education – AC Demo

March 10, 2017

Inksmith’s STEAM+ Education Solutions for 3D Printing are Empowering Canadian Kids to Tackle Big Ideas

From businesses, to manufacturers, to everyday hobbyists 3D printing offers an accessible, safe and cost effective way to bring designs off the page and into life. Desktop 3D printing is igniting a new wave of innovation in the education sector, where 3D printing presents an incredible opportunity for STEAM based learning opportunities that span virtually every discipline from K-12 and beyond.

Jeremy Hedges and his team are capitalizing on that goldmine of opportunity with their company InkSmith. A University of Laurier grad, Jeremy initially founded InkSmith a couple of years ago to improve the sustainability of 3D printing feedstock. But like many startups, he found himself pivoting the company toward the education market after realizing the untapped opportunity for learning presented by the 3D technologies he represented.

“I estimate only 20% of Canadian schools today have access to 3D printers, but in the next few years they’re going to become a standard tool in every classroom and library,” says Jeremy. “It’s a real blue sky market and a powerful legacy to be a part of empowering future generations to tackle the world’s biggest problems!

Jeremy, the son of a teacher, is quick to point out that this isn’t a story about 3D printer hardware. “At the end of the day, the 3D printer is just the tool. InkSmith is an edtech company focused on inspiring kids and teachers to use STEAM-based learning technologies in the classroom. We don’t want to throw a 3D printer into the school and hope it works. We want to enable STEAM programming with a turnkey solution for education that provides professional development, curriculum based course projects, 3D printers, materials, the technical support and everything else they need to make it happen.”

Jeremy, the son of a teacher and Wilfrid Laurier University grad, spent his formative years leading community and youth programs. “I was always looking to make an impact,” he confesses. With 3D printing, he saw a cool niche where he could build a company and at the same time empower kids not just to learn about the world’s problems, but to become the innovators that solve them as well.

“With 3D printing and modelling technologies, we can get kids learning environmental science to design their own aquaponics system, or build 3D printed catapults to test physics theories. There are so many applications for learning engineering principles, mathematics principles, and even the arts,” he explains, noting that Inksmith is working currently with the Stratford Festival to use 3D printing for prop making, and to construct mini stage replicas to understand and test how props move, and how actors use the physical space.

One of the most exciting developments for Inksmith in the last year has been a budding partnership with the York Region District School Board. The company and school board have jointly applied for a funding grant to pilot the Inksmith solution into dozens of schools. Should the grant funding get approved, this project will serve as the pilot test for the federal government and provincial education ministries to invest in Canada wide deployment. In anticipation of a successful application, Jeremy is building out his team and beefing up the company’s academic credentials. A recently posted job description for teachers to help Inksmith develop course materials brought in 20 highly qualified applicants in a single day.

Inksmith, a client of the Waterloo Accelerator Centre’s Hardware Innovation Lab at 44 Gaukel, was able to tap into $30,000 in AC Jumpstart funding through FedDev Ontario to build out its vision.

“JumpStart is a great program and it was super valuable to have access to mentors and call us on bad ideas says. It gave us the time to prototype and build a business model that works. Because of the ACJumpStart funding, we were able to really research and understand the market and hire our first employees to build out our product and sales. As a result, we’re at the leading edge of this industry and are the only company in Canada providing this kind of solution. I can confidently say we wouldn’t be here at all without ACJumpStart.” – Jeremy Hedges

June 3, 2016

Knowledgehook named BNN’s Top Disruptor of Season 3

TORONTO, Ont. (June 2, 2016) – Knowledgehook was today named Top Disruptor of BNN’s original series about tech innovators, The Disruptors.

Knowledgehook, a software company that analyzes the academic performance of math students in real-time play to recommend alternative teaching practices, was one of 38 companies to this season pitch their business concept to hosts Bruce Croxton and Amber Kanwar.

“We’ve been watching The Disruptors since founding Knowledgehook in 2014 and following many of the companies they report on,” CEO Travis Ratnam says. “We’re excited and humbled by this acknowledgement.”

Startups profiled on each segment of BNN’s The Disruptors, a weekly, half-hour program that airs at 7 p.m. on Thursdays, compete each season for the Top Disruptor title.

Following tonight’s appearance, Knowledgehook will be given the opportunity to pitch Croxton’s investment company, Round 13.

Winning the Top Disruptor title comes less than a month since Knowledgehook received Google’s Game Changer Award at the tech giant’s annual Demo Day in Silicon Valley.

To date, more than 6,000 Ontario math teachers have begun zeroing in on each students’ key misunderstandings after reviewing predictive insights which Knowledgehook software generates.

Early results from Knowledgehook suggest that at least 1 in 6 Ontario students in Grade 9 Applied Math are struggling to understand ratios. Knowledgehook unpacks their misunderstanding and suggests how teachers can address it.

The finding, which echoes those of Ontario’s 2015 standardized tests, is based on analysis of more than 2,400 anonymized users between September and April 2016, accurate to within 95% confidence, and a margin of error of 2.5%.

Knowledgehook was founded by Travis Ratnam, Lambo Jayapalan, Arthur Lui and James Francis.

The team is grateful for the support of mentors from Communitech’s Rev and the Accelerator Centre’s AC JumpStart programs.

May 4, 2016

AC Client Knowledgehook wins Google’s Game Changer Award at 2016 Demo Day

Photo credit Peter Lee, Waterloo Region Record staff

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (May 4, 2016) — Canadian edtech startup Knowledgehook today received Google’s Game Changer Award at the tech giant’s annual Demo Day in Silicon Valley.

Travis Ratnam and James Francis were among the co-founders of 11 new tech companies invited to Silicon Valley to pitch today to a room full of top investors, venture capitalists and judges.

