A3 Venture Pitch
Hello ETEC522, Below you will find my venture links for the Socrative smart student response system: Elevator Pitch Venture Pitch Enjoy!
Continue reading A3 Venture Pitch Posted in: Week 13: Venture Forum
murray12
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murray12
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murray12
Day 1: Mobile 5Ws & H
Who: Grade 3 teacher, MET student, Europe traveler What: Adding grades and planning lessons, reading MET content and completing activities, learning about destinations. Where: On my train commute to work (total 3 hours), traveling around Europe When: WHENEVER I DON’T HAVE AN IPAD OR PRINTED INFORMATION, commuting 1 1/2 in the morning and […]
Continue reading Day 1: Mobile 5Ws & H Posted in: Week 11: Mobiles-
David William Price
Wow… it sounds like you fit the m-learning profile… at least for a few hours a month! Commuting represents a huge amount of time for many people.
How do you add grades and plan lessons? What software do you use?
Do you ever use your mobile to collect images, sounds or video to share in your Grade 3 classes?
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murray12
Hi David,
I keep my grades organized with a GoogleDoc spreadsheet, which I can access and edit at work and on my smartphone. I use Google Calendar for my daily planner, which I can also access with my phone.
I have used the phone on my camera to collect images to later share with my class. But, I’ve never thought to collect sounds or video to share with them. I should give that a try, thanks.
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murray12
D3: Money, Sprouting, & Leaning Back and Forth
1) When administrators consider that a new set of Mac computers will cost a great deal more that a set of ‘educational app rich’ iPads, this could be a game changer. You can get ‘more for your money’ taking the iPad route. 2) It feels like there is a new tablet being released every week. […]
Continue reading D3: Money, Sprouting, & Leaning Back and Forth Posted in: Week 09: iPad Apps-
Jay
Thanks for addressing all three of these questions Andrew. You are definitely correct in that it would cost a lot less to buy a set of iPads than it would to equip a classroom with as many macs. The mobility within the classroom that the iPad allows also provides an advantage over a stationary system.
I think one of the difficulties of being in the decision making and investing postion for a school district is that you don’t always have a lot of time to wait, although you pointed out you would be waiting too long. I think this is for the same reason in that these technologies are changing so quickly it’s impossible to keep up or as you suggest you’d be waiting a long time because everything keeps changing. Like you mentioned, Apple is a trusted brand and I think this is what becomes the deciding factor for many. Some schools have started pilot programs as well and I think this is a good way to see what works for the school, teachers and most importantly students.
Lastly, I also need to be sitting “rigidly” at a desk or table with my laptop when I am writing. Even if I got used to a touch screen keyboard I don’t think I could be lying on the couch and typing something out.
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murray12
Hi Jay,
I seem to only manage pecking with one or two fingers when I’m typing and lounging on the couch:)
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Doug Smith
I think even less expensive that a set of iPads could be a class set of netbooks, or notebooks perhaps. They are not as immediate as a tablet, but perhaps they offer more in terms of a creation tool. Who knows though? I never would have thought that someone would prefer to type on a tablet touchscreen but maybe that’s just my bias because of 20 years of keyboarding.
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murray12
Hi Doug,
I agree that some netbooks or notebooks could be a reasonable purchase for lean in activities, as opposed to iPads. But we don’t hear much ‘buzz’ about good old laptops anymore.
At a iPad seminar I was at a few weeks ago, the speaker said that tablets are here to stay and soon we will be looking at laptops the way we now look at old computers that used to fill up half a room.
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hall
Hi murray,
Thank you for appropriately answering the questions. Your answers definitely acted as a springboard for further discussions on Ipad Apps. I support your view that the purchasing of Ipad is a better option Ipad over than purchasing other devices such as the Mac. I think another reason that Ipad is a better choice than other devices on the market is its flexibility. I found that Ipad is flexible to use. In August of this year I was waiting at the airport to board a plane and during the waiting period I conveniently used a Ipad to catch up on my UBC assignments. IPads can be easily used by educators and students almost anywhere.
