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ETEC 522 – Ventures in Learning Technologies
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  • W01: Emerging Markets
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    • Who is the Customer?
    • What is a Venture?
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    • W03: Analyst Bootcamp
    • A Game with Three Pitches
    • Deconstructing a Pitch
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  • W05-12: Opportunity Forecasts
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    • W07: Game-Based Learning
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jesse mayer

jesse mayer

SchoolBook – Social Media and a Virtual Classroom

By jesse mayer on July 30, 2016

Hi Everyone I decided to take another look at a conceptional app I explored for 565m. I came up with the idea of a Virtual Classroom app that utilizes a social media approach. It’s somewhere between Facebook and Edmodo; but designed specifically as a mobile application to be used in a BYOD setting and support […]

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gamelearn – the next generation of elearning

By jesse mayer on June 21, 2016

Hi Everyone I chose to focus on a company I came across called gamelearn. Gamelearn develops corporate training programs that take the shape of video games. As an avid gamer, and someone who constantly has to take new training modules as part of my job, I really wanted to explore something different. I’m often bored in […]

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Discussion Question 1

By jesse mayer on June 19, 2016

In what ways can the aforementioned learning theories be observed through students’ interactions with and surrounding MinecraftEdu in the classroom? Identify at least one specific example of how MinecraftEdu can help us see the one of the learning theories in action, and share it with us in the forum below.  We encourage you to explore the […]

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Week 7 – Game Based Learning

By Week 7 OER on June 19, 2016

Welcome to week 7! Congratulations on making it this far! Week 7’s focus is on Game Based Learning So, we ask you, our fellow classmates: Is Minecraft the ultimate educational tool? Spoiler: We think so!   After watching the video above, please follow the link below to access our OER. We’ll touch on 4 broad […]

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Discussion Question 2

By jesse mayer on June 19, 2016

The power of using Minecraft for education comes with from the game’s malleability and open world concept. By now, you would have seen different examples of teachers using Minecraft to deliver lessons, to create collaborative projects, to allow for roleplaying, to create an area for exploration and discovery, and to bridge different disciplinary areas together […]

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Learning Bird – Henry Ryan

Learning Bird – Henry Ryan

By jesse mayer on June 4, 2016

The founder of Learning Bird is Henry Ryan; he founded the company in 2011 upon a single idea, that every child should be afforded an opportunity to learn and suceed in a way that free’s their potential, regardless of their family location or income. Beyond being the co-founder, he is also the acting CEO.   […]

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Winnipeg Welcome

Winnipeg Welcome

By jesse mayer on May 10, 2016

Hi Everyone My name is Jesse and I live in Winnipeg, 522 is my 7th course in the MET program and starts the last 12-month journey of this program; needless to say I’m very excited. I’ve been eyeing 522 for a while now and finally decided that the time is right. It has always been […]

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8 Aug Posted on REVIEW: Hi Jesse, thanks for sharing the…

Hi Lisa, thank you for the feedback. You're right in that it's a tough market, particularly competing against giants like Google or Edmodo; there's certainly no shortage in current offerings. I think a mobile-first LMS is due, one way or the other, but I too wonder how much social media ought to be integrated. thanks again

8 Aug
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jesse mayer @jamayer

Hi Lisa, thank you for the feedback. You're right in that it's a tough market, particularly competing against giants like Google or Edmodo; there's certainly no shortage in current offerings. I think a mobile-first LMS is due, one way or the other, but I too wonder how much social media ought to be integrated. thanks again

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5 Aug Posted on Review: Hi Jesse – interesting idea. The…

Thanks Chris, I appreciate the feedback and I think you nailed it when you talk about integration with the cell phones, rather than outright banning. Ultimately, why should teachers ban such a powerful tool that students actually *want* to use. Thanks again!

