: Uncategorized-
vawells
Hi Sherman
I like your idea. It is a good way to check for understanding and at the same time promote participation.
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
Valerie
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Donna Forward
Hello all,
I’m not sure what a pulse check is. I saw it in this last optional participation improvement assignment but I’m still wondering.
Cheers,
Donna
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Sherman Lee
Hi Donna,
Pulse check is a regular check in to see if team members are still surviving. In this case, what I refer to as pulse check is a bi-weekly check-in post by students to state how they are doing within the course. It is simply a post where students express how they are feeling in class, which I think would help keep the class on track. This will also allow other students to give suggestions as to how they are tackling certain task that the author of a post may express difficulties in.
Sherman
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Donna Forward
Thanks Sherman,
When David had mentioned Pulse checks in the final participation portfolio outline, I thought that there was actually a button that we could press where we could vote on how we felt about others’ assignments:)
This is what was written:
4.Use the PulsePress tools to like/dislike other students suggestions, and possibly comment on them to add value
So, I thought the Pulse tool was actually a button.
Yeah okay, time for a break I think!
Yours,
Donna
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Denise
Well I am with you Donna – I too thought it was a button – like the votes for the pitches.
Denise
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gillian
Sherman,
With better understanding of your idea – thanks to your elaboration, I think it is a very sound one. Although there is participation within the OER’s each week – there does seem to be a disconnection within the course log itself.
A quick check in would help build a community of practice and give learners an outlet to vent and perhaps seek answers to questions.
gillian
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vawells
Participation Suggestion
Hi all The summer term is almost at an end. I’m not sure where it went but August 5th is just around the corner. One suggestion I would make to promote greater participation would be to have small cohort groups peer edit and provide feedback on assignments and/or to work through OER activities. This would […]
Continue reading Participation Suggestion Posted in: Uncategorized-
toddpowell
I really like your idea of smaller groups which stimulates more discussion. I think that collaboration at any point is hugely important.
Todd
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mariefrancehetu
Thank You & Summary of Week 12 Dear …
Thank You & Summary of Week 12 Dear colleagues, thank you all for participating in our OER with such enthusiasm. We initially felt that Week 12, being the last week for everyone to work on assignment # 3, would perhaps mean a little less participation . . . on the contrary – we were pleasantly […]
Continue reading Thank You & Summary of Week 12 Dear … Posted in: Uncategorized-
Claire Burgoyne
Thanks Week 12 Team,
The activities you provided encouraged participation. I appreciated the opportunity to reflect on my reasons for choosing the MET program and consider how well it has met my expectations. I appreciate seeing the results of the survey so promptly. You all did a great job not only of preparing for week 12 but also of moderating during the week.Claire
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lisamallen
The Educational Technology Experts (ETE)
I’m Lisa Allen, President and Owner of the Educational Technology Experts (ETE), a global consulting firm that specializes in providing analytics, recommendations and training of educational technology to educational institutions. This pitch is requesting the venture’s first year operating costs of $300,000 as an investment in the company. Youtube Elevator Pitch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R9m3qq63Z8 Venture Pitch Paper
Continue reading The Educational Technology Experts (ETE) Posted in: Uncategorized, Venture Forum-
vawells
Hi Lisa
Your venture sounds interesting however I wasn’t able to view your elevator pitch due to your privacy settings.
Valerie
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lisamallen
Hi Valerie,
Thanks for letting me know – all fixed now 🙂
Lisa
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vawells
Thanks Lisa. I can now access it.
Valerie
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Deborah S
Hi Lisa,
I can definitely see the potential in your venture and I think it fills a gap in the education system. I thought you did a good job describing the service in your written venture pitch, both to the educational and institutional customer.Before I would invest, I would like some additional information on your marketing plan, and how you determined that you would need three consultants to begin with. I also wasn’t sure whether you would be focusing on the educational or institutional market first. Would you be pursuing them equally? Would your focus be elementary or secondary, or both?
Deborah
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lisamallen
Thanks for this feedback Deborah – you’re right, a more comprehensive “plan of action” would have been a good thing to include in my pitch.
