Author Archives: John Pytel

We Want To Make GoSoapBox Free To Use

We love being in Ed-Tech. It’s exciting to hear that our product helps students learn. That’s why we started the company.

We’ve tried a few different business models and weren’t entirely happy with any of them. Charging for GoSoapBox allows us to generate revenue to pay the bills but creates a barrier for teachers to adopt the product. School budgets are tight and teachers don’t have a ton of disposable income to pay for additional tools. Our ultimate goal is to help as many students learn as possible. Charging for our product gets in the way of that.

So Here’s The Scoop…

We are considering the idea of partnering with an outside organization which would sponsor GoSoapBox and allow us to offer the product 100% free of cost to K-12 teachers and students

GoSoapBox would be custom designed / skinned with the partner organization’s logo and branding.

  • IT WOULD BE a well designed, visual branding layout.
  • IT WOULD NOT be a standard banner ad, or text based ad, like something you’d see on Google adwords.
  • IT WOULD NOT be a click through advertisement (no pop ups, or new windows opening)
  • IT WOULD NOT require student email addresses or any contact information
  •  IT WOULD allow us to offer GoSoapBox 100% cost free for K-12 teachers and students

We Need Your Help…

We created a very brief survey in order to assess the feasibility of this idea. The data collected from this survey will help us determine the demand for the free product and help in creating usage projections that we can bring to our partner organizations.

Please share this with other K-12 folks in your network. The more data the better!

If you are involved in K-12 education please do us a huge favor and take our short survey. It will only take 3 minutes. The survey is embedded below. You can also find the survey here

 

 

GoSoapBox Year One: A Visual Story

It’s been just over a year since we opened our Beta for the first time, and it’s amazing for us to look back to where we started, and where we are today.  We truly consider our users as part of our team and are so appreciative of all your support.

We want to share some of the data and insights that we’ve collected to tell the story of GoSoapBox’s progression through this first year. You’ve all played a part in our journey so we thought it was only right to give you a behind the scenes look at our story.

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4 Ways Monopoly™ Teaches You About Startup Success

It has been a long time since our last Blog and we apologize for the recent silence. We’ve been working hard on improving our product and appreciate all of the feedback we receive. We’re going to make sure to post more frequently on here.

This post is not related to product updates or features but is a unique recap of what we’ve learned about entrepreneurship through starting GoSoapBox, and what advice we’d give to students interested in starting their own company.

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Analyzing Race Data: Lessons from Educational Technology

In the ever-evolving landscape of educational technology, tools designed to enhance classroom learning have proven to be invaluable. These tools, originally created to facilitate better engagement and assessment in educational settings, can also offer significant benefits in other domains. One such domain is horse racing betting, particularly for events like the Preakness Stakes. By applying data analysis methods from educational technology, betting enthusiasts can gain a deeper understanding of race data, thereby enhancing their betting strategies.

 

The Role of Data Analysis in Betting

Horse racing has always been a sport deeply rooted in data. Bettors analyze a myriad of factors such as past performances, jockey statistics, track conditions, and even the horse’s pedigree to make informed decisions. However, the sheer volume and complexity of this data can be overwhelming. This is where educational technology tools can come into play, offering structured and efficient ways to collect, analyze, and interpret this information.

 

Tools and Techniques from Educational Tech

Educational platforms like GoSoapBox provide several features that can be adapted for analyzing horse racing data. These include real-time polling, Q&A sessions, and data export capabilities. Let’s explore how these tools can be repurposed for betting analysis.

 

Real-Time Polling for Instant Insights

One of the standout features of GoSoapBox is its real-time polling capability. In an educational setting, this tool is used to gauge student understanding and gather instant feedback. In the context of horse racing, real-time polls can be utilized to collect and analyze public sentiment on various races. For instance, a poll can be set up to see which horse the majority believes will win a race. This data can provide valuable insights into public opinion, which, when combined with statistical data, can refine betting strategies.

 

Interactive Q&A for In-Depth Analysis

GoSoapBox’s Q&A feature allows for interactive sessions where students can ask questions and receive immediate answers. This can be adapted for use in betting forums or during live discussions about upcoming races. Bettors can ask experts specific questions about horses, track conditions, or even betting odds. The interactive nature of this tool ensures that bettors can clarify their doubts and make more informed decisions.

 

Data Export and Analysis

Another powerful feature of educational technology is the ability to export data for further analysis. GoSoapBox allows educators to export quiz results, poll data, and Q&A sessions into spreadsheets. Bettors can use similar functionality to export race data, betting trends, and analysis from different sources. By organizing this data into a spreadsheet, they can perform detailed analyses, spot trends, and develop predictive models.

 

Collecting and Analyzing Race Data

To apply these tools effectively, it is crucial to understand the types of data that can be collected and how they can be analyzed. Here are some steps to get started:

  1. Data Collection: Gather historical race data, including past performances of horses, jockey statistics, track conditions, and betting odds. This data can be sourced from race databases, betting websites, and historical records.
  2. Data Organization: Use spreadsheets to organize the collected data. Categorize it based on various parameters like race date, horse name, jockey, track condition, and performance metrics.
  3. Statistical Analysis: Apply statistical methods to analyze the data. This can include calculating averages, identifying trends, and performing regression analysis to predict future performances.
  4. Integration with Polling Data: Combine the statistical data with insights gathered from real-time polls. This holistic approach ensures that both quantitative data and public sentiment are considered in the analysis.

