2023 Indigenous Communities Fellowship
Changing the way we connect through Education
What is the name of your solution?
Changing the way we connect through Education
Provide a one-line summary of your solution.
KonnectedTVEducation combines the international Indigenous documentary series with exclusive unseen interviews and added resource material to create an Edu-Tainment, interactive learning experience.
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
KonnectedTVEducation combines the international indigenous documentary series with exclusive unseen interviews and added resource material to create an Edu-Tainment, interactive learning experience. Our vision is to provide the world with an understanding of the complexities of being Indigenous in a globalized society. As a result, we feel it is our duty to demystify false representations of Indigenous nationhood that is present throughout popular culture and academia by sharing Indigenous experiences through a perspective and cultural lens that fosters understanding and reconciliation. Our Education platform is developed with the goal to elevate and innovate Indigenous education that we hope triggers a paradigm shift in how education is delivered and consumed. We believe in supporting the strengthening and emerging interconnectedness between Indigenous cultures, digital media and education that has been enabled by an increased awareness and prominence of historical and contemporary Indigenous issues. This has presented KonnectedTV with the opportunity to continue to share and educate on aspects of Indigenous cultures and contribute overall to the survival and awareness Indigenous cultures and issues across the world. We believe in delivering an approach that involves grassroots champions and respected academic input in facilitating discussions and extracting cultural themes and aspects from our existing episodes of KonnectedTV to be examined and discussed among groups of learners.
What is your solution?
KonnectedTV:Education combines a 13-episode international Indigenous documentary series with exclusive unseen interviews and added resource material to create an Edu-Tainment, interactive video learning experience. This all-Indigenous curriculum delivers over 800-minutes of video testimony covering 39 subject headings with 117 discussion points in an attempt to support and strengthen the emerging interconnectedness between Indigenous cultures, digital media and education from across the Americas. The theme “United in Individuality” will be explored by examining a wide range of topics such as: farming, music, sport, uncontacted tribes, Indigenous and self-identity, women’s issues and sharing traditional knowledge and stories. The documentary series addresses these themes using personal testimonies to discuss both historical and contemporary Indigenous issues. The course with its increased awareness and prominence of historical and contemporary Indigenous issues is presently being delivered on-line with ambitions to be delivered in a classroom environment. We are presented with the opportunity to continue to share and educate on aspects of Indigenous cultures and contribute overall to the survival and awareness Indigenous cultures and issues across the world. We believe in delivering an approach that involves grassroots champions and respected academic input in facilitating discussions and extracting cultural themes and aspects from our existing episodes of KonnectedTV to be examined and discussed among groups of learners. The series is produced in English with Spanish and Cree dubbed versions available for future curriculums.
Learning Outcomes:
Instructors will guide students/participants through a variety of themes extracted from our 13-episode documentary series. Themes include a wide range of topics such as: farming, music, sport, uncontacted tribes, Indigenous and self-identity, women’s issues and sharing traditional knowledge and stories. The documentary series addresses these themes using personal testimonies to discuss both historical and contemporary Indigenous issues. Indigenous students will immediately take notice of the various colonial encounters and shared experiences when it comes to the impact of ideological colonialism and colonization. Non-Indigenous students will witness eye-opening testimonials and stories that tell truths about the colonial experience and impact in a way that is often left unmentioned in conventional and mainstream education programs.
Students will have the opportunity to engage with interactive learning materials that are designed to transform the classroom into an experience that deviates from the conventional and often mundane classroom settings. KonnectedTV’s goal is to liven the learning experience by using an interactive AR/VR platform that is driven by themes showcased throughout the documentary series. Students will also have the opportunity to interact with individuals from the series to ask questions and participate in discussions surrounding the themes of the course. Ultimately, KonnectedTV is developing a learning experience that connects instructors and students with Indigenous people from across the world to share their colonial experiences, stories and forms of traditional knowledge.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Our Vision
It is KonnectedTV’s vision to become an international multi-faceted hub for Indigenous cultures to share traditional stories, present day struggles and traditional cultural practices with the rest of the world through digital media and learning curriculums.
Goals and Objectives It is KonnectedTV’s goal to create a new educational business branch that remains focused on sharing Indigenous stories, experiences and cultures. We have developed a list of sub-goals and objectives that serve to inform and advance KonnectedTV’s overall vision. These goals provide a means to capitalize on KonnectedTV’s established track record as an insightful and enlightening documentary series that we hope to develop into academic learning materials associated with the themes explored throughout the series.