Cheers,
Lisa
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unclereg
Hey Lisa,
I like the idea and think it be great once it’s implemented within schools but getting access to schools will be difficult. I think district contracts with companies like G&T (Grand & Toy) & Staples will not let you anywhere near the financial outflow for continuous spending from departments. I love the point you make that we are educators not technological experts, which is so accurate. I think technology use within schools will continue to follow the pattern, ‘Hey I want what that guys got’ and that person goes and gets that device from and for their own departments funding. For the future I would suggest planning how you will innovatively gain access to public school department heads, and school spending. Good luck.
-Regen-
lisamallen
Thanks for these comments Regen, I think that you’re right when it comes to public elementary and secondary schools. With higher education and private institutions though, I think they’re much more open to bringing in consultants. Perhaps that is where my “consulting firm” should try to gain entrance into the market.
Cheers,
Lisa
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vawells
Hi Lisa
I enjoyed watching your elevator pitch. You present the advantages of your venture very clearly. I can see the potential in your idea and agree there is a need for this in the school system. I was left with a couple of questions; Most districts employ their own IT staff so why would schools go outside of this? Would districts allow schools to go outside, as most schools have to choose goods and services from district approved lists?
Good luck with your future venturesValerie
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lisamallen
Hi Valerie,
Thanks for these comments – and great questions. Not working in the public school system, I don’t really know how they contract vendors… that being said, perhaps my consulting firm can gain access into the private educational market to start and build credibility there? I think the biggest issue with IT staff is that they don’t have that education theory background – and that’s what sets this consulting firm apart from the IT staff.
Cheers,
Lisa
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mariefrancehetu
Hello Lisa,
Here are some comments on your venture pitch and your elevator pitch:
Elevator pitch
It is difficult to say all that you want in a one minute period, so it sounds a bit as if you are rushing to say it all quickly. A suggestion might be to make a simple powerpoint presentation outlining the main points, and then use this presentation to read out from on your computer as you are filming yourself.In one minute you do manage to summarize the essence of your venture however.
Venture Pitch paper
You present a very strong paper here. You outline the need and the solution quite well. You establish your marketing possibilities expertly and it shows your paper is well researched. If such a company was looking to hire I would be interested . . .
As an investor, you certainly have convinced me that it would be a worthwhile project to invest in.Well done!
Marie-France
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lisamallen
Thanks Marie-France,
I agree, in hindsight a powerpoint presentation would have been more effective for the one minute pitch!
Cheers,
Lisa
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Leonora Zefi
Hi Lisa,
I liked your venture plan and how you specified the growth projections. Here are my comments.Elevator pitch message
The need for The Educational Technology Experts (ETE) services is clearly outlined in the introduction – piqued my interest with the question at the very beginning. The solution is well explained but I would have been persuaded about the success of the venture if I got a clearer sense of the ”uniqueness or differentiation” characteristics of the service provided by the venture.Marketability
While I see understand the importance of having these professionals advise school administrators, given the arguments and stats about the market, I wasn’t convinced about market opportunities for this venture. Just stating that the government of Canada and BC spend 5 -7 and 4.5 billion in the next 3 years” doesn’t necessarily mean that money will be allocated to a service specific to what the venture is proposing.
There was no mention of competition and that made me a bit nervous despite the specific growth figures (although long-term – 5 years)Venture Plan
Your venture plan is very well structured and clearly laid out. It includes details plan – revenue and expense processes are very clear and outline promising prospect for the company therefore convincing the investor on ROI.
Thanks,
Leonora-
lisamallen
Thanks Leonora,
It’s hard to pin point the competition since “consultants” are everywhere and the information out there is quite vague. You’re right though, it would have been good if I had included that information in my pitch.
Cheers,
Lisa
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Leonora Zefi
Hi Lisa,
I completely understand the challenges of pinpointing the competition. I had the exact same challenge – the main competition for my venture is corporate training companies and there are myriads of them.
Enjoy the rest of the summer.Leonora
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gillian
Hi Lisa,
You were braver than I was for your elevator pitch – couldn’t get myself in front of the camera. I found the elevator pitch to be somewhat disengaging however as you were not looking at the camera, but rather reading somewhere off to the side – losing eye contact. I did think that your voice had good variation in pitch and tone though.As for your venture pitch, it sounds like a great idea. The service sounds extremely thorough from needs assessment to implementation, and I thought it very smart of you to note that consultants were experts in both education and technology, so that you would retain credibility from all sides of the market. I also appreciate how you are careful not to disparage educators by explaining that teachers and admin are experts in education, but not necessarily technology. I also think that the public would appreciate how you are careful to note efficiency and effectiveness – ensuring that private business is accountable with public funds.
