Andrew
Hello all,
My name is Andrew and I am a high school history teacher from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Currently I am living in London, England as I have taken the first semester off this year to work on my UBC courses. As a history teacher I will be taking full advantage of living in London and seeing all of the historical sites I can see.
I have taken this program because I am interested in incorporating technology into my history courses as much as I can to make my courses more interesting and engaging for my students. iMovie is a program I enjoy using quite a bit and by clicking on the youtube link you will see a visual course outline I created for a European history course that I teacher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp49uPgIkNU&spfreload=10
There is so much more I need to learn about what is out there in regards to technology. It is my hope at some point to begin developing online courses as I am very interested in the creation process.
I have begun my first blog a few weeks ago. So far I am just writing to myself but I hope it will be away to developing my writing skills and to make connections with other educational professionals. My website/blog is http://www.macshistory.com
I really am looking forward to meeting some interesting people here and developing my skills further.
Andrew MacLeod
Mac’s History – Venture Pitch
By Andrew on November 27, 2016
My venture pitch is Mac’s History and is a real venture I have created and have slowly been working on for the last few months. As a teacher I know what I need in the classroom and it is not a new gimmick technology that my school does not have the infrastructure for or something […]
Assignment 1 – Analyst Report: Teachers Pay Teachers
By Andrew on November 3, 2016
Hello, please click on this link here http://tptanalystreport.weebly.com to view my report. I have become familiar with the open marketplace Teachers Pay Teachers over the course of the last year and think it is an excellent venture to do my analyst report on.
Week 7: Personalized Learning Summaries
By Andrew on October 24, 2016
Hi Everyone, Here are the results of the activities you have taken part in: Pre-Learning Survey Results (based on 14 responses): How familiar our peers are with personalized learning: 71% of peers are Somewhat Familiar 14% are Familiar 14% are Unfamiliar Three most important factors in order of their importance are: Personalized learning curricular Formative […]
Clever
By Andrew MacLeod on September 30, 2016
The venture I focused on this week is called Clever and is an online learning platform which hosts a number of learning apps used by students in over 40,000 schools. Clever was co-founded by its CEO Tyler Bosmeny, its CPO Rafael Garcia, and its CTO Dan Carroll. Clever provides the infrastructure needed to host a […]
Hello from London
By Andrew on September 11, 2016
Hello all, My name is Andrew and I am a high school history teacher from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Currently I am living in London, England as I have taken the first semester off this year to work on my UBC courses. As a history teacher I will be taking full advantage of living in London and […]

I believe the video you are referring to was my European history visual course outline. That was crafted from clips taken from YouTube and was merely a visual representation of how history should be told as a story and is not a product that is sold. Any of the products that are sold are original material or include links to material that exists in the public domain.
I believe the video you are referring to was my European history visual course outline. That was crafted from clips taken from YouTube and was merely a visual representation of how history should be told as a story and is not a product that is sold. Any of the products that are sold are original material or include links to material that exists in the public domain.
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- in reply to Mac’s History – Venture Pitch

I like the idea of your venture as it is an area in education that I think needs to be addressed today. The team you have assembled is strong and this bodes well for your educational venture. As a potential investor this is encouraging. As an educator who is interested in learning more about the online world of education I am interested in more than just investing but also about the design of the courses themselves. I would invest in this company. I'm also curious about the development of Social Studies courses, in particular history, when you would be developing these and who might be designing them. Excellent work!
I like the idea of your venture as it is an area in education that I think needs to be addressed today. The team you have assembled is strong and this bodes well for your educational venture. As a potential investor this is encouraging. As an educator who is interested in learning more about the online world of education I am interested in more than just investing but also about the design of the courses themselves. I would invest in this company. I'm also curious about the development of Social Studies courses, in particular history, when you would be developing these and who might be designing them. Excellent work!
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- in reply to ETEC 522: Elevator & Venture Pitch – Content Connections

The health care industry is definitely a lucrative one to get into and if your product is of value I could see as a potential investor being able to see a high rate of return. Your pitch sounds very polished and professional and I feel, as an investor, like you know what you are doing. I would invest in your venture as I see a lot of potential in it. It is simple, straight forward, and addresses a need in the community. Very well done.
The health care industry is definitely a lucrative one to get into and if your product is of value I could see as a potential investor being able to see a high rate of return. Your pitch sounds very polished and professional and I feel, as an investor, like you know what you are doing. I would invest in your venture as I see a lot of potential in it. It is simple, straight forward, and addresses a need in the community. Very well done.
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- in reply to Assignment #3 – Virtually Safe

I think your venture is quite interesting. Certainly language is a critical area that needs innovative and adaptable support. I think your goal to have hands-on activities and role playing scenarios is a good one. I do not know much about this area of education and I am basically going on the information you have provided me with here. By and large I would tend to invest in venture where I have some background knowledge so that I would feel comfortable and well informed. Good luck with your venture.
I think your venture is quite interesting. Certainly language is a critical area that needs innovative and adaptable support. I think your goal to have hands-on activities and role playing scenarios is a good one. I do not know much about this area of education and I am basically going on the information you have provided me with here. By and large I would tend to invest in venture where I have some background knowledge so that I would feel comfortable and well informed. Good luck with your venture.
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- in reply to A3: Second Language Innovations

I do enjoy making these presentations. I haven't had much time this fall to make more as I've been busy with work and these UBC courses but I'm hoping to have more time in the winter and spring. Currently I've identified to things that need to be done to increase my profits - make more products (straight forward but time consuming) and become more proficient with social media which is outside my comfort zone but is a critical key to success. I have a lot of learning to do this year. :)
I do enjoy making these presentations. I haven't had much time this fall to make more as I've been busy with work and these UBC courses but I'm hoping to have more time in the winter and spring. Currently I've identified to things that need to be done to increase my profits - make more products (straight forward but time consuming) and become more proficient with social media which is outside my comfort zone but is a critical key to success. I have a lot of learning to do this year. :)
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- in reply to The quality of your work, Andrew, is ama…

