Malorie Fisher

Great work Personalized Learning team! This certainly looks like you’ve put a lot of work into creating your OER. I really enjoyed how you provided four options of how your classmates could learn and navigate through your content. I choose to navigate your concept through the video option. I really enjoyed the questions throughout the videos. I will be honest, at the beginning of the first video I needed to go back and listen in order to complete the fill in the blanks correctly as I found myself getting distracted - looking at other webpages or my phone. The questions being presented forced me to put all of those things aside and really focus on the information that was being presented to me so I made sure I was listening for the necessary information. This really surprised me because I was certain that it would be the best learning style for me. After powering through my chosen method and looking at the other methods, I think I should have gone with the traditional text which nicely laid out all of the content you created in a very clean way. Overall, I feel like I didn’t gain or lose any knowledge that I had about personal learning while navigating my way through your OER. I would have been interested in finding out more about Personalized Learning software, as well as how we can utilize what we already have in our classrooms as we integrate personal learning.

Thank you for providing so much information on AI Tutors and chatbots. Ironically, I wouldn’t have considered these chatbots to be AI - maybe all the Sci-Fi shows have me thinking that all AI is microchips and robots, so I was very intrigued and fascinated to find out that they are in-fact AI! I do wish there was more information on AI specifically and how it is important to the education realm. I did appreciate the fact you provided different levels of the AI tutor and chatbot market and information about each of them - the key players, innovation leaders and the start ups. I really liked exploring the start ups. Within your OER, there was SOO much information and so many resources that within the time span I had trouble going through all of it. On the plus side, I now have a resource to turn to if I ever want/need to explore this topic further!

Hi GBL team! I really enjoyed your OER and like how you provided a multitude of resources for all of us to explore. My two favorites that you included have to be MindCraft and Scratch. Both of these allow the users to explore, be creative and "dig" deeper in their learning while using the programs. Thank you for including the information on video games and literacy. As a young adult who frequently games, I may have even dabbled in WOW for a few years, there is so much deciphering that needs to happen in order to navigate and "play" any games on the market these days. The current gaming generation can read these games like nothing, however navigating their way through academic texts in the classroom is becoming more and more challenging. I have several students in my classroom right now that can win every Fortnite battle or be on the COD leader board, but yet can't be bothered to open up a book. So my big question is, how can we engage these students in our classrooms to promote academic literacy, like they are engaged with these games?

Grade job week 5 team! Along with our fellow classmates I also enjoyed the flow and set up of your OER. As a person who has not had any experience with digital textbooks, I really enjoyed going through the history of their creation as well as reading about the pros and cons compared to traditional textbooks. There are definitely benefits to both, but the way that education is going, it is very clear that digital textbooks are the way of the future - especially factoring in the environmental impact that traditional textbooks have. I really like how you provided a resource (Visme) that one could use to create their own digital textbook. Even though I was limited on the time I had to spend creating my own version - I really enjoyed the user friendly nature of the site and can see myself using it in the future over Canva for my needs. The activities that you selected were simple but yet very effective to your topic. I enjoyed the selective nature of Discussion Prompt #1 and ability to see others creations in Prompt #2. Great job!

After review this post and reading Charmaine's comment, I think that Åsmund Furuseth isn’t a strong role model for would-be entrepreneurs. It seems as though Åsmund saw the potential in Kahoot and the education market and knew it would be an “easy” way to generate revenue. Also since the skeleton of Kahoot! was already developed, I am not sure how much “work” needed to go into creating the Kahoot! we see today. I do not think that wanting to make capital is a bad thing, in inventing in successful ventures it is certainly a skill, to have an eye for the next trendy thing, however for a would-be entrepreneur I don’t think Åsmund’s involvement with Kahoot! sends the best message. I am certainly not cutting Åsmund’s credibility short - he is very educated and appears to be very invested in the green energy sector. I would be interested in exploring more about ChapDrive and seeing how that company came to be. I wonder if his involvement in that venture would change my mind about his ability to be a strong role model for would-be entrepreneur?!

After reviewing this post, I think that Cindy Mi represents a strong role model for would-be entrepreneurs. Cindy Mi doesn’t necessarily follow the traditional approach of most of the other entrepreneurs on this list, most of them were involved in their field/interest in high school, then immediately went on to pursue their education in a well-known university. Cindy worked “backwards” in a way, which alone is very inspirational. Traditional school methods weren’t working for Cindy so she decided to leave school to enter the workforce - as more and more young people are doing today. This alone must have taken a tremendous amount of courage to make that decision in a country where education is so highly valued. After those years in the workforce, Cindy gained knowledge and experience. She took the experience of working first hand in a business she created and allowed that to lay the groundwork to allow her to go back to school with all of this firsthand rich business experience. Cindy also was very forward in her thinking, making sure to research and identify the market for her entrepreneurial idea, prior to founding VIP Kid. This alone is advice would-be entrepreneurs should take from Cindy. Also knowing many teachers who work with VIPKid, they have nothing but good things to say about the company that Cindy has founded and genuinely enjoy each of the teaching sessions that they complete.