As for your numbers, the costs that you mention sound reasonable, but it does seem that you may be missing a few expenses such as office space, equipment etc.gillian
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lisamallen
Thanks for your comments Gillian,
In hindsight, a powerpoint presentation would have been better for the one-minute pitch (especially since I am not the best public speaker in the world).
Cheers,
Lisa
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karonw
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for sharing your venture with us. I quite liked your venture idea and I think you have done a good job in trying to deliver as much details and specifics as possible within 1:11 minutes. It is very challenging to be able to pin point the core ideas and being able to present it. You did very well in that matter in trying to convince your investors. However, as an EVA I am a bit picky in the presentation itself, I would find it more convincing if the presenter was looking at the camera providing some eye contact and at the same time adding a smile would definitely boost up the atmosphere of the pitch. Other than this, I think you have did a good job.
Keep up the good work.
Karon
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lisamallen
Thanks Karon,
I appreciate your comments. It’s sometimes difficult to smile when you’re nervous! 😉
Cheers,
Lisa
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troos
Hello Lisa:
Your venture, Educational Technology Experts, is a great idea and similar to my venture proposal for professional development in educational technology. You have good personal presence in your elevator pitch but focusing in on the camera once in a while would have relieved the “scripted” feel to the video. You identify clear pain points and explain your market expectations well. As the venture leader, you sound convinced of your product’s value. Great job. You mention the need for investment based on labor and advertising. I wonder if you are short-changing yourself here. What about office space, equipment, travelling costs and internet access? Will you have a team to support you? You may have provided answers in your venture pitch but I am just analyzing your elevator pitch here. The first half of your elevator pitch seems aimed at convincing your clients rather than your investors. I think your investors need to here this same information but somehow it needs to be clear that you are directing this at them rather than your clients. Good work!
Tim
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Chelsea M Woods
Hi Lisa, great concept, and certainly an area where schools need support. The school I am currently working at brought in EdTech Audits, and they provided us with recommendations for development and areas of strength. I would have liked to hear more about the structure of your reporting process and how you will ensure that your people are experts, and provide useful recommendations to your clients.
Great idea!
Chelsea -
Dennis Pratt
Private consulting is a great idea for offering professional development for teachers. I would actually prefer to take PD from someone in the industry rather than a colleague teacher. I seem to get more out of the presentation as they usually provide real examples of work that they are doing. The difficult part might be to find, train and keep qualified staff that can relate to teachers and education and try to turn a profit doing so. I know we spend quite a bit of money on PD and some of it gets wasted in my opinion. I would want to make sure we are getting the most for our money and think that most schools are the same. If you have a great product and teachers like it, the word will spread quickly.
Good idea! I can’t wait to see what sessions you have lined up.
Dennis
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toddpowell
Lisa,
Very well done, especially with the paper. You have obviously thought about gaps that exist in the current educational systems. As for the venture pitch, I was a little disconcerted about not being “looked in the eye.” I know that camera work can be daunting, especially for 1 minute.Coming from both secondary and middle schools, what would your primary focus on implementation be??
Cheers,
Todd
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unclereg
Welcome to the NEW Personalized Sylvan Tutoring Service….
Hello all, The link for my Elevator Pitch is below and posted on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXBKx-t77n4 As for my venture pitch, I’ve embedded it as a word file within this post. Please let me know if there is any difficulty accessing the youtube video and I’ll try and assist. Thanks so much. Enjoy. -Regen Schmidt […]
Continue reading Welcome to the NEW Personalized Sylvan Tutoring Service…. Posted in: Uncategorized-
sheza
Hi Regen,
Your Elevator Pitch was more of a sales pitch for why someone should be interested in this service from Sylvan rather than a pitch directed to investors. It was also quite difficult to hear as the volume on your video was quite low.