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murray12
Hi Hall,
I agree that iPads are great to bring out to catch up on some work. I’ll admit though that I’ve had a few instances where I haven’t had a wireless connection or was too stubborn/cheap to pay for a wireless connection while I have been out and about. Unless I pre-load everything I need onto the iPad, a time consuming task, I can find myself carrying around dead weight.
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jarvise
Hi Andrew,
Good point about typing on the pop-up. For students in k-12 today, this is their life. Think about how often you see them texting on those tiny little keypads. They are probably more comfortable on the pop-up than they are on a regular keyboard. For the younger set, this works. As far as using a bluetooth external keyboard, there is a pain-in-the-butt snag: if you have the keyboard ‘paired’ to your computer already, you have to unpair it first, then pair it up to the ipad. Everytime you switch it back and forth, you have to repeat the procedure. Annoying. As a result, I’m getting faster and faster on the pop-up. I wonder if there are keyboarding sites out there to train you on fast typing on a pop-up?
Emily
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murray12
Hi Emily,
I didn’t realize that you had to recalibrate an external keyboard between iPads and computers each time, bummer. I also wonder if there are apps or sites that help people from ‘chicken pecking’ at their pop-ups rather than using ten fingers 🙂
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murray12
D2: Time, Accountability, and Wheel re-inventing
The primary school I am working at recently bought twenty iPads. As one of the organizers of this addition, I found the following pros and cons. Pros: TIME! As an primary teacher it always seems to take forever to get a whole class set up, logged in, files found, website accessed, etc. on traditional computers. […]
Continue reading D2: Time, Accountability, and Wheel re-inventing Posted in: Week 09: iPad Apps-
Deb Giesbrecht
Murray,
Thanks for your post.
Pioneering something new has its challenges – it would be nice if lesson plans came pre-loaded for you that was not only adaptable but suitable for your needs. Its interesting that you mentioned the time it takes to utilize the ipad and get everyone on the same page- had never thought of that aspect before and it certainly is an issue that needs addressing. I imagine with repeated use that it would get easier and faster. Maintenance is always a concern as well – for any appliance that is used in the workforce, and budget talks that centre around maintenance issues are always a challenging conversation. It highlights the need that we need to identify its specific uses and expected outcomes before we invest in any technology.thaks again for your comments.
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murray12
Hello Deb,
Sorry, I may had been unclear in my post above – I have found using the iPads much faster than traditional computers. With traditional computers, students would always have their hands up asking questions about how to log in, where is a file, and what they’re supposed to do. It can get better with practice, but not always. With the iPads however, I found the students could intuitively get started right away once they know the instructions. The iPads have been a huge time saver.
As for budget concerns and maintenance, so far we have a IT coming by every other month to fiddle with the iPads. Otherwise, I or another teacher wrestle with a spiderweb of cables to update the IOS or add new apps. It hasn’t been too stressful yet, but it’s only early days.
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murray12
Cloud Benefits – Working from home
I base my argument for businesses to get on the cloud bandwagon from an article I read in the Globe and Mail. The article states that there are real benefits for business and workers when people work from home. For example, “…almost 90 per cent of people polled who work from home say it has […]
Continue reading Cloud Benefits – Working from home Posted in: Week 08: Files in the Cloud-
jarvise
My brother has a consulting business in Calgary with an office space that seems to physically use a cloud concept. Hey have a few shared offices, but the meeting spaces, kitchens, bathrooms, secretary are shared with the other companies on that floor. They only use the office sometimes, working from home part of the time. There is something communal about the cloud that obviously provides economies of scale that provide benefits.
Emily
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murray12
Hi Emily,
So the collaborative applications your brother uses are enough to make him feel like he is truly part of a working community?
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Kristopher
Hi Murray and Emily,
I am a huge fan of the cloud as an off-site employee. It makes my day to day life so much easier and the systems become much smoother as a whole. For example, my colleagues find the network in the office to be somewhat slow on large documents that they are working with– this leads them to save a local copy and inevitably forget to upload the new document. With my stuff, I work directly in the cloud instead of having local copies. Cloud forces a bit more seamless a transition.
