One of the biggest, fastest shifts in ed tech has been the evolution from the use of large interactive whiteboards to the use of mobile, agile multi-purpose apps. The Educreations app transforms an iPad into a recordable whiteboard. Teachers can easily produce video lessons that are stored online and can be shared via email, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and websites.
For more information see the Educreations website.
No, I would not invest in this platform. While the concept seems interesting I had a hard time understanding the pain point this was fixing. I found myself making my own assumptions as to what this could mean. I also didn't hear about the value this creates other than watching lessons. Did anyone learn anything? Did students perform better on tests. Then the added issue of being viewed by anyone if shared publicly, how do we know all these lessons are going to be worthwhile and educational. While we want to believe that because a teacher is posting it, it would be educational and great, not all teachers are created equal. Finally what are the financial implications, what does this cost? who pays? is there an opportunity to make a return on investment? Again while this has "cool" features, it sounds like another technology driven idea that has some ground to cover before becoming a worthwhile investment.
Educreations is noble in their pursuit to remove the “post-production” phase from video recording. Its mobile interface allows for quick tutorials from anywhere and with the ability to physically write on the device and turn it into video. It is interesting, but immediately there seems to be some issues present. First, we’ll begin at the pain point. The speaker discusses the issues of working with the demanding load that most teachers have, and investigates the best way to reach their students. In the pitch, he discusses the teacher not being able to communicate with all his students, but the purpose for the communication was not clear, and we are guessing as to why this was such an issue. Was it attendance? Distance education? Socio-economic factors? I’m not sure when a teacher would constantly meet with every student outside of the classroom. The solution they provide for out of classroom support is to watch teacher created videos that are narrated and feature texts and images. The purpose for these is not clear. Is it for a flipped classroom model, enrichment, or to catch students up? So yes, it is hard to meet with students, but giving information is different than engaging them with a dialogue. As a feedback tool this is where the pitch fails for me as an EVA. Within the pitch, no differentiation is mentioned, even though there are various competitors out there that are free (I’m thinking of QuickTime capture that is preinstalled on Apple computers, as well as the free app Explain Everything). Also, recorded Powerpoint shows are another option available too. Now, it was seemingly easy to make the video, but the setup process, online management system, and how the students access the information was left out. These managerial obstacles are typically the factors that prohibit educators from entering digital spaces, and they were not mentioned. In addition, we do not know who their target market is. I’m guessing by the images that it is for a secondary school environment, but I feel as if this would have greater implications in a post-secondary world. As for championship, competition, the ask, and the return, we really are not sure. In addition, the videos promote passive learning where students engage with the video. If there were different built-in exercises, then that would lead to assessment. However, since this was not the case, Educreations is just another way to make a video in an already crowded market. As an EVA, this application seems like a good idea on the surface, but competition and free competitors would prohibit me from investing.
*reposting as I seem to have misplaced it the first time* As an EVA, I would invest in this venture. That being said… This is a quick short elevator pitch that highlights several of the points from deconstructing a pitch. However, understandably misses some details such as championship information, ask and return, management team, and only a little bit about marketing. It does fulfill its purpose of helping people get the big idea. Pain Point: Every great teacher is challenged to find time to spend with 200 students outside of class to provide support in the way that they need. This is a great way of establishing a real connection with teachers that experience the same thing. We can all empathize with the lack of time/availability with students. It draws the listener in. Solution: The Educreations app makes it fast and easy to upload short video tutorials to post on the web for students to replay over and over as needed whenever, wherever. Differentiation & Competition: Competitive Edge: This is the value that got me excited about this person and their venture; he stresses the simplicity of use, automation, the immediacy of the app. There is no need to learn complicated technology in order to produce the videos. • Simply press record, then all that is said and written is captured. • Recording in real time and no pre or post production • Imbedded the ability to quickly web search images and automatically upload • Recording automatically stops then resumes so when students replay it there is no gap • Has an easy save flow (title, describe, who sees, category) • Immediate upload to the web with immediate access and playback • Students notified automatically by email Venture Concept: The presenter seems to have done his homework and stresses their main points about the quick ease of use. It is hard to tell if the venture is original as this pitch is from June 2012, currently, there are several whiteboard apps on the market, though none seem to have the same easy use and immediacy. The story that he uses to highlight his venture is compelling and very credible. Marketing & Market Readiness: The app has already been created and is in use. The presenter uses the story of a teacher that has used his app with success. He highlights how the teacher has been able to make 60-recorded lessons in one semester, bringing our focus back to the easy usability of the program with a real life example. Then goes further to show the teacher’s success with his lessons being viewed 17,000 times by thousands of students around the world. Wouldn’t we all like our lessons to be that popular and accessible? So it leads to the idea that there is also good potential for word of mouth marketing to increase the demand for the product. The presenter himself comes across as well –informed, confident, and passionate about the product. He works well with focusing on a concise story of a real life teacher’s experience with the product. It really adds to his the presentation to have an interesting real life face to the application. As an EVA I would invest in this Venture. However, I really had to deliberate over my lack of knowledge in market and lack of information in the elevator pitch. I really liked the concept of being an EVA for a venture incubator and being able to invite them to work on the project for a few months. Eva Note: Don’t read till you’ve watched the pitch and decided This pitch was originally in June of 2012. In follow-up, the startup raised &2.2 million from an incubator and other investors. Since launching more than 50K teachers have created and shared lessons on Educreation’s platform, which is now being used in over 12,000 schools and in 117 countries From AngelList
No, I would not invest in this. I do not see what gap in the market this project is filling. There are a multitude of similar things out there currently. This would simply be just ‘’another’’ one. I can think of a few already out there that I have personally used for somethings similar. There is nothing new or novel here. While I like the idea, it simply has been done before, and is currently being done by other similar apps. But there are problems with this current pitch: how much does this cost? What is the competitive edge? Is this item meant to be better than current items out there? We are not told how. What is success? What will the returns be for those who invest? Too many unknowns for a project that introduces nothing new. I was impressed by the team, and the speaker was well informed and trustworthy. I also found the presentation well done, albeit everything about it reminded me of things I have already seen and already used. All in all, I can not see myself investing this simply because the market seems already saturated with items like this.
YES, I would be interested in hearing the venture pitch, but not quite ready to invest yet. Using Chris Ming as an example teacher/client helps to personalize the pitch and it demonstrates the functionality of the product. Personalizing the pitch makes the presentation more engaging and understandable, rather than simply being a list of features. The differentiation of Educreations seem to be that it a) doesn't require pre or post production to make a video, b) uploading is fast and c) students are notified. What is missing from this elevator pitch (and perhaps rightly so), and what I would like to see in the venture pitch, is more about the cost and the competition. The product does not sound dissimilar to using screencapture to make a video of a presentation, and it sounds quite similar to 'Show Me' as a product. For these reasons, the cost and profit strategies would be needed to see how they plan to compete with these types of alternatives.