Also, I don’t see the educational technology edge to your venture? As an investor I wouldn’t have been compelled to read onto your Venture Pitch, and even though I did I did not find answers to such questions as the ask, market share, ROI, or information on your CEO and Team. I understand that this venture would be an offshoot of the Sylvan chain but some consideration should have been given to these points to successfully complete the requirements of your Venture Pitch.
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kimnoel
Glogster VUE Pitches
Hi all, Here is my elevator pitch for my “faux” product Glogster VUE: and you can read my venture pitch here: ETEC 522 – Venture Pitch Glogster VUE Look forward to seeing all of your pitches! Smiles, Kim
Continue reading Glogster VUE Pitches Posted in: Uncategorized, Venture Forum-
Jody McKinnon
Hi Kim. Your pitch is very smooth and the music and images work well together. I am a big fan of Glogster but didn’t they start charging a high fee recently? I am not sure that as a teacher I would use what you are promoting. I always had thought of Glogster as a way for the students to show me what they can do. I never thought of it as a teaching tool to present to them new materials. I guess it would depend on the subject of the glogs and whether or not I would use them. They would have to be very relevant to my classroom and be extensive enough to warrant paying the fee to access them.
I think it is a neat idea overall, but for me, I see Glogster as more of a tool for students to use rather than a teacher tool. I’d have to see it action before I could decide to invest funds.
Good luck!
Jody
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kimnoel
Thanks for your comments, Jody!
My grade level (Grade 5) purchased a new licence in May (our previous one had run out), and we purchased the 200 subscriptions for $99 – unlimited glogs for 200 kids, management system for unlimited number of classes, for a full year.
Yes, its more expensive than it was, but we consider it a fantastic deal. Considering some of our other subscriptions like Math IXL, for which I have a single class subscription at $199.00 for the year for 30 kids, Glogster is a bargain!
As a teacher tool, I have used it many times. I have a glog that I use to introduce myself at the beginning of the year, and several that I have created to use with various topics such as incline planes, 3D solids, etc. The kids LOVE them and I find it a great way to introduce subjects, and to tie cross-curricular content together. I will be making many more I am sure!
Thanks for viewing!
Smiles, Kim -
Jody McKinnon
Hey Kim. Thanks for your reply. I guess it’s all about your audience. You are working with younger kids than me. My grade 12’s would probably groan if I asked them to make a glog or view one as an introduction to an assignment or topic. My grade 9’s, on the other hand, might find it more enjoyable.
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Dave Horn
Hi Kim
I thought the elevator pitch was well done and you addressed some definitive problems, though I was unsure how I could actually incorporate the tool. As an investor I would like to have seen what the market potential was like, considering there any number of sites that can mix media, which are free. How would you distinguish Glogster in a competitive media world?
Dave
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kimnoel
Hi Dave,
I think that your point would be addressed in reading the Venture Pitch.
Glogster VUE would be a “library” of already created glogs, making it unneccessary to create your own. For most users, Glogster VUE would be a FREE add-on to their already exsisting subscriptions to Glogster EDU.
Thanks for viewing!
Kim
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dmcinnes
Kim,
Thanks for sharing your pitches with us. Both are well done. They are clear, comprehensive and convincing. Like many teachers, I am always skeptical of online education services that charge a fee. It oftens makes teachers run the other way. I do think that you have a good idea to add value to glogster as it stands.
David McInnes -
Colin
Hi Kim. I think the elevator pitch assumes that the audience has some background knowledge and/or experience with Glogster, but I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t know anything about them. As an educator, I probably should know more. As a result of my ignorance, the pitch left me a bit confused. 🙁
Colin
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kimnoel
Hi Colin,
You are right – my assumption was that if an investor was interested in Glogster VUE, it would be because they know of Glogster and Glogster EDU’s tremendous success, or would take the time to investigate the company.I had to start from there, to give a background of Glogster and Glogster EDU would have been impossible in this assignment.
(I did my venture analysis on Glogster EDU, perhaps I shpuld link that too!)
Thanks for viewing!
Smiles,
Kim-
Colin
Hi Kim. ^^ That was only my initial thought after watching the video. I did do a bit of research after the post to find out more about Glogster. Seems fun. However, I think I really need to have try it out with my class before I make an informed decision. For now, I’m out (not because of your product).