Emily, the concept that you describe is also known as hoteling (check out this information on hoteling http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotelling_(office) ); I have never heard of it compared to cloud computing, but that is a really interesting parallel.
Kristopher
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Julie S
Interesting. Hoteling is popular in the field of consulting (my work industry) but the cloud isn’t so much because normally the consultant needs to work on the corporate LAN for security reasons. Isn’t it interesting that using cloud computing can be faster than a companies LAN. I wonder if we will get to a critical mass where the cloud computing data transfer speeds will start to degrade as LANs do when there is too much data transfer for the bandwidth available.
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murray12
Hi Kristopher,
I know what you mean about files being much slower to open and edit on a server. I spent countless hours waiting for my report card documents to load while I was working on them a few years ago. It really ruins your momentum and train of thought. Then I realized that I could just load them on a USB and take them home, much faster. But, as you said, I always need to make sure I remember to upload to latest version to avoid confusion.-
Julie S
some companies I have worked for have a policy against using USB drives. I guess this isn’t a problem in the school system?
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mcquaid
I couldn’t speak for all, but it’s A-OK in mine. In a gov’t department like Veterans’ Affairs, they are outright banned.
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murray12
Hi Julie,
Do they ban USB drives because they think someone will accidentally load a virus or something from their home computer?
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Jim
@murray12
Thank you for posting that info from the Globe and Mail. I thought I might mash it up a bit:“…almost 90 per cent of students say it has made them more productive.”
“….schools find it easier to hold on to students until graduation who work in the cloud because those students tend to have more flexibility in their schedules for work and school.”
“….And the fewer computers a school has in the building, the less computer equipment they need to support, repair and pay for.”
These changes I made to the G&M quote are completely fictional but I think it illustrates how cloud computing can have an impact on many levels in schools. I think each of the changes I made would be predictable, reasonable outcomes of widespread cloud based computing in a school district.
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Julie S
Excellent remix of the G&M quotes. It actually sounds better from an educational side than the business side.
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murray12
Great mash up Jim!
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Everton Walker
The security issue is a major concern even though there are trusted hosts out there. However, I will be very skeptical about the information I give up for storage. Many persons are of the view that this cloud concept is designed to provide governments better access to what individuals are engaging in. To them, it’s more of a security measure to facilitate global policing.
Everton
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murray12
Hi Everton,
Do you think it would matter to these people if governments were only monitoring what an IP address is looking at, rather than the monitoring the “person” (name, address, etc.). Or, is their concern that governments are monitoring without permission, period?
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murray12
Weightless as a Cloud
After finishing ETEC522, Andrew is 2 courses away from completing the MET program. Since the beginning of this program, Andrew has noticed differences in the way the MET courses have been organized and the ways he himself has organized his time. To understand Andrew’s situation better, you need to know that he has a computer […]
Continue reading Weightless as a Cloud Posted in: Week 08: Files in the Cloud-
jarvise
Good and essential point here. No Internet leaves you with nothing. Hopefully you loaded your iPad with solitaire or tetris.
Emily
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murray12
You’re right, Emily, I do have a few games to keep me from falling asleep on the train. Also, if I need to write an email or something that evening, I sometimes get started using the iPad’s “notes” app and then email the text to myself when I get home to my wireless sanctuary.
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jenaca
Wow, Andrew and I seem to have a lot in common! Trading in bulky textbooks for hand size gadgets that allow me to complete all my assignments and readings. Who would have thought! Now all we need is for the expensive roaming fees to diminish and our problem will be history!
Jenaca-
murray12
It really is weight off your mind and shoulders, eh. But, I wonder if inexpensive roaming fees is something we will ever receive. Or is there just too much money to be made?
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mcquaid
Nice final phrase, Andrew.
