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  • admin 6:56 pm on July 29, 2012
    2 votes
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    Tags: , , mobile apps   

    I have put all of my work together at http://www.mrmckinnon.com/ossltonthego1. The elevator pitch is on the first page and the subsequent webpages flesh out the venture. For those of you that are not familiar with Ontario’s curriculum, all students in Grade 10 must write the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT). It is written in […]

    Continue reading I have put all of my work together at ht… Posted in: Venture Forum
     

    • dmcinnes 12:33 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great job Jody!
      I thought your pitches were clear, concise, engaging and realistic. Both appeared well researched very professional. I had some questions about “assigned teachers” to provide feedback. Is that something that already exists, or a service your company would provide?
      At this point, I’d be a little on the fence, but might be willing to invest. Well done!

      David McInnes

    • Jody McKinnon 4:23 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi there. Thanks for your comments. IN many schools, a teacher or group of teachers has the responsibility for preparing students for the test. In my school, it has been the core English teacher. So in this case, he/she would be the ‘assigned’ teacher. This way no teacher is responsible for no more than 22 students (the class size cap for Applied courses in my board). I hope this clarifies it for you. Thanks!

    • Yves Mainville 10:47 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Yes, I would invest.
      Your presentation was dynamic and engaging and pretty much grapped you by the eyeballs from the start. 🙂
      I much enjoyed the format of your presentation – simple to navigate, concise and to the point. I would like to hear more about the market expectations and before actually signing on the dotted line, would like to hear more about motives behind the users (as it is the MEO that wants high grades in this case, and not necessarily the students, no?).
      regardless, this holds potential for me.

      well done.

    • Brian H 11:11 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Jody,
      Jody,

      I really like the app and service but I would not invest under the current fee structure. If all approx. 900 Ontario High Schools purchased a licence for $50 you would have a total revenue of $45 000 minus app store and processing fees. You would have to bank that a major amount of parents would purchase this app at $5 price point.

      I would be interested in this venture if the app could be sold directly to the Ministry to provide the services to all stakeholders free of costs. Otherwise, the market is too small to cover the overhead costs to properly deliver the services promised (staff, hardware, network, development, support ect.)

      Thanks,
      Brian Hotovy

      • Jody McKinnon 12:32 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks for your comments. The purpose of this app was to not make money. The fee was nominal on purpose. If this were a real venture, my hope is that the government would have invested in it and provided the differences in costs.

    • Ronna Hoglund 11:47 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Jody,
      Thank you for sharing your elevator pitch with me. I do think that you presented a compelling pitch, however, as a parent of a 17 y/o boy in the Ontario public school system, I would be very grumpy having to purchase “extra” help in any format for him to succeed. That said, my children (I also have a 19y/o daughter) were both successful with the test and I am sure there are other parents and teens who might appreciate it.
      Ronna

      • Jody McKinnon 12:33 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I hear that Ronna. IN theory, if this were a real app and the province paid for it, parents would pay nothing. Because in theory, this app is free for the user…only more if the parents want to receive the reports and controls.. Thanks for your comments.

    • shawn harris 11:50 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Jody,

      Great job on your pitch!

      I think that your focus on this new educational app to help risk learners is very fitting for the current educational technology market! I would surely invest. This is certainly an area with potential for growth in the next several years not just in Ontario but in the Caribbean and other developing countries. I thought that the tone of your pitch was very professional, clear and to the point. This venture seems convincing compared to others I might add.

      I think “No student should be left behind” could be your company’s slogan. What do you think?

      Jody I notice you did not talk about the global market or did I missed that? Is this new app only for Ontario? Are you planning to go global? We have literacy exams here in the Caribbean too. Your team seems credibility and look highly spirited.

      By the way, loved the video about you receiving the Olympic Torch in Dec 06. That must have been an awesome experience. Thanks for sharing with us!

      Overall, I do think your venture has a good market that is increasingly growing overtime. You have provided a detailed venture pitch with information about the market and the product. The concept is a good one… again, thanks for sharing it with us and all the best!

