Author: jiorns

Categories
Entrepreneur Bootcamp

Comments on Founders no 2

From blogs.ubc.ca/etec522Sept2013
Week 4: Entrepreneurial Bootcamp

tclee1 2:54 pm on September 29, 2013

Paul Gollash, Founder &CEO at Voxy

Company
Voxy Corporation was founded at the beginning of 2010 by Paul Gollash. Since then the company has achieved great heights, transforming from a small start-up into a company that currently offers its service to more than 2.5 million users, while also getting voted as the best tech company to work for in 2012 and rated the No. 1 education iTunes app in 23 countries.
Voxy is an educational based company that focuses upon its online interactive language learning programs which features its intriguing curriculum in a very real life context. A major target audience of the company sets upon teaching English as a second language to people of Portuguese and Spanish descent although it expands its target later. Their success comes predominately from the company’s ability to cater to students in the new technological world. The use and integration of internet and mobile technology along with a very clear and well defined educational curriculums based on solid researches in second language learning and cognitive science, and live tutoring sessions have made it much easier for students to personalize the learning experience and for the teachers to accurately classify the student’s level of competency. For instance, functions include proficiency tests of every level to see the improvement of the student so that teachers can promptly adjust the curriculum accordingly. This was the underlying reason behind the ascent and success of Voxy, one of the first movers for language education in the technological world that is also worth the attention.

Biography
Paul Gollash who graduated from the University of Chicago-Booth school of business, Dartmouth College has fourteen years of business experience as an entrepreneur and an investor. He is indeed a man of many talents even before establishing Voxy. The path began in Madrid and Chile where he launched a new retail business for GM Europe and began an import/export business respectively. These experiences really made him learn the most essential skill of any entrepreneur or sales. His exposure to these different countries also prompted him to develop a lifelong passion for “travel and language education.”
It was his management consultant experience at Booz Allen that despite the long hours and difficult work, allowed him the ability to do heavy data-analysis. Finally, he became a venture investor for Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, which was also the team that created Virgin Mobile. It was really from this experience where Gollash learned two important lessons: “attack big markets” and “dedicating yourself to something you are truly passionate.” This ultimately led him to establish the venture-funded education technology company called Voxy.

Reflection
As a teacher of second language and a person who has also been in the business market, I know that one of the hardest things to do in educational learning is keeping the competency of the teachers and ensuring the quality of the curriculum consistently. This is the part that requires the most delicate care as it is what will establish the kind of learning environment the students will be learning in and benefit from. This kind of management is very hard to do and that’s why I am very impressed with what Voxy has done, especially seeing that it has already obtained 2.5 million learners worldwide.
Personally, before I took the MET Program, I was a firm believer that only in the F2F learning environment could students learn the most. Now, I am more inclined to believe that an online environment also functions and works effectively and efficiently for second language learning students. Otherwise, how could have it been able to use 3 years to expand to such a big market. I have witnessed that in certain Asian countries inefficiency is all that can be said about second language learning. Despite spending endless hours learning English during school and even after class in learning centers, very little can be done to advance their English proficiency. Most are only good at grammar and vocabulary through forced memorization and drills and are unable to apply anything in real life due to the lack of authentic and personalized pedagogy and the lack of qualified native speaking teachers. That’s a perfect example of the wrong resources was being utilized. Thus, what Voxy has done is truly a major breakthrough especially among foreign formal school systems. Interesting context-based learning that uses real world settings, frequent opportunities of exposure to the language through internet or mobile tools, and clear classifications of assessment levels of the students really allow the professional educators to provide the most effective way of teaching. Certainly this will provide a strong supporting platform for people who want to learn even if they don’t have direct access to the learning environment as long as they have the internet. If there is ever the chance to contribute my knowledge of the Asian market, I would be thrilled to share my understanding and knowledge of it.