Thanks for sharing the idea. 🙂
Colin
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Yves Mainville
Nice presentation Kim
I would have liked to hear form you directly while we ‘were in the elevator’ but regardless your presentation was very professional and very smooth. I liked that I did not feel rushed or pressured.
I appreciate the claim that there are no competitors, however, I think there are similar products in the market space with regards to the tech/web 2.0 side of things (pinterest, prezi, etc.) and would be worried about being to protect the uniquess from competitors.
Unless I missed something, and I apologize if I did, but I would like to hear more about the team as well.
I am a huge glogster fan and I think the concept has potential with a bit more fint tuning.Thanks for the presentation.
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kimnoel
Hi Yves,
Glogster VUE is a “library” of user-created glogs – that is where I got the “no competitors” slant. As far as I was able to determine, Glogster creates the only online, multimedia, interactive poster application, thus VUE would be the only library or compilation of user-created, peer-reviewed glogs.
Thanks for viewing!
Smiles, Kim
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Brian H
Kim,
Your pitch is very interesting and would cause me to do more research as an investor.
My instinct though is that fee based systems for Web 2.0 services is very difficult as free versions appear overnight.Having your service paired with a major student management system or collection of services may pique my interest.
Thanks,
Brian -
Ronna Hoglund
Hi Kim,
Thank you for sharing your elevator pitch. While I am a huge Glogster fan and I can see a possibility for success for your venture, I think adding your voice or a video presence and some more information in your pitch would command the attention of potential investors.
Ronna -
mariefrancehetu
Hello Kim,
I thought your elevator pitch was quite effective . . . few words and to the point. However, I did struggle to real the lines before the next slide came along.
Your venture pitch was excellent, well balanced with text, images, graphs and you covered every area a venture pitch should. The problem was well laid out and the solution explicit. I especially liked the introductory letter as if you were sending this package to companies. Maybe you have hiddent talent here and should become an entrepreneur.
Kudos Kim!
Marie-France
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sheza
Hi Kim,
I think that your elevator pitch is simple and subtle – but I think that when approaching investors you would have to tweak it to be more aggressive! I was also not too familiar with Glogster, although I knew that it was a poster-tool online, I wasn’t aware of Glogster EDU. So, after viewing your elevator pitch I did some poking around the Glogster site to be able to envision the ideas you had in the venture pitch. I can see the need for a serachable library on Glogster, because I was trying to find some education-based glogs and mostly came across personal glogs and then finally found some homework-related glogs that I was then able to use to better understand your pitch. I think perhapsincluding an example of the glogs you say you have created to teach with would be beneficial in educators/investors envisioning what the Glogary would consist of. I like your idea about the rating system to give the Glogary a compeitive edge over competitors like Prezi – I DO think they and other media-rich presentation sites online are your competitors even though they don’t have a similar library search; and I think that as an intelligent entrepreneur you should accept that and be mindful of it.
Although I think glogs are great I do see them as more of a student-use tool rather than a teacher resource tool and if Glogster markets itself as selling student use accounts I fear that your Glogary will be full of student work that other students could easily plagiarize. As an educator I would be weary of using the Glogary. That being said, I don’t think that you will be able to capture the Market Share you are expecting with the venture if teachers won’t be likely to use it, therefore I wouldn’t be interested in investing.Good job on creating a very professional elevator and venture pitch though!
Sheza
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mackenzie
The visuals were good but the text was distracting from the impact of them. When reading a pitch in video form I find it hard to grasp the message because of the focus it takes to read while the visuals divert my attention.
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Sherman Lee
Hi Kim,
I have not used Glogster extensively before so I was a bit confused in your pitch. I know that you have mentioned to another investor that you are aiming at those who have some knowledge of Glogster. And as the saying goes… only invest in what you are familiar with. Until I learn more about Glogster and use it a couple of times, I don’t think I can make a judgement into putting down my money. It is fair and I agree with you in terms of how it would be way too big to present two products Glogster VUE and Glogster in such short pitch time.
One other thought is, I really wish I could have heard your voice in the elevator pitch. It would help me make a connection to you.
Overall, I think the idea is cool. I wish you luck in your venture and I do look forward to see your future development if you would not mind inviting me again when you do another pitch.
