ljstott

Hi Yuandi du, Thanks for the comment and feedback. I plan to use this in my courses which involve a lot of field work given that I teach in the forestry and renewable resource program at BCIT. So the idea of students using the beacons to identify species, soil structure, plant communities, plant management techniques and so on are all options we are going to explore. Life at BCIT is crazy (nice to meet an alumni!) and so the use of beacons would supplement and support students in their field work and in the future, potentially aid them in their navigation through and access to resources and locations on campus. I am also involved in course development, particularly part time studies courses and this technology would allow us to build interactive and dynamic field labs and workshops for these courses. It is not something that has been used or tried at BCIT before and one of the initiatives at present is the creation of open education resources that are open to all students. In an attempt to embed indigenous values and engage indigenous students in a context and site based, interactive campus map, beacons may also find the means to share values and stories from around the campus at the location where they exist. All ideas that rely on the success fo the pilot for more funding!

Hi Sheila, I really enjoyed your presentation and was very interested in your idea. As someone who is looking at using this technology for BCIT and a pilot project on campus, I found your idea and service to be very valuable and will fill a niche that is necessary and needed as schools and agencies are looking for ways to use and adapt this technology for education. I found several universities that are using beacons to navigate students around campus and the value unique to beacons over QR tags was the ability to interact with the student and collect information about student movement and engagement. Thank you for adding the list of companies that assist in the creation of apps!

Brilliant. This is a great idea and though I can see some challenges with language and transmission of video from remote areas, even still images and interaction with a guide would be a fantastic connection The venture and elevator pitch are very well done and you have done a great job presenting the idea, the need, the potential market and profit as well as the future potential for expansion and growth. Your presentation is professional and well timed with images and I would be iinterested as an investor in pursuing this venture but would want more information about the partner groups and perhaps a pilot study (which of course is beyond the scope of this assignment but you definately have captured my interest and attention!). One question I have is the need for robots -why not use iPads or rugged tablets? These are more portable and seem less expensive and mobile. With a SIM card they would be able to connect and transmit as well as any mobile robot device and remote headsets would function as the communication with the students. A selfie-style stick as the tool for connecting with the guide would work well and the tablet is less of a target for thieves and less likely to be trampled by other visitors to the sites. We just purchased several Mesa2 tablets from Juniper Systems and these devices are amazing in that they have incredible resolution, great audio and can function in a wide range of environmental conditions and even underwater for short periods of time. They boast you can drive over it and it will be fine - I am not brave enough to test this :) but the claim certainly gives the impression the tablets would survive well in any environment and be tough enough to last many, many tours. Great venture idea and one I hope exists one day.

Rob, Your proposal addresses a niche that is very important and somewhat overlooked in the marketplace. While there are many companies developing products and creating new and amazing technologies for education, there seems to be far fewer resources and providers of the 'how to' and 'what's out there' consultation. I think your proposed enterprise has great potential and provides many different industries and educational fields with not only the tools necessary to create AR learning environments, but the context and information necessary to even imagine and identify the where and how this technology can offer benefits and opportunities for both the training institute and student. I would like to know more about the services you would offer, the marketing or pilot projects you propose as a company to engage and initiate your companies role in the use and expansion of AR in education. My interest would be based on the need and opportunity you have identified here and this is something I would be very interested in funding and joining as an investor. I know there are comments in the other posts about research and providing curriculum links....while I agree that this is a need and important elements for AR technology, I am not sure I agree that your company should incorporate these elements. You may be more successful focusing on a specific niche and partnering with the many and the best performers in these areas to ensure the best product and flexibility in an emerging market and industry, Great resources and I am very interested to know more about this technology so thanks for taking this on. On a side note, I met a woman from the Childrens Hospital in Vancouver a few years ago and we got into a discussion about technology and training. One of her biggest challenges as an administrator was the management of training staff in the wards. At great expense new staff were shadowed by an experienced nurse or physician as they performed tasks and trained on the floor and on real patients. She said she dreamed of a video game or interactive environment like what pilots use in flight simulators where trainees could practice skills until they passed a certain level of competency and their results would be shared with both staff and with the trainee. So, AR would be a fantastic option for her and one that your proposed company, in theory, could suggest and support in the creation and development of the tool for their hospital space and specific wards!