You are right in that there is competition but in the review of the online-market site where I sell the products seem to be geared more towards Middle School. I have also pointed out to some of our classmates that the material that is free online really is substandard and ill-conceived - I believe that is why I am having so much success with what I have sold so far. I also agree that having a consistent teacher style is important for students as it provides the structure needed. We have all heard about applying different teaching styles for our students so they can demonstrate their knowledge in different ways and this is good to do with assignments we give them. But there is also something to be said for consistency where the students know what to expect and how to develop certain skills. I have had a lot of success in my teaching career delivering consistent lessons.
You are right in that there is competition but in the review of the online-market site where I sell the products seem to be geared more towards Middle School. I have also pointed out to some of our classmates that the material that is free online really is substandard and ill-conceived - I believe that is why I am having so much success with what I have sold so far. I also agree that having a consistent teacher style is important for students as it provides the structure needed. We have all heard about applying different teaching styles for our students so they can demonstrate their knowledge in different ways and this is good to do with assignments we give them. But there is also something to be said for consistency where the students know what to expect and how to develop certain skills. I have had a lot of success in my teaching career delivering consistent lessons.
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- in reply to I really enjoyed your website and your p…

Its interesting that you don't think it would work for the larger narratives when I believe I had designed all of these lessons as one continuing narrative building one after the other. Increasingly more and more school districts are bringing in common core requirements for their courses. In Nova Scotia a new math curriculum has been introduced where every lesson for every day is laid out by the department of education. This has not happened for history yet simply because literacy and math are the priorities with science coming next. These lessons are designed with a common core mindset. They really are a foundation for which any teacher can build upon in any way they see fit. The reality is that veteran teachers may have their lessons in place but many new teachers do not. That seems to be who I am selling to and my conversion rate (views to products sold) is going up as I receive more reviews.
Its interesting that you don't think it would work for the larger narratives when I believe I had designed all of these lessons as one continuing narrative building one after the other. Increasingly more and more school districts are bringing in common core requirements for their courses. In Nova Scotia a new math curriculum has been introduced where every lesson for every day is laid out by the department of education. This has not happened for history yet simply because literacy and math are the priorities with science coming next. These lessons are designed with a common core mindset. They really are a foundation for which any teacher can build upon in any way they see fit. The reality is that veteran teachers may have their lessons in place but many new teachers do not. That seems to be who I am selling to and my conversion rate (views to products sold) is going up as I receive more reviews.
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- in reply to Love the powerpoints. Their really helpf…

This venture is focused and delivers a product that is needed. Your knowledge and background make me confident that you would see this venture through to success. I am interested in seeing your long-term plans for making this viable as the fast-changing world of app design would present a constant challenge. If this is to be profitable this would need to be addressed. Ultimately I would invest in this venture because I believe in it and I think it would be important to get it on the market for individuals who need it.
This venture is focused and delivers a product that is needed. Your knowledge and background make me confident that you would see this venture through to success. I am interested in seeing your long-term plans for making this viable as the fast-changing world of app design would present a constant challenge. If this is to be profitable this would need to be addressed. Ultimately I would invest in this venture because I believe in it and I think it would be important to get it on the market for individuals who need it.
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- in reply to Assignment 3: Venture Pitch for MyStory App

I enjoyed your elevator pitch, I had a good understanding of what your venture was after watching it which was not always the case with other elevator pitches. I think you have targeted a real-world problem with your venture – I agree completely that there is a disconnect between what students are learning today and what modern employers are looking for. Your venture pitch is very clear and concise and your goals look very doable. I am unclear how the individuals who lecture and provide support are compensated – are you hoping to have many of them on a volunteer basis? I have certainly seen this in the public-school system – many are willing to volunteer to come in contribute but would they do this for a for-profit venture in university? Overall quite good and I would invest in this.
I enjoyed your elevator pitch, I had a good understanding of what your venture was after watching it which was not always the case with other elevator pitches. I think you have targeted a real-world problem with your venture – I agree completely that there is a disconnect between what students are learning today and what modern employers are looking for. Your venture pitch is very clear and concise and your goals look very doable. I am unclear how the individuals who lecture and provide support are compensated – are you hoping to have many of them on a volunteer basis? I have certainly seen this in the public-school system – many are willing to volunteer to come in contribute but would they do this for a for-profit venture in university? Overall quite good and I would invest in this.
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- in reply to Assignment 3: Venture Pitch for Schulich Startup Online Community

Hello Colleen Your venture pitch looks very professional and polished. I know little about the business world so I would need to spend more time learning about your product before I decided to invest in it. Launching your business venture on an already existing platform is a smart way to do it. I have done the same with my own venture. I am curious if there are other ventures out there that are like this and what might the competition be. My understanding is that this is something that investors would take advantage of but I am not sure. Overall it is very well done though I am not sure I would invest in this as it seems this type of service might be quite vulnerable to completion in the ever-changing online world.
Hello Colleen Your venture pitch looks very professional and polished. I know little about the business world so I would need to spend more time learning about your product before I decided to invest in it. Launching your business venture on an already existing platform is a smart way to do it. I have done the same with my own venture. I am curious if there are other ventures out there that are like this and what might the competition be. My understanding is that this is something that investors would take advantage of but I am not sure. Overall it is very well done though I am not sure I would invest in this as it seems this type of service might be quite vulnerable to completion in the ever-changing online world.
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- in reply to Assignment 3 – Spotify Business