“We’re thrilled and grateful to have shared the stage with so many talented and passionate entrepreneurs,” Travis says. “The support we’ve received today will be pivotal to our mission of helping students all over the world build their math skills.”

Knowledgehook, based in Waterloo, Ont. has developed software that analyzes the academic performance of math students in real-time play to recommend to educators alternative teaching practices.

A popular exam prep tool among the 5,000 teachers in Canada and the United States who use it, Knowledgehook software unpacks students’ misunderstanding and suggests how teachers can address it.

Since September 2015, 12 Ontario school boards have been reviewing predictive insights the software generates for each student to help teachers adapt their lessons for optimal learning.

For example, early results from Knowledgehook suggest that at least 1 in 6 Ontario students in Grade 9 Applied Math are struggling to understand ratios. The finding, which echoes those of Ontario’s 2015 standardized tests, is based on analysis of more than 2,400 anonymized users between September and April 2016, accurate to within 95% confidence, and a margin of error of 2.5%.

“We’re optimistic that the accuracy and timeliness of Knowledgehook’s insights will advance school boards in their efforts to improve students’ academic performance,” Travis says.

To be selected to participate in Google’s annual Demo Day, startups must be legally incorporated and headquartered in the United States, Canada or Mexico and be actively raising a Series A round of between $1- and 4-million.

Knowledgehook was founded in 2014 by Travis Ratnam, Lambo Jayapalan, Arthur Lui and James Francis.

The team is grateful for the support of mentors from Communitech’s Rev and the Accelerator Centres’ AC JumpStartprograms, and, for recent funding delivered by Ontario Centres for Excellence (OCE).

April 13, 2016

AC Client wins exclusive invite to pitch investors at Google’s annual Demo Day

WATERLOO, Ont. (April 13, 2016) — Google has invited edtech start-up Knowledgehook to pitch to investors at their annual Demo Day next month in Silicon Valley.

Knowledgehook, the Waterloo, Ont.-based company behind new gaming software that analyzes the academic performance of math students, is one of two Canadian companies selected to participate in the May 4 event. The team joined the Accelerator Centre in 2015 and received of $40,000 in funding and mentorship through the AC JumpStart program, which is funded by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) .

With the aim of securing additional rounds of investment, co-founders Travis Ratnam and James Francis will pitch on stage to a full room of investors, VCs and respected judges at the Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California.

“We’re thrilled to share our software with potential investors,” Ratnam says.

“We believe our products will be pivotal in connecting teachers and school boards all over the world with data that identifies what concepts students are struggling with and also provides them with immediate teaching solutions.”

Since March 2015, Knowledgehook software has been used by more than 65,000 students and teachers in math classes throughout Canada and the United States.

The team is grateful for the support they have received to date from the Accelerator Centre, Communitech, and for recent funding delivered by Ontario Centres for Excellence (OCE).

Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation Reza Moridi congratulates Knowledgehook of their accomplishments to date.

“Knowledgehook is an example of how our innovation ecosystem has assisted businesses to spur innovation and create a dynamic environment that will improve the lives Ontarians,”he says.

“Ontario’s economic strength depends on the viability of our businesses, large and small. That’s why our government is helping to support unique and cutting-edge collaborations through partners such as OCE, who give our small and medium enterprises exposure to larger tools and skills they need to rapidly scale up to meet global demand.”

Co-founder Ratnam was inspired to build a company that supports alternative learning methods after struggling in his early academic career.

“To understand why I struggled, I exhaustively analyzed my mistakes. By persevering, I found ways to problem-solve that made more sense to me. I’d like others to enjoy learning as much as I did,” he says.

Knowledgehook software analyzes the academic performance of math students in real-time play to recommend to educators alternative teaching practices.

December 7, 2015

Axonify Wins Gold Award from Brandon Hall

AC Graduate wins coveted award for Best Advance in Unique Learning Technology.

The Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards Program is one of the most prestigious awards programs in the industry. Axonify’s win was announced on December 3, 2015. The winners are listed on the Brandon Hall website.

“Brandon Hall is incredibly well-established as a market influencer and we’re thrilled to be recognized by their esteemed experts for our innovative technology that pushes beyond the boundaries of traditional eLearning offerings,” said Carol Leaman, CEO of Axonify. “Axonify has always been about integrating proven learning techniques into our technology that help employees build knowledge and apply it on the job. Our unique and complete approach gives employees the knowledge they need to perform better at work, so organizations can solve real business challenges, like poor customer service or safety issues, that can cost them millions of dollars.”

Axonify recently announced the launch of its full-scale Employee Knowledge Platform. The platform now offers everything an organization needs to ensure employees have the knowledge they require, assess if employees are applying what they’ve learned on the job, and measure the bottom-line impact.

“Our award winners are the most visionary and innovative developers of HCM technology solutions that move organizations forward in serving employees, customers and investors,” said Brandon Hall Group Chief Operating Officer Rachel Cooke, who runs the awards program. “I think everyone can learn from the achievements of our award recipients.”

“These award-winning solutions were closely evaluated by our judges for not only their innovation, but the real results they brought to the organizations,” Brandon Hall Group Chief Executive Office Mike Cooke said. “That is what makes our technology awards program special – connecting creativity and innovation to direct business results.”

A panel of veteran, independent senior industry experts, and Brandon Hall Group senior analysts and executives evaluated the entries based upon the following criteria:

Product: What was the product’s breakthrough innovation?
Unique differentiators: What makes the product unique and how does it differ from any competing products?
Value proposition: What problem does the product solve and/or what need does this product address?
Measurable results: What are the benefits customers can expect to experience as a result of using this product?