Goal 1
Develop a high quality course curriculum and outline the broader elements that are required for building academic course materials.
Goal 2
Create a strong and visible presence within academic institutions that capitalizes on existing relationships with universities (i.e., University of Ottawa and McGill University) and markets KonnectedTV as an Indigenous academic learning tool.
Objectives
Continue working with academic champions of KonnectedTV to strategize the embedding of learning materials in the classroom;)
Market KonnectedTV as a modernized form of learning about Indigenous cultures from a sociological and anthropological perspective;
Explore new forms of media and technology that assist in transforming KonnectedTV in a virtual or augmented reality experience by incorporating 360-degree views and input from the individuals showcased throughout the series in a live setting; and,
Present KonnectedTV to existing Indigenous broadcasting corporations or Indigenous digital media groups/societies.
Become a well-known academic brand that is synonymous with Indigenous learning experiences on a global and regional.
Goal 3
Develop a 360-degree video experience that is immersive and focuses on select topics as part of our long-term plans.
Goal 4
Approach a secondary market by offering an Indigenous program centralized around the themes of KonnectedTV, particularly groups or museums that are already engaged and making use of virtual and augmented reality technologies:
Goal 5
Develop workshops that incorporate the use of KonnectedTV learning materials that are synthesized for delivery to public servants, educators and community members as a part of our long- term plan.
Goal 6
Encourage academic institutions to invest in VR technology as a learning mechanism or means for course instruction, especially given its potential providing users a first-person POV of Indigenous experience.
Goal 7
Develop standardized training in KonnectedTV course delivery that reflects the venues and levels of learning.
Which Indigenous community(s) does your solution benefit? In what ways will your solution benefit this community?
Our Philosophy:
It is our philosophy that KonnectedTV, as a brand, serves as a modern outlet for Indigenous peoples across the world to connect and share our stories, traditional knowledge, cultural practices and struggles with one another through use of digital media and technology. KonnectedTV strongly believes in strengthening the emerging interconnectedness between Indigenous cultures, digital media and academia that has been enabled by an increased awareness and prominence of modern Indigenous issues. It is our aim to further engage and provide Indigenous storytellers with the opportunity to showcase elements of their traditional lifestyles, cultures and political struggles in an interactive classroom setting. We believe in delivering a hands-on approach that involves grassroots champions and respected academic input in facilitating discussions and extracting cultural themes and aspects from our existing episodes of KonnectedTV to be examined and discussed among groups of learners.
State of the Industry
KonnectedTV understands and acknowledges the challenge of expanding our brand into the field of education. Education as an industry is constantly growing and changing shape as researchers and academics contribute to an existing wealth of knowledge. In the context of higher education (i.e., Universities), institutions have internal methods when it comes to developing and determining course-appropriate learning materials. Education industry research indicates that there are a number of institutions that consult a regulatory body or internal committees in order to determine and develop course curriculums.
At the community and secondary school education level, public schools in Canada are largely governed by provincial and or regional school boards who are responsible for determining and/or developing standardized education materials across school boards and sometimes even the entire province. This differs from the way in which educational curriculums are developed in Indigenous communities, which are typically overseen by education directorate executives and possibly chief and other councils. Schools within Indigenous communities tend to have a higher rate of inclusion when it comes to Indigenizing curriculum content and course development.
For the foreseeable future, the education industry in Canada will continue to undergo rapid changes as advanced and modern technologies continue to be incorporated into classrooms, with digital literacy paramount among skills development for future generations. Learning materials and methods will continue to be enhanced through the use of dynamic, interactive and engaging medium – most notably, Augmented, Virtual and Mixed reality applications. As the AR/VR industries continue to grow (revenues and shipments doubling each year and expected to be worth over $120 billion globally in the next 3 years) due to increased availability of technologies from a cost perspective, we firmly believe that the future of education and how students learn will rely heavily on these technologies, which until now, have been underserved by the benefits of inclusive indigenous pedagogy. KonnectedTV proposes to address this gap. By capitalizing on already available AR/ VR technologies and by developing Indigenous AR/VR educational materials and resources, KonnectedTV will provide the necessary edge that Indigenous and non-indigenous students require in an increasingly digital and technically-skilled world.
How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?
