Catherine
A3 – GroupWork App
By Catherine on November 29, 2015
My pitch is for a group work app. It is a complement and reworking of the Google Suite of apps. You can find my full pitch here. Reflection I decided to do a group work app because of all my experiences working on group projects in the MET program. There are already […]
Writing Technologies Reflection
By Catherine on November 5, 2015
The category with the lowest percentage is psychomotor skills. I would guess because it relates to the movement of writing which would be difficult to replicate with technology. There are also gaps with evaluating learner progress, providing encouragement, and managing learner profiles. I think that these areas would probably need a human solution. For creative […]
Vocational Training – LaborTek
By Catherine on October 27, 2015
LaborTek is a training and consulting company operating in the National Capital Region. They operate in both official languages and are certified by the Ontario Ministry of Labour. They offer the traditional on-site or off-site face-to-face courses but they are also offering online courses. There is a pretty good selection including WHIMS 2015 and Workplace […]
Analyst Report – Brightspace by D2L
By Catherine on October 18, 2015
Attached is my Analyst Report of the LMS platform Brightspace by the company Desire2Learn. They are a Canadian company that is one of the several in providing most of the LMS platforms for business and education. They are a very innovative company. CSteeves.MarketAnalysis
Promoting Entrepreneurship in Canadian Youth
By Catherine on October 3, 2015
I started out by wondering what entrepreneurship is like in Canada, since many of the start-ups and founder I have been reading about have begun in the USA. I found a very interesting article about some of the challenges of being an entrepreneur. http://business.financialpost.com/entrepreneur/fp-startups/can-we-do-a-better-job-teaching-entrepreneurship-in-canada This led me to the non-profit organization The Next Big Thing, […]
panOpen – Dr. Brian Jacobs
By Catherine on September 30, 2015
Dr. Brian Jacobs Venture https://panopen.panopen.com/ panOpen curates OER. The materials are peer reviewed and customizable, and the platform can also be used to create quizzes, and provide student analytics as well as chat. Instructors can use panOpen to find high quality resources or share their own curated content with their colleagues. The idea […]
Hello!
By Catherine on September 12, 2015
Hello, My name is Catherine and this is my final semester in the MET program. Previous to starting the program I was a high school teacher, both in England and Ontario. I decided to change career paths into instructional design. I am currently in Ottawa, where I’m working part time so as to be able […]

It is a very interesting company because, as mention, most teachers are not well versed in technology and its applications. I particularly like that ReciPROcity tests out new technologies for the faculty. With new products being released all the time it is hard to keep up with it all especially if it is not your area of expertise.
It is a very interesting company because, as mention, most teachers are not well versed in technology and its applications. I particularly like that ReciPROcity tests out new technologies for the faculty. With new products being released all the time it is hard to keep up with it all especially if it is not your area of expertise.
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- in reply to A3 – ReciPROcity

Sorry! I mixed up my comments :( I think this a solution to a very large problem that teachers are facing. I am really interesting in the shift to e-books because of a number of the reasons that you mention. They are much lighter and they can be updated much more easily. The additions to I Read You sound like they would improve them even more. Firstly, live updates and dynamic material is a great way to engage learners beyond the basics that are usually provided in textbooks. Plus the main difference of having different reading levels is an excellent addition because it allows for individualization without needing to find different source material for each student. If I was an investor I would invest in this project, especially if I was a smaller publisher looking to break into the very lucrative education textbook market. I Read You incorporates the trend of personalized learning, which is becoming more important as mobile devices are becoming more prevalent in classrooms. I enjoyed how there was a timeline included in the pitch, because, as with many technological devices, timing is very important. Right now a lot of schools are looking to move towards e-books, so it would be a good opportunity to launch a product like this and move in before the publishing companies make the move to e-books.
Sorry! I mixed up my comments :( I think this a solution to a very large problem that teachers are facing. I am really interesting in the shift to e-books because of a number of the reasons that you mention. They are much lighter and they can be updated much more easily. The additions to I Read You sound like they would improve them even more. Firstly, live updates and dynamic material is a great way to engage learners beyond the basics that are usually provided in textbooks. Plus the main difference of having different reading levels is an excellent addition because it allows for individualization without needing to find different source material for each student. If I was an investor I would invest in this project, especially if I was a smaller publisher looking to break into the very lucrative education textbook market. I Read You incorporates the trend of personalized learning, which is becoming more important as mobile devices are becoming more prevalent in classrooms. I enjoyed how there was a timeline included in the pitch, because, as with many technological devices, timing is very important. Right now a lot of schools are looking to move towards e-books, so it would be a good opportunity to launch a product like this and move in before the publishing companies make the move to e-books.
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- in reply to I Read You