References:
1) support@voxy.com. NY. Retrieved from http://voxy.com/
2) Teachthought. (2013). 30 Of The Top Education Startups Of 2012. Retrieved from http://www.teachthought.com/technology/30-of-the-top-education-startups-of-2012/
3) Linkedin corporation. (2013). Paul Gollash’s Overview. Retrieved from http://www.linkedin.com/in/pgollash

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Comment by Janette

jiorns 11:45 am on October 3, 2013

As a qualified ESL teacher of adult learners, I was interested to read about Paul Gollash and Voxy Corporation. There are many positives about the technology-mediated language learning product of Voxy. Not only is the offer of self-paced online learning, but also private, personalised (online) tutoring.

The key to Voxy’s success in my view is its focus on contextualising its curriculum to Central and South American markets. One of the challenges for English language teaching and learning is having content that is contextualised to the culture of the learner. I experienced this when teaching in China and Oman. International curriculum (British or North American publications) didn’t always work.
So, Voxy has achieved competitive advantage by “knowing its market” and “developing curriculum for the market”.

Voxy’s website refers to technology-mediated learning. Its website shows photos of learners in classroom settings. So it makes me query whether the 2.6 million users are individual buyers (consumers), or a mix of individual consumers and student cohorts in educational institutions (consumers and organizational buyers)?

I read in an Ambient Insights market analysis report of educational technology for language learning that English language teachers are in short supply relative to global demand, and that this is one of the drivers for digital language learning platforms. Voxy is well timed to benefit from any shortage of instructors in the local market, and already uses online tutors to provide a tutoring service.

I recall that when I investigated employment in Central and South America, the salary for teaching was low by comparison with other markets. It was a factor in my decision not to work in that region. Should institutions in that part of the world be finding it hard to attract qualified ESL teachers (not suggesting they don’t; it’s just hypothetical based on my experience), then Voxy would be well placed to provide the alternative.

I do wonder about the type of accreditation that a learner receives from Voxy. TESOL testing is a service it offers, but there are other tests recognised in English language learning such as IELTS and TOEIC. There may be limitiations in the “usefulness” of the language level attained through Voxy, if it doesn’t meet the requirements for, say, acceptance into a university outside the region.

Categories
Entrepreneur Bootcamp

Comments on Founders no 1

From blogs.ubc.ca/etec522Sept2013
Week 4: Entrepreneurial bootcamp

dchrisman 11:07 pm on September 29, 2013

John Baker, President and CEO of Desire 2 Learn

Desire to Learn founder, President and CEO John Baker started the company in 1999. Desire to Learn has since grown immensely as a company, and distributes new and innovative platform for education worldwide. They provided the LMS that my school board currently uses for both e-learning courses, as well as blended learning programs. They will also help to create programs to meet the needs of the customer, and also sell to Fortune 100 Companies as well.
Baker started this company when he was only 22 years old, and still attending school. His educational background is in System Design Engineering, and in Management. From this background, it seems that he has unique abilities to be both an entrepreneur, and a CEO. This has been further proven by several entrepreneur awards that he has received, and that his company was recently named one of the best small and medium companies to work for, demonstrating his ability to lead a successful team, as well as keep them motivated.
As for Baker’s motivation for his company, he has a strong belief in using technology to improve society, as well as supporting other young entrepreneurs. This can be seen from his personal life, and the many different boards he sits on. He also uses both business and personal funds to help support those entrepreneurs who are also trying to use technology for societal good. This makes him and his business also really show how important that double bottom line is.
Baker’s leadership team is also filled with successful individuals who have a strong background in business and education. Several of his top team have gone back to colleges and universities to teach in their perspective field, which also gives them a unique view of what educators would want in their LMS programs. Although their backgrounds are varied, many also have strong backgrounds in successfully running businesses, including several major companies. I believe that since Baker started his company so young, that it is important that he also has some more seasoned veterans on the board.
When looking at the backgrounds of this successful team, I feel I am far from ready to start my own venture. I do not feel as though I have the connections to make a strong enough team to run a successful business, and I feel as though my own personal understanding of business is not yet where it would need to be. Although I do feel as though I have more business knowledge that many entrepreneurs, I do not feel confident in my own knowledge yet, or in my ideas, especially when seeing how varied these background are.