You highlight the great need of infrastructure. Without it, things like mobiles / tablets in schools aren’t even a possibility. In my own school district, we ask / beg for wireless, for example, but only a few schools have small pockets of it. In fact, a first step for us is to have our own network / servers / storage. Right now, we’re tied into the health system, and depending on the day, one of us is often slowing the other one down or monopolizing IT technicians. We’d love to have a partitioned system, perhaps cloud-based… secure documents on one side, student files etc. on the other, open for free access!
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murray12
Evernote, eduFire, and DuckDuckGo
Evernote: The pitch was presented in a clear and confident way. As he spoke I discovered a hole in his idea, and I was ready to dismiss him, but he quickly comforted me with valuable information. He did, however, lack a clear “Ask.” What does he want or need? Everything already sounds finished, so how […]
Continue reading Evernote, eduFire, and DuckDuckGo Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp -
murray12
7 Things You Should Know About…(review)
I read, “7 Things You Should Know About iPad Apps For Learning “ from the Educause Learning Initative. I found the format and content of the article useful and valuable for the following reasons: -It begins with a “Scenario” that reveals a ‘tangible’ example of how an ET can be used for someone who may […]
Continue reading 7 Things You Should Know About…(review) Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace-
bcourey
Well said Murray – I agree that some of these sections sound like promotions by the venture creators rather than a true assessment of a new tool. Did it help me make my decision of what tablet to purchase? No, I am still just as unsettled as before. I expect that I would have preferred an article on the merits of tablet use in general rather than one that specifically targets a brand such as the iPad. I agree that the Educause site is a valuable resource and so I have added it to my Delicious account for future reference!
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jarvise
I too commented on how this resource would be a good starting point. It is a great, quick tool for getting an idea of what something is and what it has to offer. By reading this, you could quickly get a gauge of whether or not you would be interested in investigating something further. I think that this is a valuable tool, since the available tools out there are so extensive, and can be overwhelming to navigate without a starting-off point. This could be something that an administrator sends out to a school staff once a month as a prompt for implementing more technology in teaching. Good point about the tone sounding like an advertisement!
Emily
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murray12
Thanks for your feedback. After reading the article I actually DID send it to my administrator, who is a big tech-head. No response from him yet, but I’ll assume he feels the same way we do.
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kstooshnov
Great review, Murray, and I should take a closer look at the website (more than just skimming over to cover other sites). The apprehension you felt over iPad advertising reminds me of an account of the Wired magazine I am currently reading, which claims that the magazine’s purpose was to go deeper than just introducing a product, but examine the sociological impact of technology. That said, I found Educause a bit clunky with the abstracts and hyperlinks to the PDF – why not frontload the seven things when you first click on the topic? Also great that the articles are downloadable, which saves a few navigating clicks.
Kyle
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Deb Kim
Murray,
Great analysis on “7 Things You Should Know About iPad Apps for Learning”. I also felt like reading an advertisement when I read this article. However, it gave useful tips and information on educational apps. I was also satisfied to read the downsides of using iPad apps for learning. Your critique was well said.
Deb
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murray12
Hello from Switzerland
Hello everyone! I am a Vancouverite who is now living in the rolling hills of Switzerland. I am teaching a grade three class at an international school in Zurich. The students are taught in German for half the day and then taught in English with me for the remainder. It has been a very rich […]
Continue reading Hello from Switzerland Posted in: Week 01: Introductions-
verenanz
HI Andrew! I am working on developing ESL technology assisted learning strategies. Although I am focused on jr high and high students, I would love to hear what you are doing. Are your students ESL learners though?
Switzerland is so beautiful, how exciting for you!
Verena:)-
murray12
Hi Verena,
Most of my students are ESL, but the ‘philosophy’ of the school is really to throw them in the deep end. The students have me for half of the day and can only speak English. It is amazing how quickly they pick it up! For the students with little to no English, I usually begin with giving them some more basic assignments and allow them to talk in German to a partner during certain assignments. But otherwise it’s English, English, English. How does this strategy differ from yours?
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Everton Walker
Murray,
Your experience sounds very interesting. Great to have you as part of the learning team. All the best.
