JoAnna Cassie

I love this! I am also very interested in simulation and VR for education. Excellent elevator and venture pitch. Both describe the concept super clearly. Very interesting that all competitors are in US, none in Canada yet – what an ideal market entry point! I can only imagine that demand for this low risk practice environment training for such a high-risk profession will only grow. No surprise that the head-mounted display is the costliest element - the HoloBrain for training medical students that I recently tested was $8000 apiece (and that was AR not VR). It makes a lot of sense in this case to charge subscription fees for covering costs and revenue, as well as for the service of receiving new and up to the minute scenarios, which will help maintain relevancy. Very exciting! Great job.

I immediately loved the action-oriented concept of “3 steps of how to make authentic, non-trivial changes”. It’s a very clear and well articulated goal. I also thought that as a math teacher the Venn diagram of the Third Space idea signifying the overlap between two worldviews was very clever, simple and effective. The topic is one that I am also interested in, and I am very much looking forward to taking the MET course that covers Indigeneity, Technology and Education which affected you so deeply. It’s amazing how far away we have moved from context. This venture pitch was very engaging and I loved that producing profit is not the goal. We need so much more non-capitalist ideas such as yours, that generate value other than financial. Thank you for this Dana.

Terrific! I loved the fast pace of your elevator pitch – got me interested immediately. Of course, it’s so true about educational game play-ability totally missing the boat. I think you really have something here in providing free educational resources alongside quality off the shelf games, plus the points system for buying them through reviews. This is clearly the right point in time to get into this market. Good job getting your partners investors on board already. I also always love to hear about businesses run in an alternative way such as this kind of sharing economy. It’s probably because I am not in k-12 education, but I haven’t seen what it looks like when games and education are synced successfully in the way you describe so might be good to see an example of a successful integration. Great job Brian – so innovative!

Thank you Brian! We have made the correction (you are right it is an image, not a video). Thank you so much for your delightful comments, we are very glad you enjoyed it and learned something from it!

No, I would not invest in this venture. One of the problems immediately apparent is poor presentation - they haven't distilled down their idea. Their website lists all the features but doesn’t explain the core principle, and it felt ungrounded and unsatisfying to visit. Differentiation – what makes this different from opening a map and searching on your phone? To that end, my main concern is how was the content created/curated?? It is an impossible task to objectively describe all aspects of every place in the world, with cultural sensitivity and current information. Even if it were possible, this would require immense resources, and I just do not see a feasible ROI. I do like the idea of pairing a 3D representational entry point to endless avenues online. But like many entrepreneurs the focus has not been on developing the kernel of an idea, but ‘working hard’ on lots and lots of content to cover up the fact that it is not really that unique an idea in the first place.

Yes I would invest in this venture. The market gap is clear: How do you teach programming without increasing screen time? The inventor, Paul Boswell, has come up with an original solution in “Turing Tumble” which mechanically illustrates the concept of 0/1 decisions, the basis of all computer operation. The disruptive brilliance of this product makes differentiation simple because it is the first of its kind, there are no alternatives or therefore no competitors on the market yet – the perfect moment for an EVA to jump in. It seems marketing has been done completely online, especially through the Kickstarter which has raised 10x the initial ask, a sign of intense market interest (and that he doesn’t actually need any more investors). Paul Boswell has had to turn entrepreneur to get his idea out there and his Venture Pitch is compelling. The actual state of the product today that it has just come onto the market and is selling for $65 under pre-order option (they likely have not had a chance to revise the site from pre to post market). Although he clearly did not need the help, I probably would have changed the name to something more compelling like “Turing Torrent” of “Game of Stones”, but the Turing Tumble name has that educational-game ring to it and that is exactly what it is.

From a continuing medical education perspective, blockchain technology offers a world of possibilities. The credits physicians collect are tied to their eligibility for provincial relicensure, and the technology behind how they are collected needs to align with growing definition of how and where learning occurs. Physician learning can currently be generally categorized into three areas: group learning, self-learning and assessment (eg simulation skills), but accreditation of programs is still mainly still geared toward conference-style group learning. The costs of physically bringing people together is enormous compared to the emerging technological opportunities, and physicians also loose income by having to take time out of their practice. An emerging trend in continuing medical education are concepts such as coaching and mentoring, which doesn’t really fit into any of the above categories. With blockchain, the knowledge transfer could occur as described in the video above (called quick video [6m41s]), and passing on knowledge (‘earning credits for teaching’) would also account for all of the learning that happens throughout a physician’s day. Think how much new information emergency room care providers absorb in a single shift, and how much of that they need to pass on. The wider view of course is that blockchain concept could replace university credits. A challenge I see is qualifying the hour long knowledge blocks. How do you know, in a measurable way, when you have learned something? It will be interesting to see how this fascinating technology unfolds in education, and I will definitely return to this site to find out!

I am choosing microlearning because it really reflects the reality of a physician and patient in a conversation where the physician often may require just in time learning to better understand the patient. Have you been in a situation where your physician (or more likely a resident) is reading off google information you already looked up? Of course, would be great if there were more alternatives for physicians to connect to what they need know in in the moment, such as a hub.

This is could potentially be the most valuable addition to continuing medical education because of the accountability factor. It could replace our current (to be honest, cumbersome) credit-tracking system and place the onus on the physician learner to be accountable for their own learning (sadly, not always the case). The governing Colleges (eg. the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada) are trying to shift the perspective of credits being perceived by physicians as “required” to a natural enhancement to a physicians’ practice. There is always the danger of moving into big brother territory when proof of participation is necessary, but for the motivated learner blockchains could present a logical way to monitor their self-guided learning as their practice evolves.