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Comment by Janette

jiorns 10:39 am on October 3, 2013

D2L is an impressive company, and the founder and CEO John Baker a very inspirational person.
Apart from the background and qualities of John Baker mentioned in the leading post, I think he must also be the epitamy of a lifelong learner – moving his own knowledge forward all the time to be able to compete in the educational technology market and have an informed vision of what to do next.

D2L has recently acquired a company, Knowillage. See http://desire2learn.com/
It takes D2L’s business into a different field, but it is a related field, and one that is emerging in learning technology – personalised learning environments.
While learning is often structured on a LMS (course and program structure), personal learning environments are not so structured. Knowillage is about adaptive content and quizzes, with analytics embedded that can directing a student’s learning according to their performance.
This type of personal learning environment enables “accelerated learning”. Smart stuff. http://knowillage.com/

D2L is a company to watch, for sure.

Categories
Entrepreneur Bootcamp

CEO/Founder of ALISON

From blogs.ubc.ca/etec522Sept2013
Week 4: Entrepreneur Bootcamp
 

Post by jiorns 1:23 am on September 27, 2013

CEO/Founder of ALISON

Mike Feerick is the quintessential entrepreneur. He is US-born, lives in West Ireland, and has a string of successful Internet technology start-ups to his name. In April 2007 Mike founded ALISON, an online platform providing free certified education and workplace training skills to adults. He has been leading the enterprise through rapid growth ever since.

Value proposition

The value proposition of ALISON is the provision of free courses for adults anywhere in the world. Mike states, “At ALISON, we believe certifiable, standards-based learning can be made available for every subject, for free, online, especially for marginalized people in the developing and the developed worlds”.

Mike regards the venture as a social enterprise and one that supports the UN Declaration on Human Rights: everyone is entitled to education.

Products

Courses are interactive multimedia Certificate and Diploma courses accessible on mobile and other devices. There are currently 58 publishers sponsoring ‘free to learner’ courses. ALISON claims to offer 500 free courses and support more than 2 million learners in 200 countries.

Recognition

Due to its innovation, and Mike Feerick’s leadership capabilities, the company has received both the UNESCO Award for Innovation in ICT in Education in 2010 and the World Summit for Education Award ‘for outstanding quality and exceptional impact on education through innovation’ in 2013. It has also recently received a WISE Award in Qatar.

Company structure

I cannot identify if ALISON is a for-profit or not-for-profit venture. This doesn’t appear to be public information.

Business model

The company earns revenue from ‘parchments’ (certificates of completion), website advertising fees, and fees charged for ALISON’s course management software which enables course publishers to manage and track progress of enrolled students.

Founder/CEO credentials

Mike Feerick is a highly regarded entrepreneur who both conceived the idea of ALISON and championed the start-up and growth of the enterprise. Before founding ALISON, Mike had founded other technology start-ups including JFAX, YAC, Advance Learning and TVC Media. He has the credentials of successfully leading several companies through inception, growth and sale.

Mike is also currently a director of the University of Limmerick Foundation, a member of both the Global Irish Economic Forum and the Clinton Global Initiative, and is also a frequent guest speaker. In the past, he has been a chairperson of other academic and social organisations in Ireland.

His entrepreneurship and services to education have been internationally recognised. In January 2011, he received a UNESCO Diploma prize for services to innovation in online workplace education and in 2010, he was awarded an Ashoka Fellow for dedication to social entrepreneurship in education.

Mike holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBS from the University of Limerick. His full biography is available on Bloomberg, together with his photo.

Team/Board Credentials

The only information I can find about members of ALISON other than Mike are the profiles of marketing and public relations professionals on LinkedIn. There are regular posts about ALISON on social media, indicating that the promotion of ALISON is being well managed. Mike’s profile appears regularly, together with videos of his speaking appearances.