Marketing Plan
To initialize marketing efforts of this new branch of business, KonnectedTV will capitalize on some of the existing and successful marketing methods used to promote the documentary series, where applicable. By capitalizing on the success of the KonnectedTV documentary series, we are able to further conceptualize and promote the educational branch of KonnectedTV. By using existing relationships with academics and institutions, KonnectedTV is better positioned to market a pilot curriculum that includes video materials consisting of provoking theoretical concepts designed
to ignite discussion and the sharing of stories and cultural knowledge. Our marketing efforts will require diligence in asserting visibility that can only be accomplished by developing a presence within academic conferences, Indigenous education summits/conferences and a physical presence within academic institutions and in Indigenous communities. KonnectedTV will develop marketing and promotional materials that will be designed to captivate the interest of potential audiences, namely academic and community education gatekeepers initially in order to test and gain user- acceptance. Furthermore, KonnectedTV is set to be marketed as a technologically innovative learning tool that focuses primarily on Indigenous issues and the themes explored throughout the initial documentary series (i.e., themes such as food sovereignty, music and political struggles).
In sum, our goal is to market and promote KonnectedTV as an authentic and interactive Indigenous learning experience. Furthermore, it is our mission to promote KonnectedTV to local institutions such as Carleton University and Algonquin College. This will be accomplished by generating promotional and marketing materials that exemplify the use of innovation and interactive technologies as well as creating a physical and visible presence at opportune moments such as conferences, symposiums and other gatherings. The education industry, more specifically the higher education industry, is a market that embraces innovation, new ideas and incorporates and revitalizes methods of learning frequently, thereby providing an opportunity for KonnectedTV to participate as both an innovative and a technologically-driven method of learning.
Market Research and Analysis
In recent years, Indigenous centric learning programs have witnessed an exponential growth and presence in academic institutions the world over thanks to, not only, a rising number of Indigenous academics and citizens of the world taking notice of Indigenous issues, but also, technological innovations that have changed the ways in which people tell stories, share thoughts, opinions and communicate. As a direct result, the world itself has becoming increasingly smaller, making global cultures more visible, and more meaningful than ever before. Global society as a whole is becoming increasingly aware of the issues faced by marginalized cultures — issues that would otherwise go unnoticed would it not be for the rising prominence of Indigenous voices enabled by modern technologies that connects us all. The reality of the situation is that student intake at the post secondary level of education is constant. Given the rising prominence of Indigenous issues, KonnectedTV sees an opportunity to participate and guide discussions surrounding the themes explored throughout the documentary series through an academic lens that is both engaging and thought provoking.
Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
Drive positive outcomes for Indigenous learners of any age and context through culturally grounded educational opportunities.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Ottawa, Canada (Algonquin Territory)
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
What is your solution’s stage of development?
Pilot: An organization testing a product, service, or business model with a small number of users
How many people does your solution currently serve?
Development stage with Education curriculum being given for free.
Why are you applying to Solve?
As KonnectedTV seeks to become the first of it’s kind in producing and delivering Indigenous digital media, it is our plan to fuse digital media and education into a unique and synergistic product that both tells a story and showcases innovation. The core of our strategy targets the gaps
in information often ignored by mainstream media outlets and the gaps in Indigenous-centric curricula. Further to our core strategy, KonnectedTV will be marketed as both a media and educational platform that delivers knowledge, histories and cultural sharing in a manner that is relevant to those eager to participate, learn and engage with various aspects of Indigenous culture from around the world. While maintaining close relationships to existing academic champions of KonnectedTV, we are better positioned to communicate with other academics, educators and leaders within the space of the education industry. Later phases of our marketing strategy will be to focus on marketing KonnectedTV’s brand of education to Federal and Provincial governments seeking to raise awareness and sensitivity regarding Indigenous issues and present day struggles that capitalizes on governments’ bid to become more inclusive and culturally sensitive and aware.
KonnectedTV, in its current form, incurs very low marketing costs as many efforts to promote and market the media branch of KonnectedTV are largely social media based. Our team continues to share KonnectedTV media across social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter that results in users and audiences sharing content as well. To date KonnectedTV has managed to drive a high volume of organic growth that is exemplified in the available Facebook metrics, offering insights into the social reach of content shared and endorsed. It is our understanding that marketing the educational branch of KonnectedTV will require significant effort in order to gain traction and visibility within our targets of post secondary institutions, secondary schools and community- level learning. In terms of marketing expenses, we expect to incur costs in developing promotional material that promotes KonnectedTV’s innovative and highly engaging learning experience by delivering an attractive, compelling and interactive website.