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bcourey
I believe we were in the same course prior to this one – I remember that it was the first time I encountered anyone from Switzerland in our learning communities….what a beautiful country to be spending time in – although you were enjoying great mountain views where you were before!
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khenry
Hello Andrew,
Nice to see you again! How long have you been in Switzerland? Have you been able to use any of your MET talents within your courses et al.?Kerry-Ann
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murray12
Hello Kerry-Amm,
This is the beginning of my fourth year in Switzerland. Wow, where does the time go? So far, most of my MET talents are used on our class blog, interactive whiteboard, iPad project, and the school is setting up a Moodle site. How have you been using your MET talents?
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Deb Kim
Hi Andrew,
Nice to meet you.
This course is also my fifth MET course. I took ETEC 500, 511, 521, and 531. I had a great experience taking these courses, so I’m also looking forward to 522. I heard that it’s a great course to take. 😉
Looking forward to working with you!Deb
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Jim 6:25 pm on November 28, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Andrew,
Your elevator pitch and venture pitch were quite interesting to watch. I assume you have decided to take on the role of being at the helm of this venture (correct me if I am wrong). As such, I would be a venture capitalist looking at your company as an asset in which to invest. In your elevator pitch, you note that 40,000 people have signed up for a free subscription. What I wanted to know from the elevator pitch was how you intend to monetize the product.
Of course, you answer these questions and more in your Venture Pitch. The only thing I worry about is that people almost expect free apps now… unless the product has some added value that REALLY cannot be found anywhere else, it will be difficult to monetize it. You do mention that data enhanced version which would add this value.
I am considering your venture pitch as one of the three I will review in more detail but have not decided yet…
murray12 9:18 am on December 1, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for your feedback Jim,
I’ll admit that I felt a little uncomfortable acting as if I was a part of the Socrative team, who knows what they would think if the found out. So instead I tried to come off as a Socrative supporter. I also understand that I do lack a financial incentive for investors in my elevator pitch, but I guess I felt the time squeeze and focused more on problem and solution.
As for free apps, I also agree. I myself always look around for a quality free version before I give money away. As for the enhanced version, I searched all over the web and couldn’t find anymore information than what I included in the venture pitch. It would have been nice to include some tangible YOU + STRATEGY + MONEY = MORE MONEY, but alas….
Juliana 8:42 pm on November 28, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Andrew,
Your presence in the venture pitch was very calm and your voice was very clear. I also liked how you compared this venture to similar ventures such as iClickers and poll everywhere. It was clear from your pitches that you have done a lot of research on the product. You also did a good job at looking at the people heading up Socrative and selling them.
I was confused about one thing. I was not sure who you were aiming this proposal to. Are you aiming it to administrators? Are you acting as the venture’s CEO? Also, as this was a venture that relied on mobile devices, what would you do for a student who didn’t have one? Can schools can realistically maintain and provide mobile devices to those students who didn’t have any and do all schools have their own wireless networks? (This last question is for my own interest…most of my work experience has been in a University environment and I was curious about the public school system)
Juliana.
Deb Giesbrecht 3:30 pm on November 29, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
• Pain Point: digital native students not getting their learning needs met
• Solution: smart student response – interactive learning
• Differentiation: defines itself from clickers. Used on any web based device.
• Marketing; Identifies demand. Comprehensive marketing strategy – 40 000 people within 24 countries. No marketing efforts identified at present. Clearly identifies future markets.
• Championship; great championship and team membership
• Competition: clickers
• The Ask: Don’t remember there being any official ‘Ask’ from the investor
• The Return: investigating revenue options
The Message
• CEO Credibility: appears credible•
• Management Team: very educated and knowledgeable team members
• Venture Concept: market demand present. Clear and concise business plan with knowledgeable researched background
• Opportunity Space: turnkey product
• Market Readiness: very plausible and feasible. Identifies that students are ready for this type of interactive learning.
