ashleybayles
A3: LanguageBuddy App Venture Pitch
By ashleybayles on August 3, 2014
Hi Everyone, I decided to create an imaginary product (which could be real if any designers from the course would like to go in on it with me) and created a website for potential investors at: http://languagebuddyapp.weebly.com. I feel that this is a viable product, although it will be based on advertising revenue (as the application […]
ImpactOnAir
By ashleybayles on July 16, 2014
Leah recently posted about coworking spaces and we ended up in a discussion about the different forms of spaces available some of which are accelerators that have specific focuses. One of the global spaces I know of from living in Bogotá is called ImpactHub. Turns out the Seattle Impact Hub was involved with Google on something called ImpactOnAir […]
A1: Analyst Report on NoRedInk
By ashleybayles on June 29, 2014
I have created my Analyst Report on NoRedInk because it is a site that I have used in my own teaching and have shared with colleagues and everyone seems to really enjoy. The concept uses effective teaching practices and learning analytics to help students learn grammar rules in order to improve their writing. I really enjoyed looking […]
Interesting Article: Ed Tech Investment Bubble
By ashleybayles on June 24, 2014
I came across an interesting article in Fortune from February that argues that there is a bubble in terms of educational technoloyg investments. The article states that: Schools are slow to adopt new technology because they have to be: Their procurement processes are inflexible and complicated, involving contracts, RFPs, lawyers, review cycles, approvals, and compliances. […]
Haiku Learning (LMS)
By ashleybayles on June 5, 2014
Haiku Learning is a Learning Management System (LMS) that allows teachers to quickly create their learning environment using drag and drop features that allow use of elements from sites such as Flickr, YouTube, TEDTalks, Google Maps, etc. Haiku hosts everything in the cloud, so no technological background is required and it allows for students to […]
Hola from Bogotá, Colombia!
By ashleybayles on May 18, 2014
Hello Everyone, My name is Ashley and I am originally from Vancouver, but I have been living/working in Bogotá for the last three years. This is my final final MET course along with 490 and I am sure it will be a great experience to end with! I teach IB English Literature and work as […]

Thank you for sharing this feedback. I agree with your comments and think that your suggestions could be useful for future versions of this course. I have often tried to explain how online courses are often much more time consuming in terms of reading everyone´s comments and then providing your own because in a classroom situation where you only meet for three hours a week usually then there is no more than three hours of listening to classmates and providing your own insight; whereas participation in an online course takes much more than just three hours a week of discussion participation to keep up with everyone.
Thank you for sharing this feedback. I agree with your comments and think that your suggestions could be useful for future versions of this course. I have often tried to explain how online courses are often much more time consuming in terms of reading everyone´s comments and then providing your own because in a classroom situation where you only meet for three hours a week usually then there is no more than three hours of listening to classmates and providing your own insight; whereas participation in an online course takes much more than just three hours a week of discussion participation to keep up with everyone.
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Hi Leah, I think you have an interesting concept, but the elevator pitch left me wanting a bit more. I am not quite sure how you are going to differentiate yourself from the competition as this is an area that has many possibilities.
Hi Leah, I think you have an interesting concept, but the elevator pitch left me wanting a bit more. I am not quite sure how you are going to differentiate yourself from the competition as this is an area that has many possibilities.
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- in reply to A3 Venture – PELR Practical English Language Resources (Edited)

Laura. Your Elevator Pitch was great. You managed to keep it to one minute (a challenge for many of us, including myself) so congratulations on that, but you also provided plenty of information and made me want to learn more about your product! There was a great tie-in between the graphics from your elevator pitch video and using them on the different sections of you site, that was a great touch! Also, you really laid out the product and the different phases which was quite appealing as an investor. The only question that I have is that I am not sure exactly who you are pitching to. It seems as though it is more for end users such as teachers, but I cannot be sure. Overall a very engaging and well-laid out pitch! I would totally use this product and invest in it!
Laura. Your Elevator Pitch was great. You managed to keep it to one minute (a challenge for many of us, including myself) so congratulations on that, but you also provided plenty of information and made me want to learn more about your product! There was a great tie-in between the graphics from your elevator pitch video and using them on the different sections of you site, that was a great touch! Also, you really laid out the product and the different phases which was quite appealing as an investor. The only question that I have is that I am not sure exactly who you are pitching to. It seems as though it is more for end users such as teachers, but I cannot be sure. Overall a very engaging and well-laid out pitch! I would totally use this product and invest in it!
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- in reply to Course Coach