Another component that will incur marketing expenses will be the development of a promotional pilot. It is a cost that is also associated with the development of the overall educational platform that will ultimately provide us with a pilot of our product to showcase to potential customers. To accompany our pilot product, we will develop promotional print materials such as pamphlets, presentations, banners and video content that coincides with ongoing marketing activities for our digital media branch. Accordingly, in order to increase the visibility of our educational platform, KonnectedTV will require a marketing budget in the range of $30,000 to $50,000 anually that will go toward digital and web marketing, promotional materials, physical marketing and advertising spaces in post secondary institutions, conferences as well as sponsored social media content posts that ensure a higher reach than non-sponsored content posts and will compliment the organic growth currently taking place.
In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?
Who is the Team Lead for your solution?
Steven Martin
Please indicate the tribal affiliation of your Team Lead.
Migmaq First Nation, Listuguj, Quebec, Canada
How is your Team Lead connected to the community or communities in which your project is based?
Partnering with Indigenous Educators and Institutions.
Spreading brand awareness of KonnectedTV’s educational branch relies heavily on our ability to maintain and capitalize on existing relationships with institutions and educators already interested in what KonnectedTV has to offer. Ideally, our product would be developed in conjunction or in partnership with an institution (i.e., Ottawa University) with whom we currently have a relationship. The KonnectedTV team will work tirelessly to connect with Indigenous education leaders in communities across Canada, with an initial target being our home community of Listuguj, Quebec. From that point, KonnectedTV expects to flourish by word of mouth, marketing materials and physical presence among and within groups of educators, institutions and communities. KonnectedTV will work to partner with said groups in order to continuously maintain and develop updated components of curriculum learning materials.
What makes your solution innovative?
To date, KonnectedTV has developed a strong organic following through the promotion of the documentary series and will benefit from an injection of capital to develop our AR/VR application platform and to increase the reach and visibility of KonnectedTV’s brand of education.
Our content will be marketed, but not limited, to Indigenous peoples, researchers and academics. Our audiences will be encouraged to interact with course materials through use of technology and to share their experiences with one another via social media. Ultimately, KonnectedTV aspires to become an early adopter of AR/VR technologies for the purposes of education and entertainment by providing an authentic Indigenous cultural education derived from first-person perspectives and input.
In doing so, KonnectedTV will act as a strong advocate for the maintenance and survival of Indigenous cultures around the world as we work directly with knowledgeable and respected academics and cultural champions to develop content that addresses cross-cultural encounters and their contemporary contexts.
Objectives
• Seek and secure financing for course content development;
• Develop an initial pilot that demonstrates how the course or program will work;
• Develop course outlines and classroom materials;
• Develop 2nd or multiple variations of the course tailored for post-secondary, secondary and community level groups; and,
• Consult with established academics throughout all phases of course and curriculum development as integrity checks.
Continue working with academic champions of KonnectedTV to strategize the embedding of learning materials in the classroom;)
Market KonnectedTV as a modernized form of learning about Indigenous cultures from a sociological and anthropological perspective;
Explore new forms of media and technology that assist in transforming KonnectedTV in a virtual or augmented reality experience by incorporating 360-degree views and input from the individuals showcased throughout the series in a live setting; and,
Present KonnectedTV to existing Indigenous broadcasting corporations or Indigenous digital media groups/societies.
Become a well-known academic brand that is synonymous with Indigenous learning experiences on a global and regional.
Maintain a strong understanding of the evolution of interactive video technology;
• Develop a strategy to integrate pre-recorded 360 video content; and,
• Develop a strategy with storytellers or those involved in the making of the series to participate in live discussions with classrooms via Skype or other video conference tools.
What are your impact goals for the next year and the next five years, and how will you achieve them?
