iCapisce
Where Learning Starts

Dylan Wiliam, renowned British Education Specialist stated emphatically that  "cognitive load is the single most important thing that teachers can know."

Cognitive load was developed by Emeritus Professor John Sweller (UNSW) from the late 1980s.

In essence, there are three main conclusions from his research:

1. Overloading students working memory with too much information, too early, leads to confusion and renders any additional teaching activity ineffective.

2. The human brain can only cope with 5-7 pieces of information at any one time. It takes time, practice and repetition to get that information stored reliably in long term memory.

3. Once information is in long term memory, then the brain has almost unlimited capacity to work with it and add new chunks of meaning.

"Modern curriculums and teaching practices have failed to acknowledge that it takes time, repetition and continuous testing to build reliable, long term memory.  "It's only when long term memory changes, that real learning takes place.  (Kirschner, Sweller and Clark)""

Sweller's research went on to explore three types of cognitive load - intrinsic, extraneous and germane. 

1.  Intrinsic load is the inherent level of difficulty in the subject.

2.  Extraneous load is the way the the information is presented in the chosen teaching methodology/pedagogy.

3.  Germane load is the creation and processing of schemas or patterns - the way we naturally interpret and file information - in long term memory. 

Teachers can easily adapt their pedagogies to minimise extraneous and germane cognitive load.  More importantly, they can use iCapisce to establish foundational concepts in long-term memory and then use classroom teaching time more effectively for discussion, debate and problem solving.

* See academic papers below

AISNSW - Managing the Learning Load
Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation  -  Portal
  -  Cognitive Load - Research teachers really need to understand - Paper
  -  Cognitive Load in Practice - Paper
  -  Cognitive Load - Poster
Bolen - Cognitive Load in ESL Teaching - Paper
Springer - Cognitive Load Theory - Paper
Sweller - Cognitive Load Theory - Paper
The Human Memory - Long Term Memory - Page
Wikipedia - Cognitive Load - Page

Product Roadmap Slides

iCapisce has been developed to v3.4.2.  

Market and product testing were undertaken at versions 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 3.1 with very positive feedback.

It is proposed to develop iCapisce to v3.5 before BETA public release.

iCapisce - Learn, Practice, Test v3.4.2  =>  L.P.T. v3.5

iCapisce - Play v1.1  =>  Play v2.0

iCapisce - SmartPhone v1.0  - Wire-frame specification

iCapisce - Storyboard v1.0 - 8 tile concept  and  specification

DNN

iCapisce has been progressively developed on the DNN content management system.  It's currently available on DNN v9.1.1

iCapisce v3.5 would provide a scalable platform for about 1million concurrent users per instance.  Multiple instances can be created and deployed for primary, secondary and tertiary education.  Additional instances could be created for Indigenous Languages and Smart Aging and/or State, Catholic and Independent Schools.

As iCapisce moves past the 5 million concurrent user mark, it will make sense to port/adapt the application for AWS or any other highly scalable cloud platform eg. Google, Oracle, Microsoft.

iCapisce v 3.5 Punch List

Slides

iCapisce is the proposed flagship brand for mainstream, conservative education.

iComprende could be used for liberal /public education systems.

Initial market entry would be through:

• Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools

• Independent Schools

• Indigenous Language Groups

• Special Needs Schools - WAESPAA

• Home Schooling - Australia, Canada, NZ, UK, USA

Market research indicates:

• Australian and Canadian Independent Schools are keen to use the platform if it is S.O.G.I. free. (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity)

• Indigenous Language Groups similarly do not want liberal SOGI content.

• More liberal public/Government education could be directed to a separate brand being iComprende.

Controlled domains include

• iCapisce .com .net .org

• .co.za .co.uk .co.ca .co.nz .co.sg

• iComprende .com .net .org

• iComprendere .com .net

• Indigenous Languages .com.au .ca .org

• Indigenous Communities.org

• Indigenous Life.org

• SmartAging.com.au 

• IoCapisco, iCapire, iCapeesh, iCapish, iCapsice

Data sets can be partitioned and released under different white-label brands.  eg. iCapisce, iComprende, Indigenous Education, SmartAging etc.

Market entry into the public school system would follow formal Random Control Tests or simply through market pressure from positive press flowing from private school systems.

The controlled release of iCapisce v3.0 proved that word-of-mouth recommendations move very quickly through education communities.

Slides 

Revenue = 

Monthly membership x every student, teacher, tutor, parent and grandparent.
  +   25% margin on topics sold
  +   Sub-domain sponsorship in tertiary institutions
  +   SEO (CPM+CPE) advertising revenue for Avid Learners
  +   Integration consulting
  +   Custom reports
  +   Training
 

iCapisce follows industry standard, freemium pricing practices:

• $0 for "Avid Learners" with unlimited use of public topics with exposure to advertising banners.

• $2/month for full-use users including teachers, tutors and students rounded to $20/year (no charge for summer holidays)

• 25% clip on topic sales.
  