Connect/Follow the enterprises’s LinkedIn Group
 
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Further comment by jiorns 1:30 am on September 27, 2013
I have provided a link to a photo on ALISON’s website rather than copied a photo from the website as due respect for copyright.
 
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Comment by davidp 3:48 am on September 27, 2013

I think you’ve hit on something that is important to consider when you note that Mike Feerick is a highly regarded entrepreneur, and as noted, is a serial entrepreneur with a number of successes (and possibly a failure or two) among his experiences.

This type of profile insures that a product champion can see a market, explain a solution clearly, assemble a team that can add agility to establishing a market presence, and demonstrate a revenue stream early that can sustain the venture.

I think this analysis clearly illustrates the advantage of having multiple experiences and the knowledge of what to do. Many successful ventures do in fact stem from multiple previous venture experiences, either as part of team, or as lead player. It all counts and helps downstream.
 
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naomi 6:24 am on September 30, 2013

I researched a bit further online and discovered it is a for profit company. I think that it should also be mentioned that ALISON is a unique take on the MOOC. Unlike other MOOCs, it’s courses are vocationally focused, and not associated with universities. Courses can be created and provided by outside companies such as Microsoft and Google, so their product is really their learning platform and certificates. Quite an ingenious and novel idea to have someone else do the bulk of the learning design so your income can go into business growth and platform development.
One critique for potential market success is recognition of certification. Yes, learners have to score over 80 percent, and complete all courses to get a certificate, but if I were to put it on my resume, it would have little value as few people have heard of ALISON, unless the certificate mentioned the course provider – this then would have some cachet. OF course, this is purely a North American perspective. I know from some of my students that in their countries, the more certificates you have the better. The institution doesn’t always matter.
 
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sylvainm 9:15 am on September 30, 2013

I like your comment Naomi. I think that MOOCs have the potential to diminish the power of post secondary education in sanctioning students learning. In many industries, what matters is not the marks you had in school, but what you are actually able to do. There is also an advantage for corporations to provide courses in that they know what is going on in their own industry and can tailor their courses to fit their needs. Another advantage is that through their courses, they can identify and recruit individuals who have the qualities they are looking for in employees.
There is also the possibility that professionals get certified through an entry exam into the profession rather than the completion of a degree. Respective professional associations would determine whether you qualify as an engineer or a teacher rather than take your degree from any university at face value.
I think that ventures such as ALLISON are the starting point of what could lead to profound transformations in the instructional market space.
 
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jiorns 1:26 pm on October 3, 2013

Thanks for an interesting reflection. Vocational education is a huge market and ALISON stands to disrupt the Voc Ed market in the same way MOOCs are disrupting Higher Ed.

I read in an Ambient Insight market analysis that apprenticeships (one area of Voc Ed) are moving online, which is interesting. I wonder how much of the learning that occurs in apprenticeships can go online, and whether we are really talking about blended learning models?

ALISON is certainly tapping into the huge market for lifelong learning and courses may be acceptable to employers, or at least acceptable if the content provider is recognizable and credible. A perception of credibility will be unique to each individual.

It seems likely that free ALISON courseware can save corporate training departments a lot of money, and in that vein, some of the for-fee content providers to corporations could lose some market share to ALISON.

Similarly, free ALISON courseware could complement (and become part of a blended learning solution) for vocational education providers, thus easing their development budgets.

In countries where national competency standards and frameworks for training delivery and accreditation exist for Voc Ed, there would be a bit of work to match the competencies acquired through ALISON to the competency framework of a local market. It remains to be seen whether institutions would go those hard yards. If there is a match between ALISON course content and a learning outcome and performance standard for an accredited national competency, then bingo! Free content.

As the poster above has said, post secondary education as a whole is getting a shake up with the emergence of free, open content. ALISON has taken a left field to MOOCs by virtue of its target audience, but ultimately the two types of open learning platforms may converge.
 