It is our philosophy that KonnectedTV, as a brand, serves as a modern outlet for Indigenous peoples across the world to connect and share our stories, traditional knowledge, cultural practices and struggles with one another through use of digital media and technology. KonnectedTV strongly believes in strengthening the emerging interconnectedness between Indigenous cultures, digital media and academia that has been enabled by an increased awareness and prominence of modern Indigenous issues. This has enabled KonnectedTV to capitalize on the opportunity to share and educate aspects of Indigenous cultures and contribute to the overall survival and awareness of cultures and practices from around the world. It is our aim to further engage and provide Indigenous storytellers with the opportunity to showcase elements of their traditional lifestyles, cultures and political struggles in an interactive classroom setting. We believe in delivering a hands-on approach that involves grassroots champions and respected academic input in facilitating discussions and extracting cultural themes and aspects from our existing episodes of KonnectedTV to be examined and discussed among groups of learners.
Approach a secondary market by offering an Indigenous program centralized around the themes of KonnectedTV, particularly groups or museums that are already engaged and making use of virtual and augmented reality technologies:
Objectives
• Identify groups or businesses in the region such as SimWave and ColonyVR for example; and, • Learn as much as possible about the existing technology and the potential social and cultural value of these applications.
Goal :Develop workshops that incorporate the use of KonnectedTV learning materials that are synthesized for delivery to public servants, educators and community members as a part of our long- term plan.
Objectives
• Develop course snippets designed to educate participants in 1 to 2 hour sessions; • Prepare concise and succinct materials that minimize distractions and course interruptions; and, • Develop a strategic plan for curriculum development that encompasses a number of themes and
topics that are relevant to the contexts and settings in which the course and materials are being delivered.
Goal: Encourage academic institutions to invest in VR technology as a learning mechanism or means for course instruction, especially given its potential providing users a first-person POV of Indigenous experience.
Objectives
Develop a strategic plan that details the benefits of investing in such technology and its various applications; and,
Examine current applications of VR technology and its use in academic institutions.
Goal: Transform the classroom into an interactive virtual reality experience while exploring select themes and scenarios from the documentary series. Objectives
• Make use of modern tools to engage with local community members to deliver first-hand experiences of selected themes that groups will be learning about;
Develop an economic opportunity for community members to become involved with all aspects of production and post-production; and,
Give students a first-hand Indigenous experience without having to leave the classroom. Goal 7 Develop standardized training in KonnectedTV course delivery that reflects the venues and levels of learning. Objectives
Actively seek out Indigenous educators and academics that focus on historical and contemporary Indigenous issues;
Create training options for 1-on-1 training and group training;
Develop a standardized list of qualifications, skills and knowledge to deliver KonnectedTV learning materials;
Develop a focused and detailed marketing strategy that appeals to educators and academics by participating in gatherings such as conferences, events and symposiums; and,
Develop a means of accreditation that signifies a capacity to deliver KonnectedTV learning materials.
Which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals does your solution address?
How are you measuring your progress toward your impact goals?
State of the Industry
KonnectedTV understands and acknowledges the challenge of expanding our brand into the field of education. Education as an industry is constantly growing and changing shape as researchers and academics contribute to an existing wealth of knowledge. In the context of higher education (i.e., Universities), institutions have internal methods when it comes to developing and determining course-appropriate learning materials. Education industry research indicates that there are a number of institutions that consult a regulatory body or internal committees in order to determine and develop course curriculums. However, it is worth noting that when it comes to the introductory level (i.e., first-year courses), there are foundational go-to materials that are designed to deliver a basic or preliminary level of understanding.
At the community and secondary school education level, public schools in Canada are largely governed by provincial and or regional school boards who are responsible for determining and/or developing standardized education materials across school boards and sometimes even the entire province. This differs from the way in which educational curriculums are developed in Indigenous communities, which are typically overseen by education directorate executives and possibly chief and other councils. Schools within Indigenous communities tend to have a higher rate of inclusion when it comes to Indigenizing curriculum content and course development.
For the foreseeable future, the education industry in Canada will continue to undergo rapid changes as advanced and modern technologies continue to be incorporated into classrooms, with digital literacy paramount among skills development for future generations. Learning materials and methods will continue to be enhanced through the use of dynamic, interactive and engaging medium – most notably, Augmented, Virtual and Mixed reality applications. As the AR/VR industries continue to grow (revenues and shipments doubling each year and expected to be worth over $120 billion globally in the next 3 years) due to increased availability of technologies from a cost perspective, we firmly believe that the future of education and how students learn will rely heavily on these technologies, which until now, have been underserved by the benefits of inclusive indigenous pedagogy. KonnectedTV proposes to address this gap. By capitalizing on already available AR/ VR technologies and by developing Indigenous AR/VR educational materials and resources, KonnectedTV will provide the necessary edge that Indigenous and non-indigenous students require in an increasingly digital and technically-skilled world.