5 Aug
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jesse mayer @jamayer

Thanks Chris, I appreciate the feedback and I think you nailed it when you talk about integration with the cell phones, rather than outright banning. Ultimately, why should teachers ban such a powerful tool that students actually *want* to use. Thanks again!

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5 Aug Posted on Hi Jesse! Thanks so much for you venture…

Hi Gordon, both real great pieces of advice and I'll have to check them out. I hadn't heard of Edsby, but do work with a couple schools implemented GAFE right now; my understanding is that although they are technicall device/OS agnostic, they're still ultimately designed in a laptop-first (or Chromebook) way. I'll certainly need to explore this more though. Thanks again!

5 Aug
0 Thumbs Up!
jesse mayer @jamayer

Hi Gordon, both real great pieces of advice and I'll have to check them out. I hadn't heard of Edsby, but do work with a couple schools implemented GAFE right now; my understanding is that although they are technicall device/OS agnostic, they're still ultimately designed in a laptop-first (or Chromebook) way. I'll certainly need to explore this more though. Thanks again!

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4 Aug Posted on The GENgine – A Hybrid Game Based Learning Tool

Noan, to start with, what a great elevator pitch! Definitely did the trick of relaying some basic info and getting me hooked. The basic functionalities of the platform are direct and, as you note, overcome the biggest challenge of GBL; management of resources. I think you're marketing strategy is very well poised for today's (and the future's) landscape of educators, but I wonder how suitable it is for students/teachers that are not necessary Digital Natives; I know it's a ever-growing minority, but there are still those who grow up with little to no exposure to video games. Again, when it comes to your Plan/Ask, I think you did an exceptionally professional job in explaining the breakdown of costs, timelines and schedule of return (certainly important to the investors themselves). I like the actual business model itself too, in that the content creators can set the price - I think it's also smart to advise a general cost of $20/package; this makes it very reasonable for educators to use the product. I think, as some others noted, your ask is probably too small for the work required; I work in IT and I can definitely say that an annual budget of $15000 USD is minimal, at best. All in all, I'm thoroughly impressed with what you've created here, and although not an educator myself, think there would be tremendous value in the platform. I look forward to seeing what else you come up with in the future - great job!

4 Aug
1 Thumbs Up!
jesse mayer @jamayer

Noan, to start with, what a great elevator pitch! Definitely did the trick of relaying some basic info and getting me hooked. The basic functionalities of the platform are direct and, as you note, overcome the biggest challenge of GBL; management of resources. I think you're marketing strategy is very well poised for today's (and the future's) landscape of educators, but I wonder how suitable it is for students/teachers that are not necessary Digital Natives; I know it's a ever-growing minority, but there are still those who grow up with little to no exposure to video games. Again, when it comes to your Plan/Ask, I think you did an exceptionally professional job in explaining the breakdown of costs, timelines and schedule of return (certainly important to the investors themselves). I like the actual business model itself too, in that the content creators can set the price - I think it's also smart to advise a general cost of $20/package; this makes it very reasonable for educators to use the product. I think, as some others noted, your ask is probably too small for the work required; I work in IT and I can definitely say that an annual budget of $15000 USD is minimal, at best. All in all, I'm thoroughly impressed with what you've created here, and although not an educator myself, think there would be tremendous value in the platform. I look forward to seeing what else you come up with in the future - great job!

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3 Aug Posted on Hi Jesse, Thanks for sharing this ventur…

Hi Erin - thanks! I completely agree with your insecurity; it's a tough and unfair assumption that all students would have a capable device (or even, a device) that they could use for this sort of application. It was my major hesitation in positioning a mobile-first LMS. Again, I appreciate the feedback!

3 Aug
0 Thumbs Up!
jesse mayer @jamayer

Hi Erin - thanks! I completely agree with your insecurity; it's a tough and unfair assumption that all students would have a capable device (or even, a device) that they could use for this sort of application. It was my major hesitation in positioning a mobile-first LMS. Again, I appreciate the feedback!