      ~ Shawn

      • Jody McKinnon 12:34 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks for your comments. My market is local and I have no interest in going global at this time. I don’t know much or anything about the structure of tests around the world, However, if this were a real venture and it worked well here, it could easily be adapted for export to other jurisdictions. Thanks!

    • Jody McKinnon 8:10 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Colin. Thanks for your response. You are correct in that it is a niche market and that is what I wanted all along to begin. Should it prove worthwhile in the real world, it could easily be available for all learners preparing for the test. I had thought about the tax break thing for investing, but I wasn’t sure about how that would work or if it would be realistic or legal. I’m not a marketing expert, entrepreneur or a business person. I’m just an English teacher that wants to see boys be more successful on the literacy test. Thanks again!

    • Hussain Luaibi 10:55 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Jody
      Neat work! Everything was done nicely. I think your venture will find its place in the market easily especially you mentioned that you prefer it to be in the local market. With the statistics you provided in regard to failing percentage of the exam takers specifically among boys, I presume the market welcomes such education-oriented business initiative because it is simply needed. What helps here is the fact that it is a unique attempt.
      However there is one thing that makes me a bit hesitant which is the profit. You are driving at moving the investors to put their capitals in such a project but you don’t promise them with a good financial repay. Jody, you are addressing and dealing with investors not philanthropists!
      Good job!
      Hussain

      • Jody McKinnon 3:47 am on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Hussain. Thanks for your comments. The purpose of my venture was never to make a profit. You’ll notice that I’ve positioned this as a way to fit a corporate social responsibility model…i.e. a way for the company to give something back to the community. Thanks again!

    • Dave Horn 11:39 am on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Jody

      I thought this was a very well done venture both in presentation and in concept. You were very clear in you elevator pitch and I think that you have hit on a market which does exist. Working in a school with students who are often disengaged and who struggle to study I could see the use for a mobile review tool with extrinsic rewards. I know in BC there is a slow removal of some of the standardized testing and I wonder how this trend could affect the OSST?
      As an investor I would be interested in seeing the full venture plan and implementation scheme, as even if the OSST were to be removed this tool could be adapted for other testing needs.

      Very well done

      Dave

    • mariefrancehetu 7:17 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hello Jody,

      I was impressed with both your elevator pitch and venture pitch. Both looked quite professional and offered a good balance of visuals and text. As CEO you inspired me confidence that you know your stuff.

      Your venture pitch and entire website was well researched and you really covered all possible questions a possible investor might have. Just one little thing, some of your lines on your web site overlap near the bottom and make it difficult to decipher those last few lines. Otherwise the whole look of the web site is appealing and as an investor I would certainly consider investing in your venture!

      Congrats on your hard work . . . it really paid off!

      Marie-France

    • Sherman Lee 12:26 am on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hello Jody,

      Just as an aside, I can see your care for your students through your venture, and I think that is a great thing as an instructor myself. Putting my investor cap back on, your OSSLT on the go has potential. Your elevator and venture pitches were effective. The elevator pitch was efficient and effective. One personal pet-peeve of mine is dragged on and slow-paced elevator pitches. I see them almost like a commercial for investors – too slow and you killed the budding interest. Your venture pitch was well presented, and has your elevator pitch nicely embedded in it for easy referral. Overall, it was a great job!

      CEO & Team: You left the best till last. I think you had a great structure that you introduced what your product was attempting to address and how it brings value to investors before reinforcing that trust with the introduction of you as the CEO and your highly capable team. By doing so, you gave a reason for me to remember you and your team by!

      Venture Concept: I think this is a plausible concept. Being very familiar with the tutoring industry, I know how product that is driven by a standardized exam could draw a lot of interest. This is not only interest coming from the students, but more so from the parents. And what’s better than an app that you can easily take anywhere with you. This definitely beat those phone-book size study guides!