What is your theory of change?
KonnectedTV is an international documentary series that is currently airing 13 weekly episodes on APTN. Furthermore, KonnectedTV aims to become a digital media platform that maintains its current practices of connecting Indigenous people by showcasing traditional aspects of contemporary Indigenous lifestyles. In addition to becoming an online digital media distributor, KonnectedTV aspires to develop an educational curriculum that compliments the Indigenous- centric themes showcased throughout the documentary series. The educational component will serve as a business branch of the KonnectedTV brand. Similarly, the educational branch of KonnectedTV will maintain our core vision of delivering first-hand experiences that connect with and share the perspectives of Indigenous people around the world. It is our goal to integrate the existing documentary series into an Indigenous-centric learning curriculum that showcases worldwide Indigenous experiences and critically explores Indigenous and colonial discourses in a deeper and analytical manner afforded by classroom settings. The inclusion of the documentary series will be used to extract lessons and guide discussions on selected topics and themes highlighted throughout the episodes. Ultimately, this branch of KonnectedTV will assist us in reaching and maintaining our goals of enabling Indigenous people to share their traditional stories, present-day struggles and traditional cultural practices using an approach that is both interactive and enlightening. We understand that there are a number of ways to learn about Indigenous cultures and engage in the broader spectrum of Indigenous learning. What sets KonnectedTV apart from existing Indigenous learning programs is the unique inclusion of technology and interactive aspects of the program that bring the environments into the classroom.
Describe the core technology that powers your solution.
The global OTT market currently generates over $28 billion in annual revenue and is expected to grow at a steady 17.2% CAGR (PRNewsWire 2016) over the next 5 years. But the continued dominance of existing media verticals and culturally homogeneous content signals the need for broader voices to be included in this new medium. KonnectedTV’s foray into this global digital video market not only responds to that call, but provides indigenous producers with a platform to engage, interact, and participate in the growing OTT marketplace. In developing a presence within the global OTT market, KonnectedTV’s online video content efforts will be driven by the development of a second generation website. The digital media branch of KonnectedTV’s business will be initialized through existing online video and social media platforms that will guide the development of an online Indigenous digital media hub. The to-be developed digital media platform will showcase video content produced by Indigenous cultural champions from around the world, which will be piloted by developing a strong Youtube presence. KonnectedTV will continue to work with content creators and capitalize upon existing relationships with Indigenous cultural champions have been established through the initial run of the television series.
To date, KonnectedTV has developed a strong organic following through the promotion of the documentary series and will benefit from an injection of capital to increase the reach and visibility of KonnectedTV’s video content and website. KonnectedTV will be marketed to a variety of potential audiences that include, but are not limited to, Indigenous peoples as well as researchers and academics. Our audiences will be encouraged to share digital content across a number of social media platforms where KonnectedTV content will be optimized and easy to access across platforms and devices.
Which of the following categories best describes your solution?
A new business model or process that relies on technology to be successful
Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:
If your solution has a website or an app, provide the links here:
https://konnectedtveducation.teachable.com/
In which parts of the US and/or Canada do you currently operate?
Canada
In which parts of the US and/or Canada will you be operating within the next year?
Ottawa, Canada and Listuguj, Quebec
What type of organization is your solution team?
Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit
How many people work on your solution team?
1
How long have you been working on your solution?
2017
What is your approach to incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusivity into your work?
DDeveloping curriculum materials and modules
KonnectedTV will gather input from academic consultants and researchers in order to prepare learning materials and curriculum structures. By capitalizing on our existing relationships with educators, we will work closely with them to develop course materials for our three target groups: community level learning, secondary schools and post-secondary institutions. Throughout curriculum development, we will examine existing video content and extract themes and subjects for classroom discussion and engagement. The materials will be further enhanced through contemporary academic research including written and new media publications by prominent Indigenous academics and researchers.
What is your business model?
In remaining true to our vision, KonnectedTV hopes to continue to attract audience, students, academics, and video content creators by providing authentic content that appeals to them and consists of realistic and factual cultural knowledge. In doing so, it is our mission to elevate respected cultural champions that will in turn contribute to the overall presence and visibility of KonnectedTV outside the classroom and within communities. Due to the nature of KonnectedTV and its prospective audiences, additional growth can be secured by capitalizing upon existing relationships with academic institutions and educators that have already shown interest in KonnectedTV as an educational tool. This will provide KonnectedTV with an opportunity to grow within an academic landscape by providing thought-provoking content that can be healthily debated, witnessed, and contribute to overall discussions that address the complexities of Indigenous cultures and lifestyles.