Hi Jordan, There is no audio but based on several comments here, I will definately considering adding either my voice or music to the pitch. I can also attach a PDF with the text to make the information in the presentation more accessible. Thanks for the suggestions!

Hi Mark, Thank you for this post and feedback. I am not pitching a company and have chosen to use this exercise to pitch a real-life new technology venture to a board/group of adminstrators and program staff for funding within the institution. I realize this is off the the normal path but the pitch and information for this group is the same as to any group of investors and must argue the case persuasively to access institute funds. This is a BCIT trial and will be used potentially for several larger initiatives and potentially integrated into a larger federal grant application that will allow us to incorporate a number of initiatives and locations to create 'fields of education' that span languages, industry and geographic locations. At this stage there would be no option for advertisement but of course that would be an option for an organisation or company to do so.

Great ideas Briar

Hi Ester, Your elevator pitch will not run for me....the message I get is to check back later(?). I am disappointed because it sounds from other reviews like this is quite good and I would like to see it so I will check back but for now, I can review the website. The website is nicely laid out and you have provided good information on the need for your product. I had the same experience of some others here though and I am unsure of exactly what you will do for a company and their employees, what the learning outcomes would be for employees and if the learners would include the company executives as well....which seems important given the number of employees that leave after 6 months and that the greatest input occurs in the first 8 months. What happens after 8 months and why are people leaving? This is where I am unclear how this product matches the cause or pain point you are addressing. Admittedly, I am not in business with a large staff nor do I have an HR background but in discussions with a friend for whom this is a passion, it seems that people want to know their place, be clear about their tasks and outcomes, to feel a part of a successful team and what their story will be through the company. This last part is key - what is the path I can take and what opportunity exists for me are the key elements to retaining and engaging employees according to my friend. If so, is this what you mean by onboarding and the journey? Are you engaging staff to collaborate, offer their creativity and energy to the company but also to create opportunity for themselves and their team as they build their career and reputation within and for the larger group. If so, then I can see this being a very powerful too and if the dialogue continues, the story and communication could provide mentorship, encouragement and inclusion of many levels within a company helping everyone to understand the challenges from the warehouse / mail room to the corner office on the top floor with a view of the park. I think it is great that you offered a corporate perspective and workplace training tool as this is often overlooked and under discussed in the education dialogue and there is a lot of opportunity and need in this sector.

This is a good idea and I have used something similar from Womens enterprise group located here in Vancouver. http://womensenterprise.ca/ They also walk you through the process based on your needs and put you in touch with your mentor and resources related to your business. My concern with your application is the scalability and the resources you will use to support your customers. Who will the experts be who coach the subscribers, what are their qualifications and will they be able to adapt their knowledge for different markets, industries and regions? One think I understand from my own ventures is that the three things that matter most in business - location, location, location (and I think this still applies in the digital realm as it matters where and how your products are accessed) are not universally true and it is important to understand your market in order to suceed. While the layout and format of your app is very good and I think it would be very attractive to the generation that is using their phone as their primary resource and form of interaction, I would need to know more about how you going to support your users and the expertise that would be available and the target market before investing.

This was exceptionally well done. I think your site walks us all through a professional and well laid out proposal for a venture and ask for financial investment. I really liked the way your site broke down the steps, identified the problem/need in the market, provided your solution and then gave an overview of your product, options for the client and the rationale for the amount you are asking for from your investors. I disagree that the target market will not be able to support this....it is a huge market and there are many businesses who are looking at online training options for their staff and need advice and direction and then assistance in getting started. By providing this service you provide a basis from which you can grow and adapt as the market needs and you will be well placed given your connection to and reputation with the firms and businesses you have supported to both market and support existing clients and new clients with new technologies and options. This last point puts you in a very good position with the rapidly changing Edtech market. You would be invested in no one application or market but poised to promote, educate and embed them all on an as needed and as wanted basis. I have no negative comments and thank you for this presentation as I learned a great deal on how to present a polished and well laid out venture pitch.