After reviewing this post, I think that Avishai Abrahami represents a strong role model for would-be entrepreneurs. Not only does he have and has exhibited the essential skills entrepreneurs need, he also seems like a nice man based on the personal connection that Chava shared. It is always nice to hear that a successful entrepreneur and CEO is a genuine nice person and wants to help enhance the lives of others. Avishai developed Wix in a way that feels organic - seeing the lack of need and creating based on that - which I think can inspire would-be entrepreneurs; that not all ideas need to be from scratch but can take ideas and evolve them to suit the current market need. I also think that Avishai is a strong role model because he values working with other talented people and values that working together is more valuable than working alone. The quote Chava included, “When you create an environment that promotes innovation and creativity, you have the ability to truly disrupt an industry,” is very inspirational and should be a message that would-be entrepreneurs take to heart.

I have a lot to say about Jewelbots, but the most important one of all is that NO, I would not invest in this venture. Jewelbots pain point is very simple - trying to increase female interest in STEM and coding and they have come up with the solution of creating programmable bracelets. However, the differentiation piece is where myself as an EVA needs to take a step back from this venture. There are so many products on the market that do a really good job at increasing female interest in STEM and coding (MakeyMakey/Scratch/Sphero/Merge Cube) without doing so in a way that is extremely superficial and full of gender stereotypes. Those alternate programs alone allow for so much range of interest that everyone who uses them feels included, as opposed to Jewelbots which heavily implies that all girls need to be, “girly” and only care about “the followers on Instagram.” Also, from a differentiation standpoint, the other competitive products have a direct involvement with coding in different forms. Jewelbots states in their pitch that once you take it out of the box, “no coding is required,” which seems ironic given it is marketed as a coding bracelet. At no point in the pitch does Jewelbot indicate how the “coding” system for the bracelet works, as a potential investor I would want to know how the app would work and how the coding would be set up - drag and drop? etc. Lastly, based on the elevator pitch and looking over the venture’s leaders on the Kickstarter page, I do not believe that I know enough information about them and their overall qualifications to go into business with them. For the above reasons - I’m out!

Yes I would invest in this venture. As STEM education and integration is becoming the new normal in classrooms around the globe, this kit fits directly into this market. As an *EVA I believe the ease of this kit would be greatly beneficial to many teachers in *(my) schools as all of the pieces they need to implement a lesson/unit on the global issue of climate change is all in one place. This product takes the global large scale issue of climate change and breaks it down into hands on pieces that the user is able to manipulate. The user is able to see the effects of solar/wind power right before their very eyes AND utilize the power they have generated to operate their own personal devices. Talk about an easy buy in with 21st century students - charge your phone while learning, done! While the device may be the initial buy in, the end result is the user learning 21st century skills, all tied to deeper learning, and exploring ways to potentially help in the large scale issue of climate change as well as learning how to engage in a positive way online through Visionary Kits interactive app. As an analyst, the reason someone would buy this kit is quite simple, ease. Everything you need to target the specific topic can be found in one box. Visionary Kits also is made up of a strong team with over 35 years of experience in the areas of consulting (social impact) and engineering, specially in the alternative energy industry. It is also evident that the team cares about inspiring and growing future STEM leaders as they plan on donating one kit for every ten sold, to a local program that promotes STEM education in areas with low socioeconomic status. The potential topics Visionary Kits is aiming on addressing in their future kits also can not be found in any other “STEM” based kits on the market - especially the finance kit. With this individuality, along with ease of use, practical utility, important focused topics and a strong team, I would be a fool to not invest in Visionary Kits!

Aside from in super spy movies, or watching my husband use his thumbprint to access his phone, I haven’t had a lot of exposure to biometrics in my personal or professional life. As someone with lack of exposure/knowledge on this topic I really appreciated the link to the IBIA website - which contained all of the information that I needed to be caught up to speed on this technology (highly recommend the FAQ section of this site). The other source listed (biometricupdate) was slightly overwhelming to navigate, with mass amount of text all in the same color, but appears to offer thorough insight into the use of biometrics around the globe. After navigating both of the provided sources, as well as some expert googling of my own, I have put together my thoughts on biometrics in education. Biometrics can be quite valuable to the broader community of educators, regardless of if their school has multiple devices or not. In my school, my students on constantly working with Chromebooks and iPads. Instantly, my first thought with biometrics and these devices goes to the logging-in process. So much time would be saved if students could easily login to their device through a thumb print or with facial recognition - especially in the primary grades, no more master copies of passwords, no more changing of passwords, only to be forgotten. I imagine hours, if not potential school days could be saved. After some googling on the topic, I discovered an article from eLearning (http://bit.ly/2Ef9Sks) that has listed the top four ways that biometrics in school could enhance learning. Those four ways include: 1. Efficient Time Usage. Focusing on tracking attendance. 2. Student Safety. 3. Student Engagement. 4. Academic Honesty. These four points alone could benefit the education community and as biometrics change and evolve I’m sure the list could get substantially longer. I also think that learning technologies specialists and venturers could also benefit from this market as it is always changing. More advanced technology is also being generated and ways to make the biometric process easier for users is also constantly changing. From an investors standpoint, biometrics would something to consider as new versions will always be needed as the market grows and evolves. I don’t see myself seeking out future versions of the specific report linked, however I do see myself seeking out information on this topic. I have never considered integrating biometrics into education prior to today and I think it is fascinating. I am very interested in exploring the cons of biometrics in education as well as the legality/privacy aspect of integrating biometrics into the school system. This is a topic I would be interested in discussing with my administrator as well as my professional colleagues to see their opinions on the how biometrics can be integrated into the classroom.