Sherman
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Hussain Luaibi
Hello Kim
Making a venture pitch is not easy, It takes time. And I am sure it took you some time doing this good one. I am not really acquainted fully with the system you are promoting in your pitch. So basically your pitch has opened my eyes to the existence of such a system . As an investor I will not just get involved in such project because I need to investigate its potential market.Target market: I feel that your project target market inclines towards the organizations, institutes and big centers. And that is not a defect. On the contrary it solidifies the ground where it stands.
How effective will the project be?
Well, the idea of finding an authentic source of information where educators can use to enhance their work seems very nice. However, it is not new in the market. There are many web-based sites where teachers can consult for information. So it would be one of them.
Investment: I agree with my classmates who mentioned that hey would wait to see how it moves in the market before making any decision about investing in it.After watching your pitch and venture , I feel I am not ready to invest but I am ready to explore it.
Good job
Hussain
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Dennis Pratt
Welcome to SAFETY TRAINING FOR YOUTH. As a construction teacher and MET student I am in the right position to help digitalize construction teaching. Watch the elevator pitch and visit my venture pitch and reflection in Google Docs. I think you will see my passion and desire to see safety improved in construction classes. *photos […]
Continue reading Welcome to SAFETY TRAINING FOR YOUTH. As… Posted in: Uncategorized, Venture Forum-
Jody McKinnon
HI Dennis. I think you are on to something here. Your idea is a great one and I would hope that it would be developed and implemented immediately. Safety is our number one goal and I think that by putting in a digital form, you could probably catch your audience’s attention even more so. In fact, it might be fun to make safety videos with your students to add to your collection of legit safety videos. The idea seems very solid and could easily be sold or given to other jurisdictions as you have stated, it’s a not for profit idea. I didn’t see or hear anything about your CEO and Team so I couldn’t comment on that. Overall, I think it is a great idea that should be pursued immediately, if not sooner.
Jody
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Dennis Pratt
Jody;
I can’t wait to get going on the project and plan to initiate it this year over my last two courses. I had a hard time thinking of myself as a CEO for this venture as I do plan on organizing it but don’t know what kind of money will be involved to get it off the ground or see it through until the end. I tried to just mention my credentials and leave it at that. I think many people find it difficult to talk about themselves or sell themselves to others.
I appreciate the feedback as it is sometimes hard to come by, even amongst your colleagues.
Thanks,
Dennis
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Yves Mainville
Hi Dennis,
Solid elevator pitch and quite relevant. I think it is very ‘à propos’ in current educational circles and the ministry’s push into trades.
I like the mobile accessibility of the product.
I would like to hear more about the competition and the market before investing however. Being somewhat familiar with this area, I think strategic partnerships will be key as well.Well done.
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Dennis Pratt
Yves;
I like your idea of strategic partnerships as the initial networking would be more work but it would pay off quickly. As for the competition, I did not touch on it as much as I could have, mostly because there is not much available for youth specific training. There are a few websites put out by the government but they are mostly text and aimed at older youth. I can see this project aligning with Occupational Health and Safety at the provincial level and maybe even getting some government funding through them to develop quality resources.
Thanks,
Dennis
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Yves Mainville
Good points! Absolutely.
Good luck with the venture friend.
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dmcinnes
Dennis,
It sounds like a good concept. I can imagine how difficult it is to get all the students on the “same page” when many are absent on days that proper operation of tools, or safety demonstrations are conducted. What I wonder about though is how relevant will the videos/apps be when different shops use different tools, and various brands of tools? Also, is there a convention of set standards across Canada or does it vary province to province? Are the differences slight enough that it wouldn’t matter? I wonder if it might become a bit of a hodge podge with some manufacturers videos, some of your own. Would your identity/branding get lost in the shuffle?
Overall well done.
David McInnes-
Dennis Pratt
David;
Thanks for the feedback and I have the same concerns myself. Most of the construction labs have a basic set of tools and that is where I will start with the simulations and videos. After that set is done I would branch off and specialize into tools that are less common. I can see the library growing and evolving with time. I really like what the Khan Academy has done with their library of videos and would try to do something similar over the years that I am teaching. Eventually I would like to get others involved, maybe through a contest so I am not the only one producing professional quality videos and simulations. For the most part there are similarities between most machinery and that is a great starting point.