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3 Aug Posted on Virtual Reality for Basketball Training

hi John, this is great, a form of VR education applied to something outside of the traditional classroom. Much like Sports Psychology, it's very interesting to see the "usual" applied to sports. Particularly neat that you got someone from EA on board with this. I think, given its usage within football, it's a natural progression to get this technology accessible to more athletes and sports. The business model is smart as well, microtransaction are a natural part of many apps today and I think would make sense to both investors and consumers. I'm really impressed for what you've hypothesized here, and role-playing as an investor, I would absolutely back your product. Thanks!

3 Aug
0 Thumbs Up!
jesse mayer @jamayer

hi John, this is great, a form of VR education applied to something outside of the traditional classroom. Much like Sports Psychology, it's very interesting to see the "usual" applied to sports. Particularly neat that you got someone from EA on board with this. I think, given its usage within football, it's a natural progression to get this technology accessible to more athletes and sports. The business model is smart as well, microtransaction are a natural part of many apps today and I think would make sense to both investors and consumers. I'm really impressed for what you've hypothesized here, and role-playing as an investor, I would absolutely back your product. Thanks!

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3 Aug Posted on Reality Plus – Virtual and Augmented Reality Lesson Creator

Daniel, really great job here identifying a very future-thinking app. Given the sudden and overwhelming success of Pokemon Go, this seems like a great time to introduce an AR/VR education-based app - there's got to be TONS of ways that teachers could find really thoughtful and applicable use of this app. Your business plan is great, really detailed information that would provide a potential investor with the right knowledge to make an informed decision. As you acknowledge, the development time of the software is definitely going to be the biggest hurdle here; the key will be to keep the costs low enough to allow for the business model you outline, while keeping the UI simple enough to promote widespread adoption. I particularly think the "open source" aspect of this - or how teachers are given the ability to create their own lessons vs using pre-existing lessons - is one of the strongest features. Similar to my own venture pitch, I think the biggest success (in terms of penetration and adoption) would be having specific key teachers use the program first, as a means to get more teachers on board. There's bound to be people who simply won't want to learn how to use a new platform, but the key teachers would end up being the biggest advocate. Great job!

3 Aug
0 Thumbs Up!
jesse mayer @jamayer

Daniel, really great job here identifying a very future-thinking app. Given the sudden and overwhelming success of Pokemon Go, this seems like a great time to introduce an AR/VR education-based app - there's got to be TONS of ways that teachers could find really thoughtful and applicable use of this app. Your business plan is great, really detailed information that would provide a potential investor with the right knowledge to make an informed decision. As you acknowledge, the development time of the software is definitely going to be the biggest hurdle here; the key will be to keep the costs low enough to allow for the business model you outline, while keeping the UI simple enough to promote widespread adoption. I particularly think the "open source" aspect of this - or how teachers are given the ability to create their own lessons vs using pre-existing lessons - is one of the strongest features. Similar to my own venture pitch, I think the biggest success (in terms of penetration and adoption) would be having specific key teachers use the program first, as a means to get more teachers on board. There's bound to be people who simply won't want to learn how to use a new platform, but the key teachers would end up being the biggest advocate. Great job!

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3 Aug Posted on Netflix Education

Hi Gordon, great job with PowToon. I've used this before, but you definitely did a great job within the tool. I thought your idea was well thought out, both in terms of a missing tool for teachers, as well as a way for an existing company to further penetrate a market. Your implementation section was especially well done, it's obvious you put in a lot of time and effort into thinking about the pricing model. I think this is a great fit for today's learning culture as it even promotes a sense of learn anywhere as students could use their own devices in a pseudo-byod style in order to watch and discuss on their own time. Great job!