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jldr 9:46 am on September 30, 2013

This is a very unique perspective that I had not considered before. Thanks!
 
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mb585 12:39 pm on September 30, 2013

Interesting ideas. It is amazing how many courses they offer. I am a big supporter of ‘free’ global education. It reminds me of how public education began and people didn’t entirely support it. They needed their children to help out at home not be in school. However, it ultimately was successful and changed the world. I feel like the internet and free online education might have a similarly world changing effect. It’s exciting!

Categories
Evaluating a Venture Pitch

WeBook

From blogs.ubc.ca/etec522Sept2013
Pitch Pool
 

Post by David Vogt 1:42 am on September 2, 2013
WeBook: “writing loves company”

A digital publishing platform: video

 
Comment by jiorns 12:01 am on September 20, 2013
I have tried twice to post a critique but the server has not accepted either of the posts.
 
Comment by jiorns 12:18 am on September 20, 2013

Let’s see now …. the President makes a persuasive and professional presentation for the most part. She certainly comes across as a capable and credible representative of the webooks venture, and as someone very passionate about the venture.

However, more evidence is needed of a market gap and webook as the solution to that gap. So far, there is only an inference of a point of differentation (commercialisation of collaboratively written books); an investor does not know if other similar collaborative digital publishing ventures also exist.

Also, the potential to earn 50% of any sale of an e-book on webook is another claim that requires evidence. It is hard to see how a 50/50 split of revenue for an e-book is possible given the number of parties/creators in the webook community that stand to gain a share of a sale (writers, editors, reviewers/voters, publisher).

So, there is an excellent marketing pitch and it could have been stronger with a call to action at the end. As an investor pitch, the venture needs to provide more evidence for its claims. And possibly decide who the audience is for the pitch – is any one of the roles in the community more likely to be attracted to the venture?
 
Comment by amb585 5:47 am on September 21, 2013

I would invest in this project. The speaker immediately identifies the niche market, draws parallels to help me conceptualize, and shows me how her product has the potential of revolutionizing the publishing arena. She correctly identifies that there is a market gap from professional publishing houses but fails to describe the other competition to this gap, other self-publishing sites available around the internet, such as on Wattpad or Amazon Kindle direct publishing. If she had, she would have been able to make a stronger argument as what I like about We Book is that it builds on what is already available to be collaborative and to include quality control.

Webook seems to be a great tool for aspiring writers to break into the publishing market. We’ve all heard stories of now famous authors who once had to struggle to find a publisher for their book. This program opens this process up to the public. I would like to hear more about the credentials of those marketing the venture, and more about the specifics of how this would be profitable, but she made a good pitch and I would be interested in hearing more and investing.
 
Comment by jldr 10:53 am on September 23, 2013

While I agree this is a very interesting product with a lot of potential, both for developers and users, I agree with the previous post in that I think it makes a better marketing pitch than an investment pitch.

Categories
Evaluating a Venture Pitch

MindTraction

From blogs.ubc.ca/etec522Sept2013
From Pitch Pool
 
Post by David Vogt 1:42 am on September 2, 2013
MindTraction

A mobile mentoring venture: video

 
Comment by jiorns 12:48 am on September 20, 2013

David who? A full name is needed when representing a commercial venture to investors.

The content of this pitch was heavily focused on the end user benefit (relief to anxious students). It made for a compelling argument, and was well delivered by David. He was passionate

The venture aims to develop a product that provides relief through provision of a portable mentor. However, the product is not purchased by students directly – the buyer market is institutions. Whether institutions consider anxious students problemic enough to purchase apps is a matter for clarification (market research). Until there is that clarification, the target product sales of $1 million by year 5 quoted remains unsubstantiated.

There would likely be some development costs to be examined closely as mentoring students of different ages, backgrounds and academic abilities will require a product that is more than a ‘one size fits all’. So I would ask for a cost/profit ratio or something similar, based on research into the institutional market.