  

Revenue models have been developed for 

• Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, and USA

• Growth assumptions assume a slow start with 1%, 2%, 3%, 5% and 10% market penetration

User populations include

• Primary students 

• Secondary students 

• Tertiary students

• Adult education being ages 25-60 noting that 74% of adults start one course each year.

• Smart Aging - over 60s

In time, it is possible that almost every member of society could be exposed to iCapisce through indigenous education, adult education, corporate education, government training and Smart Aging initiatives.

iCapisce Pty Ltd 

The company is the current corporate vehicle for software development and product testing. It is a non-trading Australian company with a handful of initial investors. The share registry is now open to expansion.

ACN 149 568 989

ABN 26 149 568 989

Accountants - PKF Perth - Matthew van Riessen - Partner

Registered Address - 5/35 Havelock St, West Perth 6005, WA, Australia

It is envisaged that several iCapisce companies will emerge for sales, consulting and international expansion.

Vision Mission Strategy and Values

Our Mission is to supply the highest quality education content to students of any age, in any nation, in any area of learning at the lowest sustainable cost.

Our Vision is to build a community of passionate topic authors, teachers and trainers who understand the remarkable workings of the human brain to make learning fun -  again.

Our Strategy is not to conquer, dominate or control.  Rather it is to supplement existing teaching methodologies and optimise the return on the time invested.  iCapisce will become invaluable to every teacher and every student on the planet.

We Value:  performance, quality, continuous improvement and above all, integrity. Through these values, iCapisce will change the way content is shared and consumed in the real world.

The iCapisce Foundation Ltd 

The Foundation  provides the same platform and content to equip not-for-profits to develop and extend their reach within their target communities.  We work along side existing programs to make them more effective in changing lives.

Director - Doug Robertson

Doug, aged 72, was the initial catalyst for the "Term-Image-Definition" model that stemmed from Bill Mangini's mainframe patent in the late 1960s. Doug and Bill were community change agents through the work of Wesley Mission in Perth.  Bill's patent expired in the 'late 70s leaving the concept open to a modern cloud-based make-over.

Doug is passionate about using iCapisce for Indigenous education and Indigenous culture preservation.


Director - Harvey Rough

Harvey, aged 62, is the Project Lead for iCapisce Pty Ltd.  Harvey has forty-one years of experience in ERP/EAM applications, business process change, systems development and two successful start-ups. 

Harvey has had senior roles in management accounting, insurance, merchant banking, Oracle Corporation, Anaconda Nickel, Honeywell+Alcoa and Unisys.  He is a multi-disciplinary individual with core competencies in project management, change management, governance, marketing and sales. He is driven by doing things smarter and more efficiently.

A more detailed curriculum vitae can be found at:

www.HarveyRough.com

I'm keen to build a core team in product development, marketing, sales, implementation and support and then move into the iCapisce Foundation to develop programs for marginalised groups.  I firmly believe in hiring the best people for each job, even mine, subject to the available budget. 

My economic motivation

Australia's recovery from CoVID 19 will take time.  Our students have fallen further behind.

I am deeply concerned for our international competitiveness especially in core SMET subjects.  SMET subjects drive innovation in technology, biology, medicine, engineering, mining, communication and even manufacturing.  Todays students are tomorrows innovators.  If we don't lift our game then I fear Lee Kwan Yue's prediction that Australia will become the white-trash of Asia.  I want to fix Australia's failing education system and restore our global competitiveness. 

I would love the opportunity to shape sales, presales methodologies and growth strategies  ... and I will serve in the commercial organisation for as long as I add value.

My social motivation

We have big needs in marginal schools, indigenous education, Pacific Island education, prisoner release programs and deteriorating cognitive skills in our aging population.  These problems can be easily fixed with access to quality topics in a simple, cheap platform that can be used anywhere, anytime on any device.

My legacy motivation

My final legacy project will be the "Navigating Change" series delivered via the iCapisce Foundation using the iCapisce platform.  Everyone lives through numerous changes in life.  Navigating those changes can be rewarding and damage free if we understand what's really going on.

www.HarveyRough.com
 

There are dozens of starter topics in iCapisce. The following samples work best on a laptop or an ipad in landscape mode.

Mainstream Education

Big and Little Letters - Topic schema - K-3

Three Times Table - Mental Math schema - K-3

Major Systems of the Body - full topic schema - Year 9-12 

Coffee Coffee Coffee - Topic schema - General education

Guitar Chords for Beginners - Topic schema - General Education

Boating - Collision Avoidance - Topic Schema - WA Skippers Ticket

Language Topics

Italian Cafe Phrases - Language schema

Indigenous Languages 

Six Noongar Seasons - topic schema

Special Needs

2D Shapes & Colours - Shapes & Patterns schema 

Smart Aging

Sequences - Common Tasks

Musical Memories - Favourite Tunes - Smart Aging