Thanks,
Dennis
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Yves Mainville
Library of videos eh? Seems you need to talk to the CEO of Eduglogster VUE… there is your first partnership. 😉
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dmcinnes
p.s. I forgot to add that I think Workers Compensation Board might really get behind a project like this. Maybe some funding would be available.
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kimnoel
Hi Dennis,
Nice pitch and a very relevant venture idea. I love the app idea and I think that this could be something other than a “not-for-profit”! Didn’t hear anything about the company or team, but I think you should run with this (hopefully all the way to the bank!) 🙂
Great job – Good Luck!
Smiles, Kim -
Danielle
Hi Dennis,
Great idea for a venture! I also like your elevator pitch. How you personally introduce the idea and follow up with examples is quite effective . As an investor, I would probably want to see more information about your marketing strategy, championship, and the competition. However, I think the venture speaks for itself and certainly has the potential of taking off. Well done!
Danielle
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jtpatry
Hi Dennis,
Great idea for a venture concept in the hands on construction learning environment. Safety is always key in these types of environments and by having a mobile app with video data banks to refer back to or engage with prior to using machinery is a great idea. Getting the students involved with the venture would be a great idea as that someone mentioned above!
Thanks for sharing!
Jon
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mackenzie
I liked the elevator pitch it showed your problem and your solution. It caused me to look at you venture pitch more thoroughly. I liked the simulation idea but wonder if simulations are the way to go with such a hands on topic. I like the PHET simulations for physics and find them very useful and they save me large amounts of time with lab set up and take down. I would love to actually see one of these simulations since PHET was set up with nobel peach prize money.
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Dennis Pratt
Yes, the simulations and videos will be where most of the money goes. I would have a laptop or iPad set up like a kiosk where students can go to reference the machines they are supposed to know before they operate them. They would have to complete the simulations successfully a few times before getting on the actual equipment.
Thanks for the response.
Dennis
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Bridget
Hi Dennis,
Thank you for sharing your pitches and after reviewing your elevator pitch I have the follow comments.
I like the way that you video-taped yourself in front of the tool bench since this immediately gave me an idea of what you would be talking about. I also found the pictures to be effective especially the x-ray.
As a time saver, videos are a great idea and work well within the realm of a flipped-classroom concept but I am not certain that they need to be recreated since a selection of safety videos already exist on the internet. I would have to weigh the value of the time and money spent reproducing these videos. If there is a reason for them to be specific it was not evident in the elevator pitch.
Bridget
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Dennis Pratt
Bridget;
I struggled getting everything into the elevator pitch as time seemed to go way to fast. I would have to produce new videos, for the most part, that target youth specifically. The safety videos that are available are mostly created for industry and adults. Youth need more focus and reminders about what the main points are.
The best example I can think of is Bill Nye. He creates amazing video about science that are created specifically for kids. If you have ever seen him speak to adults he is not so animated or exciting as he does not have to be.
Dennis
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sheza
Hi Dennis,
I think you have a great idea here. There is a huge push in all districts, provinces and many workplaces that deal with the trades to hire people who are well-trained on the safety of working with machinery. I liked the simple and straight-forward nature of your elevator pitch, though it would have been good to see some more aggressive marketing to an investor in there. I think you could effectively pitch this venture to the WHIMS Board or as you mention in your venture pitch, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety because your product could fill in the gaps left by their guidelines.
I especially like the fact that your product will consist of simulations that students go through to learn about the machinery and the safety precautions to take in using it – this is a feature that will give you a competitive edge over other safety resources available online. Launching this product as an app is also a great way to reach youth.
I think that their is viability in this venture and that you should pursue it! I would be interested in investing after seeing a more clearly worked out business plan.
All the best,
Sheza
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Hussain Luaibi
Hello Dennis
Your project has potential success in it. What makes it so is the fact that you are highlighting an important factor in the field training and education: safety. In spite of the fact that you didn’t refer to the CEO and the team working with him, your project is still outstanding in terms of potential profitability. I think your idea can be a great haven for a lot of vocational institutes and schools due to the practicality of the project.
As for investing in your project, well, I would love to do it of course after considering the rivals of such idea.
You need to keep on to make it a real one and not only a 522 assignment.