There is an attempt to provide investors with a call to action at the end – but it missed out contact details. Overall, a passionate and well delivered pitch. Just needs a bit of focus on the institutions themselves.

Categories
Evaluating a Venture Pitch

Real Simple Edu

From blogs.ubc.ca/etec522Sept2013
Pitch Pool

Post by David Vogt 1:42 am on September 2, 2013

Real Simple Edu
A venture about apps for education: video
 

Comment by jiorns 10:15 pm on September 19, 2013
I did not hear the value proposition of the company or the value proposition of any of the products
What is the value that the 3 customer segments are buying?
Is there repeat business from any of these customer segments?
Is “150,000 customers” a statistic of 150,000 purchasers or 150,000 end users?
What is the cost-income ratio?
 
Comment by jiorns 10:16 pm on September 19, 2013
The tone of the narration of the presentation was good, very clear and concise.
 
Comment by bmehregani 12:07 pm on September 23, 2013
I am also curious to know if the 150,000 paying customers is one time or on a continuous basis. The 150,000 paying customers could be at that time only. Also, there is no mention of operating costs versus profits.

Categories
Ed Tech Marketplace

Emerging Market Reports: An EVA Perspective

From blogs.ubc.ca/etec522Sept2013
Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace

Post by jiorns 7:54 pm on September 8, 2013

Emerging Market Reports: An EVA perspective

Moving on to explore Emerging Market Reports from https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec522sept13/stage2/education-marketplace, I found the emerging market reports to differ greatly in their scope and geographical reach, as well as to differ as reports of primary research or reports of secondary research. The style of publication was also interesting.

Very capturing was Major Ed Tech Trends for 2013 by Online Colleges at http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2013/01/23/major-ed-tech-trends-for-2013/.

The authors cleverly used an infographic to present ed-tech trends that they had located from edudemic.com and other sources. As an EVA, I found this infographic helpful. It summarised key trends in an illustration that was very easy to read. The colour coding was particularly helpful.

However, the ‘report’ has limitations.

Firstly, the writer of the article cannot be identified (the link for ‘staff writers’ doesn’t open up a page with details about writers).

Secondly, the source of data in the infographic is unknown. There is no specific reference to the page or pages on the edudemic.com site where the writers obtained any of the trend data, nor who on the edudemic.com site was the original writer or publisher. None of the data in the infographic has a citation.

Thirdly, the context for data is unknown. Without explanation or a source, the data is not contextualised to a location, state or country. We can assume it’s the USA, but there is no more detail than that as to what location and what sample was used to gather any data.

Fourthly, the references in the box at the end of the article, of which edudemic.com is one, do not provide proper reference details. They are simply home pages of websites (e.g. forbes.com).

In summary, as an EVA, I would need to do a lot of work to validate the findings of the article.

 

Comment by davidp 4:44 am on September 9, 2013

No doubt, validating data sources is a big part of an actual EVA job, especially if venture money or angel investment is at stake. However, I think the piece cited is really about opinion and impressions of the edtech trends afoot in 2013.

Here’s a more venture-centric infographic that might be closer to the data integrity you’re seeking…
http://thestateofedtech.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/ibis-capital-global-e-learning-investment-review.png

Categories
Ed Tech Marketplace

2013 Internet Trends: Mary Meeker and Liang Wu

From blogs.ubc.ca/etec522Sept2013
Posted in: General, Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
 
Post by pweeze at 1.54am on September 16, 2013

2013 Internet Trends by Mary Meeker and Liang Wu

This dissection of Internet trends by Mary Meeker and Liang Wu is extremely comprehensive. The first section I wanted to skip to was about the usage of different computing devices and I wasn’t surprised to see that netbooks were dropping, as tablet sales were taking off. It seems as if there is more of an appetite for learning based apps and touchscreen performance, then a mini-laptop. The data isn’t surprising, I am just personally happy that his trend is emerging, and I am interested to see if education districts stay with this shift towards tablet based computing.