      Marketability: I like it that the users get to use this for free. It is often easier to manage by schools if the students don’t have to pay. That is a big draw in for this market. Do you have any plans on expanding your market beyond who you have identified? I see that the at risk and also the re-write as more of a niche market. Since this standardized exam is for Ontario, I can see that it is of your best interest to reach as much of Ontario as you can. Another suggestion would be a global market. Yes… although your product was created for a niche, it doesn’t need to stay in it. Again, from my tutoring experience, there are parents who are thinking of immigrating to Ontario who might be interested in this as well. This would, of course, be a great marketing feat to reach deeper into the immigration population. There’s lots of potential, so make sure you plan things out!

      Venture Plan: I would like to know a bit more about your plans for kick-off. How are you going to promote this product? What is your plan for dominating the market and keeping your product unique?

      With such a great pitch, I would like to invest in your venture. Prior to committing a solid amount, I would like to further discuss with you in regards to the OSSLT on the go business model and marketing plans.

      Thank you and great job!

      Sherman

    • Kenton Hemsing 8:13 am on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Jody,

      I would invest for the greater good of the students, the ask is not much and the outcome makes it worthy of an initial investment. However, I do have a concern and that is with the government’s reaction to more students being successful on the exams, will they respond by increasing the standards and making the exam harder if future sessions? I know that some provincial exams I have had experience in administering have a set expectation that a certain percentage of students fail.

      I think that a venture like this could also be expanded to include apps for other provincial or standardized exams, (I am not very familiar with the Ontario system), but in Alberta something like this would be useful for all other provincial achievement and diploma exams.

      You pitch is excellent and very well constructed. Great work.

      Kenton

    • Jody McKinnon 1:54 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Greetings all from Iceland..I”m still up after 36 hours, so I apologize if this post isn’t that coherent. Thanks for all of your comments since yesterday. I appreciate the feedback and do see that something like this could work in not only Ontario, but abroad. Re: the test getting easier? I’m not sure I buy that, but there will always be kids that don’t pass. We just need to make that a lower number. Anyway thanks again for all the excellent feedback. I’m not likely to post again. A pleasure working with y’all!

    • mackenzie 4:56 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great job! You presented the problem well and introduced the solution clearly. Your visuals enhanced the message I was intrigued to know more about your product. I would not invest in your product since I am not a big believer in teaching to a test, sorry. Great presentation though.

  • Colin 3:51 am on July 28, 2012
    0 votes
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    Tags: , , , mobile apps,   

    Welcome to MobileCMS–a classroom management suite for mobile devices that helps teachers monitor students, show demos, and more! This product is ideal for blended-learning classrooms with tablets–both class sets and BYODs. The 1-minute video will introduce you to MobileCMS: its features, benefits, and opportunities. Click here if the video is not properly displayed. More information […]

    Continue reading MobileCMS Posted in: Venture Forum
     

    • Meggan Crawford 6:48 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Colin,

      I think that your venture is presenting something that would make BYOD more attainable in a lot of classrooms, but it is not an easy venture to get started! Your presentation explains your goals and theory well, though it moves a bit quickly at a few points. As a teacher who allows student use of personal devices you definitely had my interest.

      I am curious though, about potential privacy issues this may bring about – to run, I assume that your venture would need a high level of access to the student devices, which some students and/or parents may object to. If the teacher has access to a classroom set of devices this is, of course, a non-issue. As with desktop versions of this venture I would be concerned that some teachers might become absorbed with watching their screen to keep everyone on task at every moment and that the teaching itself might suffer a bit, but that is more about individual educators, rather than your venture!

      I would be interested to see this venture in reality!
      Thanks for sharing!
      -Meggan

    • shawn harris 9:34 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Colin,

      Your elevator pitch is one which caught my attention. I rocked straight through and just loved the music. I listened to it over and over.
      The mobile CMS venture definitely has potential in the education market. The market was clear stating who it is designed for. You also gave a nice overview on the product features.
      I liked the fact that you had a contact slide at the end in case the potential investor needed more information to make a decision.

      On another note Colin, you did not mention who created this product nor was the management team mentioned. It would have been nice to see and hear the CEO somewhere in between the presentation to add some credibility. Something to look at in the future.
      The classroom management suit has its place in this fast growing market and has the potential to do well!

