Jason

Thanks Marc! Especially after reviewing everyone else's material, I realize just how weak my elevator pitch is. I guess I was too focused on the one minute time limit (and also trying to sound like a normal Kickstarter creator). I would definitely change up my pitch now that I've seen some great examples!

Thanks for the really constructive feedback! Basically all of the references are directly from Orwell's 1984 including the product's name. And I was definitely inspired by the use of this technology in China (including their social monitoring system). It's a bit dystopian but at the same time, the Americans have had serious debates about arming teachers, so I can imagine a product like this being used in the future. We already have CCTV and ID requirements in most high schools and I know some schools (in the U.S.) have metal detectors/security guards. You have a really valid point in that if teacher time is already undervalued, why would administrators spend money on getting such a product to help teachers. I don't think you are cynical at all, it's just kind of sad to think that is the state of public education. Perhaps the better angle to approach this would be as security feature in a schools. A way to help reduce school based violence and crimes...

Hi Chava, I think some important aspects of learning the Bible involves building a community around the study of the Bible, discussing and interpreting the Bible. How will a video game be able to address some of these fundamental components? Or will it mostly be focused on the narrative components of the Bible. Also, there is content in the Bible that may not be suited for a video game (in particular some of the violence) will this stuff be moderated out or kept in? Your explanation of GBL and its market value is great and well researched, but I think there is still a disconnect between why this will be a good fit for the Bible. Game development is also very costly and students will want to have a high quality game. What does “actually teaching the Bible” look like in a video game. Feels like you are really overlooking how to make this into a good game. I would argue the money and time you are asking probably isn’t enough. Market analysis of religious student was cool (and it’s definitely a big market!). But aside from the numbers, are these religious groups open to accepting video games? Many are quite conservative in nature. Also there is a really diverse group of people doing Bible study, and they definitely do not read, or interpret the Bible the same ways. How does this game even work for different denominations and faiths?

Hi Charmaine, your voice clarity and enthusiasm in your elevator pitch was instantly attention grabbing! This feels like a very appropriate way to use machine learning. Assessing literary capacity with each student can be very time consuming and this helps address that. I understand the strength of correctly identifying reader’s levels, but how about a way to also assess the text’s level of difficulty? For example, if I want to pull a little known short story and put it into the library how will I (or the algorithm) know the appropriate reading level? Also who is developing the reading comprehension questions? How do you make money? (Subscription model is mentioned but not enough detail is provided). I have all these questions because I really do think this would be a great assistance to many teachers, and could also be really appealing for those in special education.

Hi Brogan, I love the throwback to the Pokemon games with this design. Even though it’s a brief alpha, I love that I got to try it out! Very cool that you built a functioning product. I also think you’ve done a great job of highlighting the pain points and the issues in the current market, but maybe falling a little short on the benefits of this particular game. A lot of modern video games are very stimulating with visuals, sounds and fast paced action. Is there good evidence that an RPG like this is the best format to deliver financial education? In the paper you cited, these were the design elements that led to desired learning outcomes. Maybe it would be powerful to demonstrate how your game design reflect most if not all these components (narrative context, rules, goals, rewards, multisensory cues, and interactivity) Also… How are you planning to make money? Or is this a social venture?

Hi Abraham, your venture pitch is incredibly thorough and well researched. It is a logical and sensible implementation of currently available technology. It also addresses a pain point that is very and needs attention. I have no doubt this type of technology will be immersive and exciting for a lot of students. That being said, I still feel there is a disconnect between the paint point and the solution. What are the actual reasons that students aren’t going into the trades? Is it only because of exposure and interest? Or is there a systematic push towards getting students to go and get Bachelor degrees? I think the one analysis that could really improve this product is demonstrating that students who have hands on experience are x% more likely to pursue a career in the trades.

Hi Ying, I enjoyed the venture pitch and how you incorporated the ‘testimonials’ into discussing the pain point. It’s definitely a problem I have felt many times. One of the issues I’ve ran into is creating appropriate keys and updating them. Our school has some great in house workbooks, but with frequent updates our keys are always out of date. Making good keys and uploading them has always been a chore and this presents a way to address that. That being said, this venture feels like it will really depend on word-of-mouth marketing. If it gains popularity with the right teachers it will sell very well, but competing against the big publishers I think will be a significant challenge!

Hi Ying, I enjoyed the venture pitch and how you incorporated the ‘testimonials’ into discussing the pain point. It’s definitely a problem I have felt many times. One of the issues I’ve ran into is creating appropriate keys and updating them. Our school has some great in house workbooks, but with frequent updates our keys are always out of date. Making good keys and uploading them has always been a chore and this presents a way to address that. That being said, this venture feels like it will really depend on word-of-mouth marketing. If it gains popularity with the right teachers it will sell very well, but competing against the big publishers I think will be a significant challenge!

Hi Basia, I could sense that this is a pain point that you are experiencing and it’s very cool that you developed an idea to deal with it. I have not been in a Japanese classroom but from what I know and have heard, Japanese students are expected to conform to the social norms, and speaking up in class would be considered probably very impolite! Which leads me to the question, is there evidence that they would be more willing to speak out through a text format? If it’s a social norm to not be disrespectful, does changing the format of the communication really modify this behaviour? It probably does, but it would be great to see research backing it up. I do have some concerns about letting students use their smart devices in the classroom. There’s quite a bit of research suggesting that cellphones are just very disruptive and distracting. Would it not be better to try and give students the opportunity to chat in real life and collaborate in the class? I think I would find it pretty challenging to lecture, and moderate this chat room as a teacher!

Hi YoonJu, I could definitely tell this is something that you care about and want to develop a solution for. Tutoring is very expensive and it seems as the demand is only getting higher as competition in schools get more fierce. That being said, I felt like this is a venture that exists already in some form and it was not a unique implementation. Getting schools to also pay for tutoring services seems very counter intuitive, since the teachers at the school are the ones that are supposed to be doing the teaching. Something I found that works very well in our school is peer tutoring (more academic students tutoring less academic students) or having high school students volunteer to tutor younger grades. Perhaps your idea could be developed further to help encourage this type of peer tutoring and create a more of a social venture!