App based learning and gamification (which is enabled by tablets) seems to be the driver behind this. Incorporating these with the wearable devices and user data driven apps like Waze and Yelp will only promote their further integration.

As I am abroad I am currently using a number of apps such as TripAdvisor that have constantly updated content. These apps are only as good as the content on them, and with new pics, suggestions and updates continuously being sent, the number of users and customers are only grow. From personal experience I was able to see pictures of Summer Palace that were taken just a few short weeks before I was there. This kind of real time information beats any travel brochure and demonstrates the real power of these products.

The most revealing part of this whole slide deck was the information on the emergence of China as a global market that should be getting a lot of attention. Especially with recent developments in the countries main social media network Sina-Weibo, the 500 million (220 real) users in China and the decision to extend this network to other countries and regions, the so called “Chinese Intranet”, as referenced in this article in @theAtlantic.

Maybe it’s because I just moved here and I’m in a bit of a honeymoon phase, but there are a lot of possibilities in the Chinese market with education. With the growth of International Schools and a greater demand for a transformation away from the traditional Chinese classroom model, and a move towards a more globally minded, 21st century approach to teaching, there is a huge market just waiting to be tapped into.

I feel that Mary Meeker has a finger on the pulse of the truly important trends, and has the data necessary to help when preparing a pitch.
 
Comment by jiorns 10:57 pm on September 27, 2013

Just on what you said: “From personal experience I was able to see pictures of Summer Palace that were taken just a few short weeks before I was there. This kind of real time information beats any travel brochure and demonstrates the real power of these products”.
Well yes, the electronic information likely feels a lot more engaging and you can get “recent views’ of tourist attractions online.
I think I like apps like Trip Advisor for destinations that are plain old getaways and I want to get a hotel sorted fast for a good price.
However, there are some downsides to this type of digital product. Or the fact that people have forgotten what it was like to travel – especially abroad – without them. It was genuinely adventurous. If you wound up somewhere on your own, you really got to experience being on your own (not doing selfies on facebook).

 
Comment by jiorns 11:09 pm on September 27, 2013

I did wonder what the Chinese millenials were using for searches and communication given FB and Google are blocked.
Is that media allowed in schools, i.e. for teaching and learning?

Categories
General Discussions

TED Talk by Simon Sinek

From blogs.ubc.ca/etec522Sept2013
Posted in: General, Pitch Pool

TED Talk by Simon Sinek – Why, How, What

A post by psweeze at 6:05 pm on September 23, 2013

This was a great TED talk by Simon Sinek that breaks down, why marketing properly and crafting the right message or pitch is more important then the product itself. “People don’t buy what you do… they buy why you do it”, is his main statement he continually reflects back on.

I found when assessing pitches this was a great primer for helping me view the pitch more objectively. Putting it into perspective and allowing the EVA to decipher whether or not it was just well polished, or have they defined what makes their startup different. In the end it allowed me to ask myself if the person giving the pitch accurately explained why they created their product in the first place. If they can sell that, and it makes sense, I’m willing to consider investing.

 
Comment by mdetharet 10:47 am on September 24, 2013

Thanks for posting this TED talk, he makes a lot of valid points, I was also struck by the importance of the “why” when trying to sell and idea, political views or an item. I never thought of it that way before. I really liked his Apple analogy which made perfect sense to me. Thanks for sharing.

 
Comment by jiorns 10:28 pm on September 27, 2013

Thanks for posting. The delivery of the presentation couldn’t be faulted; very persuasive. The theory that people buy a product because they align with the purpose of the producer/distributor is interesting. It made me reflect on marketing theory – which puts it differently. People buy a product or service because it meets their personal wants and needs. The positioning takes place in the mind.

