Michigan EdTech Pitch Contest awards $22,000 to five education innovators
LANSING, Mich. — Edtech innovators from Spelling Safari have been chosen because the winners of the second annual Michigan EdTech Innovation Pitch Contest, sharing $22,000 in enterprise startup grants and authorized and artistic startup help with 4 different finalists. The ideas developed from the final pitches shall be used to enhance Michigan school rooms by means of innovation, expertise and firsthand educator expertise.
“All of our groups did a great job and this wasn’t easy. Five minutes isn’t a long time to present and this was a difficult choice for our judges,” defined Matthew Okoneski, a contest decide from Red Cedar Ventures. “Startups are hard and I want to commend our participants for their decision to focus in this space to solve some of our communities’ biggest problems.”
The first-place prize went to Jonathan Marceau, a instructor at Monfort Elementary within the Utica Community School district, who will obtain $10,000 in enterprise startup grant funding, plus branding and emblem design help, and authorized session for Spelling Safari. Spelling Safari is a spelling curriculum reinvention and software program answer offering elementary college students with enjoyable and adaptive studying.
“Research shows mastery-based learning is linked with positive student attitudes and higher student achievement rates for all students,” said Marceau. “Data from the system in my classroom shows students at all levels more than tripled the number of words they were exposed to and more than doubled the number of new words learned.”
The second-place winner was Jessie Feliz from Detroit who created Spanish S.W.A.G., an on-demand language studying program designed to make language acquisition enjoyable, interactive, and accessible to all. She will obtain $6,000 in enterprise startup grant funding, plus emblem design help and authorized session.
“With Spanish S.W.A.G., we’re not just teaching Spanish, we’re igniting a passion for language, fostering cultural connections, and empowering students to become global citizens who can confidently communicate, connect and thrive in an ever-expanding world,” said Feliz.
The third-place profitable staff was Advait Paliwal and David Yu, college students at Michigan State University, who offered YouLearn, an adaptive studying mannequin that enables educators to add curriculum for college students to work with AI tutors. YouLearn will obtain $4,000 in enterprise startup grant funding, plus emblem design help and authorized session.
“Students have told us how YouLearn has helped them to better understand lecture videos, and professors are interested in the transparency and the insight they can gain into students’ learning processes,” said Paliwal.
The finalist teams of eKinomy and BiPSE will every additionally obtain start-up grants of $1,000 for his or her ultimate spherical pitches.
The Michigan EdTech Innovation Pitch Contest is the results of a partnership between Michigan Virtual. Michigan State’s Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Spartan Innovations, a subsidiary of MSU Research Foundation, and Michigan SBDC to deliver educators’ concepts to life on methods to clear up widespread classroom issues. Sponsorship is generously supplied by Michigan Creative, Foster Swift, Consumers Energy, Meemic, Michigan Education Association, Case Credit Union, and LearningMate.
“For the second year in a row, the finalists in this contest continue to astound me. Michigan students and schools are incredibly fortunate to have innovative, forward-thinking leaders such as these winners in our classrooms,” stated Jamey Fitzpatrick, President and CEO of Michigan Virtual and a pitch contest decide. “The winning pitches hold so much potential for education moving forward and I’m so hopeful for our future with their ideas leading the way.”
The 2023 contest was open from March 20 by means of May 14, and finalists had been notified in late May. All contest individuals and all different Michigan edtech innovators are eligible to attend a free Innovation Bootcamp the week of July 17. The Bootcamp is designed to assist individuals additional discover and develop a enterprise mannequin round their concept whereas additionally introducing them to assets and helps which might be obtainable to entrepreneurs and innovators in Michigan, in addition to alternatives to deliver entrepreneurial and innovation classes into faculties and school rooms
To be taught extra in regards to the contest, go to michiganvirtual.org/edtech-pitch-contest.
About Michigan Virtual
Michigan Virtual is a nonprofit instructional group that’s main and collaborating to construct studying environments for tomorrow. Driven by scholar success, we have now a robust report of supporting Michigan education that spans greater than 20 years. While many know us for our research-based, high quality on-line studying choices for college students {and professional} improvement for educators, we additionally do quite a lot of work behind the scenes to conduct authentic analysis, check improvements in studying, and supply consulting partnerships to promote efficient practices.
Education is altering quicker than ever. Learn about new fashions and assets to transfer studying ahead at michiganvirtual.org. For current information and press releases, go to michiganvirtual.org/news.
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