miguel strother
Is this the strangest, most important time in history for online education?
By miguel strother on March 15, 2020
I don’t mean to undermine the efforts of this week’s impressive OER. But for crying out loud!!! These are strange days! In the face of the pandemic, how can we deploy our skills to help schools and businesses get through it? What is the best way I can use my skills as an online educator […]
Business Horizons: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
By miguel strother on March 2, 2020
There are some pretty interesting articles in here that make Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning a little easier to understand in real world contexts. No need to be a data scientist or AI wunderkind to glean some useful insights on these emerging sectors. “The articles in this special issue will serve as a guide for […]
Analyst Report: VR for Speech + Language Pathology
By miguel strother on February 16, 2020
The following identifies a key opportunity related to Speech and Language Pathology (SLP) and emerging technology. SLP resources are in short supply in schools and hospitals, despite rising demand. And while there is a continued effort to try to educate and expand the workforce with qualified SLPs, that is time consuming, costly, and currently not […]
Protecting Intellectual Property (IP)
By miguel strother on February 6, 2020
So, I have a lot of good ideas 😉 And one thing I worry about is protecting those good ideas. This is particularly true as I move through the exercise of building out an idea that I hope has genuine potential as a business. But what is stopping Google, for example, from mining my good […]
Dan Eisenhardt, Founder & CEO, FORM
By miguel strother on February 1, 2020
Who: Dan Eisenhardt, Founder & CEO, FORM About Form: These augmented reality swim goggles allow athletes and coaches to real time (bio)metrics while they swim. This allows for immediate and ongoing learning opportunities for improved performance in the pool. About Eisenhardt: A UBC alumn Dan, co-founded Recon Instruments in 2008, which he and his […]
Great IDEO: Bendable
By miguel strother on January 31, 2020
There is really no design firm in the world I admire more than IDEO. They continue to push the boundaries in all sorts of areas, including education. Bendable is an interesting idea. I must admit I haven’t entirely wrapped my head around how this can and will work. But from what I do understand I […]
Seeing is believing: How VR/ AR will transform business and the economy
By miguel strother on January 17, 2020
As the price and availability of VR/ AR products continues to drop and the barriers to content development continue to fall away, this industry is going to grow exponentially. According to PwC that growth will hit $1.5 TRILLION (with a ’T’) in the next decade. This blows away previous projections, include some of those made […]
Greetings from Vancouver Island
By miguel strother on January 10, 2020
This is my Last MET course and I couldn’t be more thrilled! I have overcome incredible circumstances and to think this is the last step in achieving this goal is a little overwhelming. I very deliberately enrolled in 522 as my last dance in the MET. This is because I have entrepreneurial ambitions in this […]

This is a super detailed evaluation of an interesting opportunity that it is clear you understand and have a great deal of interest and expertise in. I think the presentation itself is too long and demands more time to get into and evaluate than a potential investor might take based on a cold call. I did not find myself getting excited about the idea from the outset but rather felt a little overwhelmed by all of the material I had to dig into to get to the meat of your idea. When I did get into the material I found this to be a very interesting idea and worthy of further evaluation based on the potential market and novel idea. That said, with some refinement of the idea and improvement in the presentation I could see this a viable product worthy of potential investment.
This is a super detailed evaluation of an interesting opportunity that it is clear you understand and have a great deal of interest and expertise in. I think the presentation itself is too long and demands more time to get into and evaluate than a potential investor might take based on a cold call. I did not find myself getting excited about the idea from the outset but rather felt a little overwhelmed by all of the material I had to dig into to get to the meat of your idea. When I did get into the material I found this to be a very interesting idea and worthy of further evaluation based on the potential market and novel idea. That said, with some refinement of the idea and improvement in the presentation I could see this a viable product worthy of potential investment.
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- in reply to Safe2Summit The Micro learning Site

I think that the quality and graphic presentation of this pitch are relatively high. That commitment to the quality of the presentation pulled me in and made me want to explore further. However, by the time I was finished I still found myself questioning exactly what I was being asked to invest in? A more clear, comprehensive overview of the product at the front would have helped me visualize and absorb what you are pitching. All of the accompanying material is nicely thought out and presented in a concise fashion (problems, solutions, advantages etc) but a more comprehensive overview would have helped me better evaluate the opportunity.
I think that the quality and graphic presentation of this pitch are relatively high. That commitment to the quality of the presentation pulled me in and made me want to explore further. However, by the time I was finished I still found myself questioning exactly what I was being asked to invest in? A more clear, comprehensive overview of the product at the front would have helped me visualize and absorb what you are pitching. All of the accompanying material is nicely thought out and presented in a concise fashion (problems, solutions, advantages etc) but a more comprehensive overview would have helped me better evaluate the opportunity.
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- in reply to Hive Harmonizes Group Work

I feel like this is among the top venture pitches in this forum. It is well thought out and well presented. I found myself captivated throughout. It felt professional and like it represents a real-world possibility. I do not think that video alone is the best way to deliver this pitch. However, unlike many videos, especially longer form videos presented in the MET, this one held my attention from start to finish. The script is tight and well narrated. I would recommend an accompanying document that a potential investor could further scan and review, however. Overall, this is a really pitch based around a well thought out idea and potential venture.
I feel like this is among the top venture pitches in this forum. It is well thought out and well presented. I found myself captivated throughout. It felt professional and like it represents a real-world possibility. I do not think that video alone is the best way to deliver this pitch. However, unlike many videos, especially longer form videos presented in the MET, this one held my attention from start to finish. The script is tight and well narrated. I would recommend an accompanying document that a potential investor could further scan and review, however. Overall, this is a really pitch based around a well thought out idea and potential venture.
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- in reply to A3 – MeLearn