As is the case with nearly all new businesses, creating brand recognition around KonnectedTV creates additional barriers that relate to gathering support and attracting audiences and research and content contributors. The KonnectedTV brand is sensitized to the themes and the spirits of Indigenous cultural champions, as showcased in our original 13-part documentary series that lays the foundation of what the KonnectedTV brand is all about.
KonnectedTV will operate in spaces as a unique brand of entertainment and education. Our initial start-up has been complimented by our existence in both the traditional and OTT video content spaces with a strong focus on Indigenous cultures, people and lifestyles. KonnectedTV will be the first of its kind to develop both an Indigenous-centric brand of digital video content as well as an innovative AR/VR educational platform that provides interaction and insight into an array of historical and contemporary cultural themes, stories, and struggles. Growth and awareness of KonnectedTV has been initialized by the airing of the documentary series, which provided audiences with a sense of content that heeded guiding vision and philosophies. Earlier periods of growth and pending success of monetized video content on Youtube will guide and inform the development of an online proprietary Indigenous media hub and drive the development of an educational materials, course content and curriculums.
The international documentary series presents KonnectedTV’s aspirations to provide an outlet for Indigenous peoples across the world to tell their stories as they relate to culture, traditional knowledge and social and political struggles. Simply put, KonnectedTV’s niche is about becoming both a producer of high quality Indigenous related content and becoming one of the first Indigenous AR/VR education platforms whose goal is to contribute to the documentation and preservation of Indigenous cultures, languages and lifestyles.
Do you primarily provide products or services directly to individuals, to other organizations, or to the government?
Individual consumers or stakeholders (B2C)What is your plan for becoming financially sustainable?
KonnectedTV’s brand of education is preparing to offer an array of products that will cater to audiences engaged in forms of cultural learning. The product(s), unlike devices and peripherals will not see the same amount of pricing markups given that the development of our products will likely require significant investment in order to fully develop. Preliminary costing activities have indicated that in order to fully develop our educational products, KonnectedTV will require a budget of an estimated $200,000. The budget will enable KonnectedTV to engage in product development activities that include but are not limited to: course and curriculum development, research, writing, marketing, AR/VR application development and administration.
As identified in our Goals and Objectives, we are in the early stages of planning 4 levels learning that will be be designed to meet the learning criteria of those levels. It is also worth noting that all forms of our products will also be made available as online courses in order to expand our reach and brand visibility. For the time being, our main focus will be in marketing to: post-secondary institutes (includes universities and colleges), secondary schools (high school), community level groups and museums and public institutes.
KonnectedTV understands that our clients may only wish to license a portion of our products, therefore we are prepared to offer segments of our products in order to meet the needs of our clients by offering options. The segments of our products that will be made available to clients are: curriculum (varying modules), license to documentary materials, access to our AR/VR platform and the offering of peer-to-peer interactions with individuals showcased throughout the documentary series. Ultimately, the pricing for portions of our products will be determined by our yet to be determined tiered pricing that will reflect the diversity of the modules and options available to prospective clients. We believe in giving our clients the opportunity to pick and choose what’s right for them, in doing so we will offer 4 solutions:
1. Post-Secondary Institutes: Colleges and Universities will have access to a premium package, turn-key product. The premium product will include licensing rights to the entire 13-episode documentary series, fully developed course curriculum as well as AR/VR and peer-to-peer components throughout the duration of the course at an estimated a sale price of $10,000 for this particular product.
2. Secondary Schools: High schools will have access to KonnectedTV’s education products. The course material for this audience is a scaled down version of the premium product that is designed to resonate with a high school level audience and includes licensing rights to portions of the documentary series and limited use of the AR/VR and peer-to-peer components of KonnectedTV starting at $1000.
3. Community Level Groups: KonnectedTV will work closely with community education groups to gauge and understand the level of course delivery that will be best suited to fulfill the needs of community education plans.
4. Museums: KonnectedTV will work closely with museum curators to determine the content that they wish to highlight.
Solution Team
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Our Organization
Konnected.TV-Education