      ~ Shawn

    • Donna Forward 11:34 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hello Colin,

      Great, catchy Elevator Pitch. However, I think that I’m getting old because I felt rushed trying to read some of the slides before they moved on.

      When you mentioned that your product could be used for assessment and surveying the class, I immediately thought of clickers and that you were taking this concept 10 steps future will a great, innovative idea with Mobile CMS.

      I really liked your Venture presentation and the way it was put up on the WordPress site, very professional. You used humour which was great. I especially laughed at the comment “yes, this is the link you want to click on”. Your humour continued on as a CEO and I’m glad to know that you’re a very nice person, that you’re very generous and that you are going to donate all of your net proceeds back to education.

      As a business venture, your application is very well priced at $2.99 which makes it a realistic. You have really done your homework to research this idea and crunch the numbers.

      Definite investment!

      Donna

    • Ronna Hoglund 12:05 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Colin,
      I completely understand about not liking your own voice! The only way to get over it, I have found, is to jump in there, do lots of recording and listen! It works! Now I have to get used to looking at myself on video – ick, lol. Anyway, to the point. I think your venture idea is a good one. To entice future investors, however, I think putting yourself out there as a commanding leader would do it. Thank you for sharing your work!
      Ronna

    • HJDeW 6:34 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Colin, you present a novel and interesting venture that has a vision for global reach in the niche of mobile classroom management. It certainly is one area that dominates teachers’ attention and time. Would teachers be purchasing the product themselves or would you licence to school districts?

      Your comment about teachers ‘using technology to overcome their fear of technology’ is certainly hopeful, but it takes more than using it to overcome the inherent issues of tech in classrooms. Since you plan to reinvest profits into education, perhaps supporting communities of practice rather than individual grants to teachers would be a better way to create change with your unique product.

      I was looking for the ‘ask’ for the investors, but there was no specific target amount that you were looking for from your investors. You do provide some interesting numbers for return on investment – just for markets in the US.
      Helen

    • Denise 8:47 am on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Colin,
      I thought your elevator pitch was very professional and highlighted the pain points and solution and differentiation. As Shawn commented the one thing as an EVO I felt was missing was an intro to the CEO and thus the competency behind the venture. One possibility would have been a slide with your picture and a few lines eg on the WordPress blog the CEO page worked really well and could have been modified (no need for video or voice)

      The venture pitch was again really professional and I too like the clean blog you produced. i enjoyed the humour and you backed up your claims with a lot of good references. As an EVO looking to invest though I actually had to go through the site to find the investment pitch itself and while I was reading all the other material I found myself thinking it was focused on sales. I wondered, if I were unsure about whether to invest or not, whether this need to try and find the info might havebeen seen as too time consuming. One suggestion would be to lead straight to the investment venture pitch and then when hooked all the other material becomes important to explore – (and is really engaging).

      I too wondered what you wanted from the investor – it wasn’t clear, but the possible returns were exciting!

      I believe I would have wanted to know more about investing.
      Denise

    • Kenton Hemsing 12:52 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Colin,

      You have put together an effective elevator pitch, even without using your own voice. The website that you created for your company is also very effective and informative for investors. It appears that you have also done a lot of research on the potential market for your product.

      As someone who is extremely interested in mobile technology in the classroom and BYOD solutions for educators I am keenly interested in learning more about your product. I have just a few questions:
      1) Obviously this product will be aimed at schools that have good and reliable access to the internet in wifi connections within. Will there be any need for schools to upgrade their existing infrastructure to accommodate so many learners and teachers accessing the wifi simultaneously?
      2) How will support be given to educators for using the product?
      3) How will updates to the program be rolled out to the users? Is it possible that one day it might take 10-15 minutes of class time to allow all users to update the program?

      Other than those questions, I am ready to invest. I think that you have a lot of knowledge about the area and the market is primed and ready for going mobile.