Excellent article and advice for those transitioning to online learning environments. I hope you distributed this to your colleagues and that it is helping them, too.
Excellent article and advice for those transitioning to online learning environments. I hope you distributed this to your colleagues and that it is helping them, too.
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- in reply to Tony Bates: Advice on how to teach online amid the corona virus pandemic

This is really really powerful : "I feel that one the best things we can do is to show understanding and empathy with our students and families. I've been doing this by check-in with my students to see how they are handling the lockdown mentally, emotionally and physically." I hope you can feel my virtual standing ovation across the Pacific. You mention drama. What about trying to switch more to mobile teaching? I feel like it is much more likely that we will be able to scale effective teaching and learning like this, especially outside of international schools. Our colleague Carla from South Africa mentions challenges because of internet infrastructure and lack of hardware. It feels like mobile might be the only viable option for a while. And while social media comes with its own challenges, I could see asking kids to act our different parts on TikTok or others and then assembling this into more complete work would be very powerful indeed. Finally, I feel for you. These are challenging times and being able to connect with others across the world is important. I am here to further talk these things through and welcome the opportunity to do so.
This is really really powerful : "I feel that one the best things we can do is to show understanding and empathy with our students and families. I've been doing this by check-in with my students to see how they are handling the lockdown mentally, emotionally and physically." I hope you can feel my virtual standing ovation across the Pacific. You mention drama. What about trying to switch more to mobile teaching? I feel like it is much more likely that we will be able to scale effective teaching and learning like this, especially outside of international schools. Our colleague Carla from South Africa mentions challenges because of internet infrastructure and lack of hardware. It feels like mobile might be the only viable option for a while. And while social media comes with its own challenges, I could see asking kids to act our different parts on TikTok or others and then assembling this into more complete work would be very powerful indeed. Finally, I feel for you. These are challenging times and being able to connect with others across the world is important. I am here to further talk these things through and welcome the opportunity to do so.
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- in reply to Hi Miguel, I appreciate this forum for t…

You will find a solution. How about mobile devices? How prevalent are they in SA? Among students? Maybe some opportunities to try and do micro lessons through mobile? Older teachers likely have smart phones. Do you have experience in this area? Perhaps Dr. David Vogt could provide some people/ resources to connect with on this front?
You will find a solution. How about mobile devices? How prevalent are they in SA? Among students? Maybe some opportunities to try and do micro lessons through mobile? Older teachers likely have smart phones. Do you have experience in this area? Perhaps Dr. David Vogt could provide some people/ resources to connect with on this front?
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- in reply to Hi Cass, you can see my own post below a…

I simply can't imagine the need for educational technologists has ever been higher! Now we gotta put it to work.
I simply can't imagine the need for educational technologists has ever been higher! Now we gotta put it to work.
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- in reply to Hi Miguel, Thanks for starting this disc…

This is very difficult to comprehend in so many ways. But it's easy to see that you are a selfless inspired person and teacher. Take a deep breath. It's a long road ahead. A totally changed world. But you prepared. And you are going to make a big difference. You will see. A heart-felt prayer for all of Africa.
This is very difficult to comprehend in so many ways. But it's easy to see that you are a selfless inspired person and teacher. Take a deep breath. It's a long road ahead. A totally changed world. But you prepared. And you are going to make a big difference. You will see. A heart-felt prayer for all of Africa.
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- in reply to Hi Miguel, thanks for bringing this up!…

Okay, this DEFINITELY is the strangest most important time in history for online education. I am working with health care officials on the emergency roll out of online training material for quick deployment related to COVID-19. I imagine we all can find a roll to play in these times of absolute change. I sure would appreciate hearing more form our 522 community about what they are experiencing right now! Let's share experience and knowledge because it will make us all stronger in hard times
Okay, this DEFINITELY is the strangest most important time in history for online education. I am working with health care officials on the emergency roll out of online training material for quick deployment related to COVID-19. I imagine we all can find a roll to play in these times of absolute change. I sure would appreciate hearing more form our 522 community about what they are experiencing right now! Let's share experience and knowledge because it will make us all stronger in hard times
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- in reply to Is this the strangest, most important time in history for online education?

This sounds so very unfortunate. I am deeply grateful to hear from other parts of the world and get that perspective. I just can't imagine how difficult this must be for doctors and nurses. I work in healthcare and I know we are going to be dealing with hugely increased stress levels. I also feel like volunteering to help others who are not familiar with online teaching or work is important.
This sounds so very unfortunate. I am deeply grateful to hear from other parts of the world and get that perspective. I just can't imagine how difficult this must be for doctors and nurses. I work in healthcare and I know we are going to be dealing with hugely increased stress levels. I also feel like volunteering to help others who are not familiar with online teaching or work is important.
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- in reply to Thanks for posting about the pandemic Mi…