• Competitive Edge: looks at global market strategy
• Exit Strategy: None identified
• Overall Investment Status: turnkey product with lots of future potential. Loved your elevator pitch that was really accentuated with the graphics that you chose – which program did you use to develop this video?
• Overall very believable, researched and well-presented venture. Great job!
murray12 8:12 am on December 3, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hello Deb,
Thanks for your feedback. I just used iMovie to make the video.
bcourey 5:34 pm on November 29, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
HI Andrew…You have an interesting venture – an alternative to the much pricier Clicker response systems we see in many schools and if a school does not already use this technology, your solution many work for them. You also acknowledge the benefits of immediate feedback and the need for a quicker way for teachers to do assessments. I agree with others though, that I am not sure who your target audience might be- and customers who start with something free are not always going to start paying later – not sure if there is data out there that proves I am off base on that or not. I was a bit confused about the Edu Tech take offs part of your presentation – did that mean that you have more competition, or that you hope to be bought out some day by larger players? I also found the cost to be quite high…but then again, I may be forgetting how convenient this service would be. For now, our schools have several sets of the clickers, so we would have a hard time selling this product.
Brenda
Keisha Edwards-Hamilton 7:21 pm on November 29, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Andrew,
Very good elevator pitch. Your target market was evident at the onset – educators, parent, students or administrators. The concept presented is very interesting since I am an educator that face some of the problems you mentioned and would love to solve these sooner than later using activites that engage learners. As a result, I would want to learn more about the product. Also, it seems like it is a good product since over 40000 users have signed up for it since it entered the market in February of this year.
Keisha
schiong 10:40 pm on November 29, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Andrew,
I like the product.
Since it is web based, I would assume that it is accessible via mobile devices , laptops , or desktop computers.
There are few things that are not clear to me …
a) does the teacher create the questions? if yes, how?
b) is it applicable to other courses such as math, chemistry, physics, etc ?
c) how is it different from existing LMS? Some, if not all, of the open source LMS are SCORM compliant
which can do something similar to what you are proposing. I am just not sure if the analytic part has been integrated.
Steve
jenaca 3:22 am on November 30, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Andrew,
I really like the product! I think your elevator pitch was intriguing and included a lot of good information. You clearly stated your product, the market, problems and solution. I think the questions at the beginning helped prepare me for what the pitch was about.
I am very interested in this product and am looking forward to reading your venture more in depth!!
Jenaca
carmen 10:58 am on December 2, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Andrew,
I really enjoy your pitches as your ideas are clear, and you appear confident and calm. Also, your presentation is well paced with helpful visuals. You explained the advantages of using Socrative over Clicker and Poll Everywhere, which really convinced me that there is huge potential in this product. I have a few questions about the revenue options after watching your venture pitch:
1. I wonder what the data enhanced version offer and how it will be different from what it is now.
2. So far, Socrative is an online application that doesn’t require any installation. However, one of the revenue options mentioned in the venture was to preinstall Socrative in tablets… I wonder what the company has in store for it’s next step!
Overall, I really enjoyed your pitch! I will definitely explore this tool some more. 🙂
carmen
themusicwoman 9:41 pm on December 3, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Dear Andrew,
Giving you condensed version eva as time is running out and many great things have been mentioned already 🙂
Elevator pitch: found it extremely engaging immediately and enjoyed the to the point of it.
Venture Pitch: Introduction well done to capture audience: especially enjoyed the university students “listening” to lecture and the comment about high schoolers and phones. I appreciated your clear speaking style.
Problem/Solution: pointed out very clearly. I like the appeal of this app. I like that is it is geared towards mobile devices as you mention later that schools are definietly on that stream of thought.
Marketing: free is great . . . but would like more info on the revenue options but understand that it is in the makings.
Competition: good use of these to actually showcase socrative, I thought. Although the other companies offer similar products, I think yours may have an edge, especially when thinking about marketing to school groups and cost.
Good work on the CEO and team management and numbers for the product.
Only part I was confused about was I thought you were acting as CEO at first but then realized you weren’t but it was all good.
Enjoyed your presentation. Thanks.
Michelle