I think Simon is integrating branding and product promotion into one piece with this theory, and that is interesting. A company doing something good would create good brand image, and a consumer may buy a product from that brand so long as it also met a perceived want/need. I bought an iPhone this year because I wanted its functionality and proven reliability/security. I compared Apple and competitor products before making the decision. It wasn’t a brand decision, no matter how good the higher purpose is of Apple and what it believes in.

Categories
Greetings

ice breakers

Saying gidday to some classmates was where my etec522 experience began. Let’s see some examples.

 

Here is a conversation with Danielle from Ontario:

Hi Everyone! My name is Danielle and I live in London, Ontario, or as I often call it, Little London (although its not that little). I am a business teacher, currently teaching accounting at a rural school, and am excited to learn more about different ventures to take that knowledge back to the classroom. I […]

jiorns 8:32 am on September 6, 2013

Hi Dani,

All the best with your schedule. Two MET courses on top of work is a challenge, that’s for sure!
Janette

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Here is a conversation with Terri:

Hello -My name is Terri, and this is my ninth course in the MET Program. My professional background includes dietetics, technical writing, courseware development, instructional design, IT project management as well as business analysis. I currently work for a large software firm that allows me to dabble in all of the above, except dietetics of course! My interests center around virtual live classroom and e-learning initiatives. I especially enjoy the challenges and rewards of working on virtual teams dispersed across time zones. When I’m not working, you’ll generally find me enjoying the outdoors on the North Shore Mountains although I’d love to hike up Mount Cheam (Chilliwack) pictured below. As well, this fall I’m planning on taking up kayaking. Anyone have any suggestions for taking up this activity? Reading through the bios I’m thrilled to see that once again we’re a highly diversified group. I look forward to learning with you. – Terri

jiorns 8:12 pm on September 27, 2013

Hi Terri,
What ever happened to that band Chilliwack? I heard them in Calgary when I lived there and thought they were fab (long time ago now!). Great to hear of your diverse professional background. I work as an instructional designer and courseware developer in Australia. In various sectors, but not yet software. Are you designing learning for clients or employees?
Janette

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Here is a conversation with David Jackson:

What part of being North is so attractive to me you might ask. Well …it’s living in the superlative! The further North the more pristine, wild and invigorating. It’s just so cooool…(-40) and the people are so interesting. So I have been busy preparing. My car has been very unreliable, so I had to get […]

jiorns 8:00 pm on September 27, 2013

Hi David

Now that a few weeks have passed, how are you enjoying the wild northern frontier?
Would be great to see some photos when you have a chance to post some and hear the adventures you are having.
– Janette

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Here is my introduction and responses from peers:

5:34 pm on September 5, 2013

Hi, I’m on my 6th MET course … writing you from Australia where I live. I am really keen to explore Word Press and maybe one of the assignment topics will let me dabble on my own project? (let’s see). Great to be here with you guys and look forward to chatting more soon. – Janette

jkhanson 4:14 am on September 6, 2013

  • Hi Janette, I used to be your neighbour down south. My first 2 MET courses were done on NZ time. Where do you live? I’m back in Vancouver now. Looking forward to working with you this term. Cheers, Jen

    milenab 5:49 am on September 6, 2013

  • Australia! A place on must must-see travel list.
    Great to meet you,
    Milena :)

  • jiorns 8:38 am on September 6, 2013

    Jen, I am in Melbourne, Australia and moving to Sydney in a month’s time. I am an Aucklander originally. Where were you in NZ?
    We are just coming into spring here.
    Janette

    jkhanson 4:01 am on September 7, 2013

    Hi Janette, We were in Christchurch at first, then Wellington for the majority of time. I love Sydney. Lucky you!
  • jetz66 11:06 am on September 6, 2013

    Having a father who lived in Australia for 2 years (and who has never stopped talking about his experience..) I have always wanted to visit! Best of luck this term!

  • brendangalexander 3:40 am on September 7, 2013

    Hi Janette,

    Well your story checked out, as you used “keen” in your first sentence. I’m keen to hear your insights and look forward to getting to know you more.

    Brendan

 

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