It is a very interesting company because, as mention, most teachers are not well versed in technology and its applications. I particularly like that ReciPROcity tests out new technologies for the faculty. With new products being released all the time it is hard to keep up with it all especially if it is not your area of expertise.
It is a very interesting company because, as mention, most teachers are not well versed in technology and its applications. I particularly like that ReciPROcity tests out new technologies for the faculty. With new products being released all the time it is hard to keep up with it all especially if it is not your area of expertise.
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- in reply to I Read You

This is a really great way to tap into the BYOD trend. Kurzweil is pretty prevalent in the schools I’ve been in and this would be a good way to expand using that brand. What I like about it is that students’ can use it anywhere, both at home and at school.
This is a really great way to tap into the BYOD trend. Kurzweil is pretty prevalent in the schools I’ve been in and this would be a good way to expand using that brand. What I like about it is that students’ can use it anywhere, both at home and at school.
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- in reply to A3: Kurzweil Firefly iPhone app

I think this is a really neat idea because it combines supportive features with a social connection element. I also like how student’s without disabilities can also join because then seems like it would help to keep them in contact with their peers in an environment that can be modified to suit them. Would you have a separate version for different campuses?
I think this is a really neat idea because it combines supportive features with a social connection element. I also like how student’s without disabilities can also join because then seems like it would help to keep them in contact with their peers in an environment that can be modified to suit them. Would you have a separate version for different campuses?
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- in reply to SociABILITY App

This is a really interesting idea. I am always interested in educational projects because it is such a good way bring people out of poverty, and it defiantly would help with the reconstruction costs, and help to repair the country beyond what can be tallied up monetarily. The team seems to be quite strong, there is a good amount of diversity and a lot of experience in educational technology. Plus I like how the content will be kept simple and straightforward so that it will be achievable and will also provide good basic foundations to education. It is defiantly a compelling program and I really like how it is going to make use of some of the major trends in education (like game based learning) to make it engaging and fun. My question as an investor would be the more tangible concerns. How many tablets? How will they be handed out? Who keeps them? And so on. Additionally, would the educational content be already loaded onto the tablets or will students need to access the internet? I’m not informed about the refugee camps beyond the basics, but I would imagine that reliable internet and probably electricity could be difficult to come by. Obviously, getting an aid organization onboard is the best plan, both in terms of funding and operations, but have you thought about a Kickstarter campaign? There are a lot of people that would be willing to donate $2 or $50 to this type of endeavour and it could help to provide the capital needed to get started. Good Luck!!
This is a really interesting idea. I am always interested in educational projects because it is such a good way bring people out of poverty, and it defiantly would help with the reconstruction costs, and help to repair the country beyond what can be tallied up monetarily. The team seems to be quite strong, there is a good amount of diversity and a lot of experience in educational technology. Plus I like how the content will be kept simple and straightforward so that it will be achievable and will also provide good basic foundations to education. It is defiantly a compelling program and I really like how it is going to make use of some of the major trends in education (like game based learning) to make it engaging and fun. My question as an investor would be the more tangible concerns. How many tablets? How will they be handed out? Who keeps them? And so on. Additionally, would the educational content be already loaded onto the tablets or will students need to access the internet? I’m not informed about the refugee camps beyond the basics, but I would imagine that reliable internet and probably electricity could be difficult to come by. Obviously, getting an aid organization onboard is the best plan, both in terms of funding and operations, but have you thought about a Kickstarter campaign? There are a lot of people that would be willing to donate $2 or $50 to this type of endeavour and it could help to provide the capital needed to get started. Good Luck!!
This would be extremely helpful to school administrators, because there isn’t really any service that can help guide technology choices. I really like how the company comes to look at what is needed instead of trying to place certain products into the environment. The case you make that the company is tied to the market and not to a certain technology is a very compelling one.
This would be extremely helpful to school administrators, because there isn’t really any service that can help guide technology choices. I really like how the company comes to look at what is needed instead of trying to place certain products into the environment. The case you make that the company is tied to the market and not to a certain technology is a very compelling one.
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- in reply to Edsecute – Learning Technology Consultants