Your elevator pitch was very focused and you look extremely professional and it was great to have a face to put to the product. I know videos are complicated, but a few visuals would have been nice, even just words as you speak to help the person watching your pitch to focus on the key points. You also said to go to your website, but then didm´t say what it was. As for the entire pitch, I think having the story of how ConstructWithUs came to be was terrific, that really made me connect with it on a more personal level and see your passion. I like how specific you were in your invest section and your disclaimer was also cute. I would definitely invest in this venture!
Your elevator pitch was very focused and you look extremely professional and it was great to have a face to put to the product. I know videos are complicated, but a few visuals would have been nice, even just words as you speak to help the person watching your pitch to focus on the key points. You also said to go to your website, but then didm´t say what it was. As for the entire pitch, I think having the story of how ConstructWithUs came to be was terrific, that really made me connect with it on a more personal level and see your passion. I like how specific you were in your invest section and your disclaimer was also cute. I would definitely invest in this venture!
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- in reply to Assignment 3 : ConstructWithUs – a new venture!

Hi Kendra, I loved your elevator pitch, it looked very professional and covered everything, but it wash´t until about a minute in that I really knew what you were actually trying to promote. Perhaps the facts could have gone a bit more towards the end once you introduced your product a bit more. That being said, I thought your Deck was really well done and provided TONS of great information about the situation and your solution. I found the audio a bit confusing as I personally hate when audio starts automatically, so perhaps you could change that so that it only plays when the user wants it to, otherwise it was a distraction rather than a nice feature. Everything looks good overall so really just a few tweaks to make it a bit more user friendly. Looks like you are on your way to success!
Hi Kendra, I loved your elevator pitch, it looked very professional and covered everything, but it wash´t until about a minute in that I really knew what you were actually trying to promote. Perhaps the facts could have gone a bit more towards the end once you introduced your product a bit more. That being said, I thought your Deck was really well done and provided TONS of great information about the situation and your solution. I found the audio a bit confusing as I personally hate when audio starts automatically, so perhaps you could change that so that it only plays when the user wants it to, otherwise it was a distraction rather than a nice feature. Everything looks good overall so really just a few tweaks to make it a bit more user friendly. Looks like you are on your way to success!
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- in reply to A3: SOOCs4Learning

Week 11, thank you for this really interesting OER! I must admit, I had never really thought about 3D printing in terms of K-12 education before, or really much at all. The videos you shared were really useful in helping me to understand the different perspectives and types of 3D printing options that are becoming available to us. The activity where we were to design our own object was especially useful because it gave us that hands-on experience in seeing how easy it is design something, which was helpful in getting me to envision more possibilities for this technology in an educational setting. It is an area I will be exploring further this year. Thanks again!
Week 11, thank you for this really interesting OER! I must admit, I had never really thought about 3D printing in terms of K-12 education before, or really much at all. The videos you shared were really useful in helping me to understand the different perspectives and types of 3D printing options that are becoming available to us. The activity where we were to design our own object was especially useful because it gave us that hands-on experience in seeing how easy it is design something, which was helpful in getting me to envision more possibilities for this technology in an educational setting. It is an area I will be exploring further this year. Thanks again!
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- in reply to W11: 3D Printing Launchpad

Well done Angela, Nidal, Milorad, Yuki, Colleen & Bobbi! Your site was soo professional that at first I actually thought you had just linked to another site and created activities around it, but then I snooped around and discovered that it was a sub-domain of Bobbi´s website and portfolio. Her background must have been of use to you all in developing the site! You also did a great job of providing the relevant information and designing interesting activities that really got some passionate discussions going. The main area I would suggest for improvement that isn´t to do with your actual content per se, as it is to have placed your posts in the menu bar of the 522 site. It seems the Week 5 group is the only group who has done that successfully, so perhaps that is an area that the course instructors could aid us with further. Overall, a very comprehensive and engaging OER!
Well done Angela, Nidal, Milorad, Yuki, Colleen & Bobbi! Your site was soo professional that at first I actually thought you had just linked to another site and created activities around it, but then I snooped around and discovered that it was a sub-domain of Bobbi´s website and portfolio. Her background must have been of use to you all in developing the site! You also did a great job of providing the relevant information and designing interesting activities that really got some passionate discussions going. The main area I would suggest for improvement that isn´t to do with your actual content per se, as it is to have placed your posts in the menu bar of the 522 site. It seems the Week 5 group is the only group who has done that successfully, so perhaps that is an area that the course instructors could aid us with further. Overall, a very comprehensive and engaging OER!
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- in reply to W07: Code Education Launchpad