Great job
Hussain -
toddpowell
Dennis,
I have had many conversations with my school’s shop teacher about many of the same issues that you are highlighting. There is a great need for your project, and I would love to see this available in the future!Cheers,
Todd
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lisamallen
Good Mind Maps
Hi all, Thanks to this weeks group, I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes a good mind map this week. For me, I think the answer to what makes a good mind map, is that I make it myself. Mind maps are a way of learning, problem solving and exploring ideas. For me, when […]
Continue reading Good Mind Maps Posted in: Uncategorized, Week 09: Visual-Intensive Learning -
kimnoel
Adventures in Mind Mapping!
Great job with mind-mapping week 9! Like others, I have not ever really thought of mind-mapping as a teaching tool, but more of an assessment/review tool. Having used VUE many times in the MET program, I have learned that mind-mapping is a very versatile way of giving visual representation to thoughts and processes. And, the […]
Continue reading Adventures in Mind Mapping! Posted in: Uncategorized-
Sherman Lee
Thank you, Kimberlee. I am glad that you experienced collaborative mind mapping as something new 🙂 From a teacher’s point of view, I do share a similar concern towards mind map. Before I started researching into this project, I have always thought that mind mapping was a very personal exercise, because I have always been asked to do this individually in school. I have done a little bit of this exercise with various groups in academic, professional and personal project, but it was something that was more drawn by one person while the rest dictates. One underlying puzzle that I had was that I wonder how ‘messy’ and confusing it would be to have too many hands in a pot; the amount of time to simply get used to the changes people had made is huge, due to different communication style and visualization.
Flipping the conversation on its head, let’s take a look at this from a more business perspective. If the “messiness” in a collaborative mind map is a concern, what could potentially address this pain point to elevate a tool to a functional level in terms of facilitating or even encouraging a group collaboration on a mind map? What might make you, as a grade 6 teacher, buy into this idea?
Sherman
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vawells
Reflections on mind mapping
Thank you for the introduction to this new tool. As I said before I have used concept maps for brainstorming sessions, pre assessment and exit cards. This particular application would be too difficult in my own context however tools such as spiderscribe(online) and kidspiration are student friendly and helpful for grade 3 students. With the […]
Continue reading Reflections on mind mapping Posted in: Uncategorized, Week 09: Visual-Intensive Learning -
Leonora Zefi
Using mind mapping in the classroom
It’s interesting to see such a variety of applications of mind/concept mapping. I have used mind mapping in problem-based learning where learners are presented with a scenario from the workplace and they have to resolve a communication problem. As pointed out in previous posts, mind mapping can be an effective tool to teach and reinforce concepts […]
Continue reading Using mind mapping in the classroom Posted in: Uncategorized, Week 09: Visual-Intensive Learning-
danishaw
Thanks for your input, Leonora! I too think it is crucial to include a reflective piece as a means of summary so that all learners use the visual learning artifact as a means to expand upon and develop their knowledge base. If one was to use the tool only as a means of idea generation then the deep thinking and reasoning potential would be lost.
Dani
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gillian
A big thank you from Week 8!
Hi everyone, Thanks very much for your feedback during our Week 8 presentation. We were very impressed with everyone’s PLEs and added resources (we have stolen/borrowed many of them). There was a lot of insightful input and discussions, which greatly enhanced the experience both for ourselves and hopefully for you, our colleagues. Symbaloo (it’s also […]
Continue reading A big thank you from Week 8! Posted in: Uncategorized
gillian 10:27 am on August 5, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Sheza,
Your suggestions for increasing participation in the OERs make a good deal of sense. Many of the groups offered significant content that needed to be reviewed before participation of any value could be made. I found in some cases this took a considerable amount of time leaving me until near the end of the week before I could reply and respond to the comments of others. By allowing a little more time for each might help alleviate some of that pressure.
gillian
Danielle Dubien 9:51 pm on August 5, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Sheza and Meggan,
I agree that 3 extra days to deal with each OER would have been very useful. Often, it seemed that just as discussions were warming up, the week was ending. Having two overlapping OERs at any time would be manageable.
Danielle Dubien 9:59 pm on August 5, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Oops, I meant Gillian instead of Meggan. I mixed up my team mates.