This would be really helpful for a lot of students. I’m sure a lot of university and college students would also be able to the app. Things can get messy when you are using highlighters if you change your mind, but a digital sticky note would be easy to reorganize. I was very surprised at the statistic about the essay writing abilities of American high school students. That really set up the pitch in terms of really identifying a pain point and then presenting the app as a clear solution. This would be an application that I would invest in because it would be a fairly small development team and there is a very wide market for it. I liked how the pitch went into detail about the revenue aspect of the application, especially the case for large volume orders because when you see the numbers it is quite convincing. It is a very reasonable price for a school to purchase but would still provide a lot of revenue for the investors. I also liked the clear comparison to the main competition and then an explanation of how StickyNotes is different from Evernote, it also gives some indication of the market that an app in this area would be able to claim. It really linked in nicely because the area where the two are different connects straight back to the pain point, so it is clear as an investor that there is a place for this product.
This would be really helpful for a lot of students. I’m sure a lot of university and college students would also be able to the app. Things can get messy when you are using highlighters if you change your mind, but a digital sticky note would be easy to reorganize. I was very surprised at the statistic about the essay writing abilities of American high school students. That really set up the pitch in terms of really identifying a pain point and then presenting the app as a clear solution. This would be an application that I would invest in because it would be a fairly small development team and there is a very wide market for it. I liked how the pitch went into detail about the revenue aspect of the application, especially the case for large volume orders because when you see the numbers it is quite convincing. It is a very reasonable price for a school to purchase but would still provide a lot of revenue for the investors. I also liked the clear comparison to the main competition and then an explanation of how StickyNotes is different from Evernote, it also gives some indication of the market that an app in this area would be able to claim. It really linked in nicely because the area where the two are different connects straight back to the pain point, so it is clear as an investor that there is a place for this product.
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- in reply to StickyNotes

What a neat idea! I think that students would really enjoy using this product. The sound element is quite interesting and I really like that it is reusable, solar powered, and uses recycled materials as well.
What a neat idea! I think that students would really enjoy using this product. The sound element is quite interesting and I really like that it is reusable, solar powered, and uses recycled materials as well.
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- in reply to A3: Nano Interactive Paper

I think this is a very interesting project. Mental health conditions are certainly on the rise and I think this product would be useful in providing strategies to students to help them manage their condition. I really like the use of analytics, which can help to identify pattern for triggers which could be difficult for children to identify. It also works with two really big, and growing, areas, data analytics and wearables. There is going to be a lot of products coming to market in these two areas and if EmoTech was launch now it could be right in the upswing of these trends. The actual pitch was very thorough, addressing the problem clearly and then making a very strong case for the product. If I was looking for start-up ventures in this area I would defiantly invest. By putting a case study into the pitch it really showed how the product would actually work in real life and how it would benefit the child, their parents, and their health care team. By briefly outlining the competitors, the pitch showed that there was an awareness of the marketplace and how EmoTech was going to carve out their own section of it. I also liked how there was a section on challenges, because if I was going to invest it would show me that the person had actually thought about the different aspects of the product, the market, manufacturing, promoting, etc. which inspires confidence in the team behind the product.
I think this is a very interesting project. Mental health conditions are certainly on the rise and I think this product would be useful in providing strategies to students to help them manage their condition. I really like the use of analytics, which can help to identify pattern for triggers which could be difficult for children to identify. It also works with two really big, and growing, areas, data analytics and wearables. There is going to be a lot of products coming to market in these two areas and if EmoTech was launch now it could be right in the upswing of these trends. The actual pitch was very thorough, addressing the problem clearly and then making a very strong case for the product. If I was looking for start-up ventures in this area I would defiantly invest. By putting a case study into the pitch it really showed how the product would actually work in real life and how it would benefit the child, their parents, and their health care team. By briefly outlining the competitors, the pitch showed that there was an awareness of the marketplace and how EmoTech was going to carve out their own section of it. I also liked how there was a section on challenges, because if I was going to invest it would show me that the person had actually thought about the different aspects of the product, the market, manufacturing, promoting, etc. which inspires confidence in the team behind the product.
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- in reply to A3: EmoTech Pitch