      Well done,
      Kenton

    • Danielle Dubien 8:13 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Colin,

      The basic idea of your venture is very interesting. I agree that a lot of the features offered by Mobile CMS would be helpful to teachers, particularly the Remote Control, Demonstration Mode and Polling functions. However, the issue of class management may be solved by better training and school/district policies with regards to behaviour management.

      Also, if the teacher’s lessons are not sufficiently engaging, kids’ minds will wander. A teacher who is able to see which students are viewing inappropriate or irrelevant sites still has to deal with the underlying problem leading the kids to visit these sites. A teacher who is able to gain the trust and respect of their students is less likely to need the monitoring services like those of MobileCMS because the kids will be focused on the course content. On the other side of the same coin, a teacher who uses punitive or controlling software might cause kids to want to rebel more.

      It might be worth looking into the psychological effects of using different technologies and management approaches. In the hands of an excellent teacher, Mobile CMS would certainly enhance education. However, in the hands of a teacher who is poorly trained or poorly skilled for whatever reason, it could be a false promise. For me to invest in your venture, I would need to see consistent research results using sound methods that prove that MobileCMS significantly helps to improves students’ results and behaviour.

      On another subject, if you are going to work on apps for mobile devices for teachers, I suggest forming a partnership with companies who produce gadgets that allow teachers to hold onto devices easily. Since the teachers would be working with these devices more often, there are much greater chances that they’ll drop them, so a glove-gripper of sorts for tablets would be useful.

      Cheers,
      Dan

    • Allan 1:23 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Colin,

      This is an impressive elevator pitch. I think Mobile CMS is an excellent and the product is a sound investment. There is a lot of energy in your venture pitch, and I can see you’ve covered a great deal – competitors, target audiences, drawbacks. Your website in particular is a great engagement tool with your investors. I especially appreciated your FAQ section. I see that your approach centres on the presentation and not so much on your team. I think that is fine, although it would’ve been interesting to see who built this product.

      Well done!
      Allan

    • mariefrancehetu 4:14 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hello Colin,

      Your elevator pitch was a good combination of music and visual element, but I found the wording went by much too quickly, I had to stop the slides to read the material. I know that you were trying to squeeze in as much as possible in 1 minute . . . Perhaps putting your ideas in point form instead of short sentences might have helped with the timing.

      Venture Pitch
      I felt the web site looked professional and thought your FAQ section was innovative and very pertinent, trying to lure investors.

      As an investor however, I would not have been convinced about your venture after watching your pitch, because I did not feel there was anyone really behind the venture. The team and CEO were not presented and because of that I felt the pitch was impersonal. Perhaps a short video introducing the venture and the team might have been appropriate – your website needs a touch of warmth to give the public a sense that you are talking to them.

      I can see how MOBILE CMS would work well in an adult learning environment, helping teachers foster technology in the classroom – with a worthwhile message I can relate to: pedagogy before technology!

      Cheers!

      Marie-France

  • David Vogt 12:38 pm on May 6, 2012
    -5 votes
    |
    Tags: , mobile apps   

    While tablet and smart phone manufacturers are churning forward at a breakneck pace, making a fortune on humanity’s device-lust, the compelling back-story is what these devices can do – the proliferation of Apps.   And while addiction and burn-out on the distracting nature of most apps is already big news, there is also a rapid […]

    Continue reading Apps Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
     

    • Kenton Hemsing 10:38 am on May 12, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Applications for education hold a promise in that with the amount of apps that are being created teachers and students have access to learning aids and further information. Educators are able to make personalized applications that students can use to meet their needs and students are also able to experiment with creating applications that serve their needs. With the inclusion of BYOD and Self-Guided Learning, apps will open students to opportunities for furthering their chances to extend and continually learn.

    • sheza 12:08 pm on May 12, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      A high school History Department in Markham recently invested in a class set of iPads. The reason? The apps. There are so many educational apps available for a variety of disciplines that teachers cannot afford to ignore the educational value they can add to their classrooms. From World War I and II re-enactment apps to online History journals that teachers can add to the iPad for students to access during research periods – the possibilities are endless. At the same school students in the Communications Technology department are working with the History Department cross-curricularly to design apps related to History course content. Brilliant.

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