#7 - I am being influenced from having watched the film Transcendence last night, but afterwards I had a discussion with my friend about the film and the issues it raises and believe that the development and evolution of ¨smart¨ code is actually a very likely possibility and in some ways I am surprised that this does not already exist. As Milorad and Kendra mentioned, this is already a path that we have started down in some way, so it is likely to be an area that will grow in the coming years. To think of how much code has already evolved in allowing us to do more complex work, it should eventually evolve so that the level of complexity we have today will eventually be completed in a much easier manner.
#7 - I am being influenced from having watched the film Transcendence last night, but afterwards I had a discussion with my friend about the film and the issues it raises and believe that the development and evolution of ¨smart¨ code is actually a very likely possibility and in some ways I am surprised that this does not already exist. As Milorad and Kendra mentioned, this is already a path that we have started down in some way, so it is likely to be an area that will grow in the coming years. To think of how much code has already evolved in allowing us to do more complex work, it should eventually evolve so that the level of complexity we have today will eventually be completed in a much easier manner.
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- in reply to W07: Activity 3

No, I would not invest in this venture. I found myself bored during the one minute pitch, if they can´t keep my attention, how will their product be engaging for students? The pitch talks about what they will do, but not how they will do it. There is no evidence that they know exactly what an LMS or SMS do and how they will integrate the two of them together. There is no mention of a pain point and how this provides a solution. My main concern would be that there is much competition out there already, how can they differentiate themselves? The founder seems to have experience, but also we were never given a face to associate with the product for added confidence. As was mentioned in the readings, there is a psychological element to the pitch and a boring slideshow of just black text on a white background does not inspire confidence. There is no way for me to get me to get more information, and there is no explanation of how they know that it will make the revenue promised. Overall, this pitch does not do much to make me excited about the possibilities of the product offered.
No, I would not invest in this venture. I found myself bored during the one minute pitch, if they can´t keep my attention, how will their product be engaging for students? The pitch talks about what they will do, but not how they will do it. There is no evidence that they know exactly what an LMS or SMS do and how they will integrate the two of them together. There is no mention of a pain point and how this provides a solution. My main concern would be that there is much competition out there already, how can they differentiate themselves? The founder seems to have experience, but also we were never given a face to associate with the product for added confidence. As was mentioned in the readings, there is a psychological element to the pitch and a boring slideshow of just black text on a white background does not inspire confidence. There is no way for me to get me to get more information, and there is no explanation of how they know that it will make the revenue promised. Overall, this pitch does not do much to make me excited about the possibilities of the product offered.
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YES, I would invest in this venture (once I get a bit more information). The speaker looks professional and is very confident so you trust that he knows what he is talking about. He also seems very familiar with the pain point and how the product provides a solution via software as a service. He addresses how the product is different from other product on the market and why that is especially important in addressing the pain points mentioned. Having a company that seems to be speaking as if they truly understand things from the customer´s point of view. The fact that they are already being used in schools and piloted at UBC makes it gain credibility, but at the same time we know nothing about who designed the product. Giving the information for a website allows interested people to search for more information in their own time, which is always a positive. My concern would be that there is plenty of competition in this area, so I would really want to see the product in action to know what sets it apart from others that are already being used on a greater scale.
YES, I would invest in this venture (once I get a bit more information). The speaker looks professional and is very confident so you trust that he knows what he is talking about. He also seems very familiar with the pain point and how the product provides a solution via software as a service. He addresses how the product is different from other product on the market and why that is especially important in addressing the pain points mentioned. Having a company that seems to be speaking as if they truly understand things from the customer´s point of view. The fact that they are already being used in schools and piloted at UBC makes it gain credibility, but at the same time we know nothing about who designed the product. Giving the information for a website allows interested people to search for more information in their own time, which is always a positive. My concern would be that there is plenty of competition in this area, so I would really want to see the product in action to know what sets it apart from others that are already being used on a greater scale.
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