3 Aug
0 Thumbs Up!
jesse mayer @jamayer

Hi Gordon, great job with PowToon. I've used this before, but you definitely did a great job within the tool. I thought your idea was well thought out, both in terms of a missing tool for teachers, as well as a way for an existing company to further penetrate a market. Your implementation section was especially well done, it's obvious you put in a lot of time and effort into thinking about the pricing model. I think this is a great fit for today's learning culture as it even promotes a sense of learn anywhere as students could use their own devices in a pseudo-byod style in order to watch and discuss on their own time. Great job!

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3 Aug Posted on YourSchool App (Venture Pitch)

Hi Dan Great elevator pitch; concise and to the point. This seems like a great idea, although I don't have children myself, it seems like an application that parents would certainly embrace. The features you describe are great and I think you've really covered both sides of usage in that both parents and teachers would find value here. Additionally, you've found a system that will actually result in less administrative work for teachers while likely providing more accuracy and accessibility for parents - really a great job. As an IT Consultant I appreciate your detail regarding security also; it's refreshing to see someone think about the backend of things and address the requirement of protecting data and keeping it in the country of origin. Many people throw around the idea of using the "cloud" without really thinking about how it works. In terms of competition, and back to the feature of a digital signature; do you anticipate this being reliant on certain software (or an app) on the smartphone itself? I'm wondering if parents would have to have a PDF writer (instead of just a reader) in order to do this. This is really great work Dan, I found your venture pitch to be very well thought out and covered anything I could think of really. As a peer, I am thoroughly impressed. As a potential investor, you'd certainly have my buy-in here. Great work!

3 Aug
0 Thumbs Up!
jesse mayer @jamayer

Hi Dan Great elevator pitch; concise and to the point. This seems like a great idea, although I don't have children myself, it seems like an application that parents would certainly embrace. The features you describe are great and I think you've really covered both sides of usage in that both parents and teachers would find value here. Additionally, you've found a system that will actually result in less administrative work for teachers while likely providing more accuracy and accessibility for parents - really a great job. As an IT Consultant I appreciate your detail regarding security also; it's refreshing to see someone think about the backend of things and address the requirement of protecting data and keeping it in the country of origin. Many people throw around the idea of using the "cloud" without really thinking about how it works. In terms of competition, and back to the feature of a digital signature; do you anticipate this being reliant on certain software (or an app) on the smartphone itself? I'm wondering if parents would have to have a PDF writer (instead of just a reader) in order to do this. This is really great work Dan, I found your venture pitch to be very well thought out and covered anything I could think of really. As a peer, I am thoroughly impressed. As a potential investor, you'd certainly have my buy-in here. Great work!

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2 Aug Posted on A3 – Reference Quest

Good work Erin; definitely a well thought out product for an existing problem. I struggled a lot with references during my undergrad and tried Refworks and just google scholar's output ability - but this definitely seems like a far better idea. You're right in that it's sure to help students learn what is/isn't required too. From the investment side of things, I think it would be beneficial to understand/think more about the business model and maybe how you plan on getting students empowered enough to use the tool. I think the major hurdle here is going to be re-educating students that it's easier to use the tool than to ask the questions. Reading the comments below, it seems like this is a legitimately great idea that many educators would endorse, so I think you should definitely explore it more in terms of timelines, costs (you don't mention the pricing model at all) and the recompense on the 15k investors are being asked for. Great work overall!

2 Aug
0 Thumbs Up!
jesse mayer @jamayer

Good work Erin; definitely a well thought out product for an existing problem. I struggled a lot with references during my undergrad and tried Refworks and just google scholar's output ability - but this definitely seems like a far better idea. You're right in that it's sure to help students learn what is/isn't required too. From the investment side of things, I think it would be beneficial to understand/think more about the business model and maybe how you plan on getting students empowered enough to use the tool. I think the major hurdle here is going to be re-educating students that it's easier to use the tool than to ask the questions. Reading the comments below, it seems like this is a legitimately great idea that many educators would endorse, so I think you should definitely explore it more in terms of timelines, costs (you don't mention the pricing model at all) and the recompense on the 15k investors are being asked for. Great work overall!

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