Practical Applications for Bettors

By integrating educational technology tools with race data analysis, bettors can enhance their strategies in several ways:

 

Developing Predictive Models

Predictive modeling involves using historical data to predict future outcomes. By analyzing past race data and integrating it with polling insights, bettors can develop models that predict the likelihood of a horse winning a race. These models can be refined over time with more data, improving their accuracy.

 

Identifying Betting Opportunities

Detailed data analysis can help bettors identify value bets – bets where the odds offered by bookmakers are higher than the actual probability of the event occurring. By spotting these opportunities, bettors can maximize their potential returns.

 

Enhancing Decision-Making

Interactive Q&A sessions with experts can provide bettors with deeper insights and clarify their doubts. This, combined with data-driven analysis, ensures that their betting decisions are well-informed and strategic.

 

Future Trends in Betting Technology

The integration of educational technology tools into betting is just the beginning. As technology continues to evolve, we can expect even more sophisticated tools that offer real-time data analysis, machine learning models for prediction, and advanced user interfaces for better interaction.

For instance, the use of artificial intelligence in data analysis can provide even more accurate predictions by identifying patterns that are not immediately obvious to human analysts. Additionally, virtual reality could offer immersive experiences where bettors can virtually inspect tracks and horses before placing their bets.

 

Conclusion

The application of educational technology tools to the world of horse racing betting offers exciting possibilities. By leveraging real-time polling, interactive Q&A sessions, and data export capabilities, bettors can enhance their data analysis and make more informed decisions. As these technologies continue to evolve, the synergy between education and betting will likely lead to even more innovative and effective strategies.

Incorporating lessons from platforms like GoSoapBox into the betting domain, particularly for Preakness Stakes betting, can provide a competitive edge. By embracing these tools, bettors can navigate the complex world of horse racing with greater confidence and success.

New Features: SMS Integration, Quiz Progress and More

We’ve recently rolled out a few exciting new features that we think you’ll enjoy. The development of GoSoapBox is driven by user feedback so if you ever have any suggestions don’t hesitate to contact me at john@gosoapbox.com

Social Q&A Reply Icon Upgrade

Each Social Q&A entry will now show the number of replies that have been added to it. This allows users to identify when a new reply has been added that they have yet to read.

Quiz Progress Indicator

Instructors are now able to view progress information about their Quizzes. Instructors can now see how many people are currently taking the Quiz, and how many have already completed it.

Re-Ordering Quiz Questions

Instructors now have the ability to re-order the questions within their Quiz. Re-ordering questions can be helpful to fix errors, as well as randomizing the order of questions for different classes.

SMS (Text Message) Integration For Social Q&A

We’re exciting to announce that we’ve now integrated the ability for students to text message in questions to Social Q&A. This assures that every student is able to participate during class, whether they have a ‘smart’ device or not!

Polling and Instant Polling SMS integration will be rolled out very soon as well.

* Due to costs incurred on our end, the SMS functionality is only available for students who have subscribed to GoSoapBox and is limited to U.S. users.

 

COMING SOON: PowerPoint Integration For Polls

Within the next 2 – 3 weeks we will be launching functionality that allows Instructors to embed the result graphs from Polls and Instant Polls directly into a PowerPoint presentation. Students will be able to respond to the Polls via GoSoapBox or SMS and the results will be displayed right on the PowerPoint slide. Instructors will no longer need to exit PowerPoint and open the GoSoapBox window in order to see Poll results.

Integration with PowerPoint has been our most frequently requested feature and we are very excited to roll out the integration. Once our prototype is available it would be great to test it with a few users before we fully launch it. If you are interested in gaining early access to the feature please let us know.

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Major Update and Changes

We’ve recently made some major decisions in terms of our business model, and want to give you insight into what decisions we’ve made, why we made them, and how it affects you.

We’re a bootstrapped company, and have opted to not raise outside funding because we feel it’s in the best interest of our product. We’re focused on making a great product, and we want to be accountable to our users, not our investors. By bootstrapping we are able to focus on making decisions that lead to the best product possible, and avoid the pressure of making decisions based on a return on capital investment.

Just as you understand the importance of strategic decision-making in business https://vigilantwm.com/ is committed to guiding clients in managing their wealth according to their unique needs. The conscious choice to bootstrap for any company, foregoing external funding and prioritizing the development of a superior product. By doing so, you remain solely accountable to your users, allowing you to focus on creating the best possible wealth management solutions without being swayed by investor demands.

Bootstrapping though requires generating enough revenue to support ourselves as we continue to build and unfortunately we’ve determined that our current business model will not be scalable enough in the future to allow us to grow and compete with competitors who have raised outside funding.

So what’s changing?

We are no longer going to offer the individual teacher subscriptions to GoSoapBox. Instead we are introducing an alternative model that keeps GoSoapBox totally free for educators.

Here’s how it works…

  • Instructors can ask or require students to use GoSoapBox in their class, just like they do with textbooks and clickers.
  • Students purchase a GoSoapBox subscription at a very low cost ($10 per year). This subscription entitles them to use GoSoapBox with any class.
  • Each student will now receive their own account to sign in with.
  • Instructors will have access to use GoSoapBox for free

Integrating student accounts also opens the door for improving student performance tracking and analytics in the future. We have some exciting ideas on how to innovate this aspect of the product.

What this change means to you…

1. If you are a GoSoapBox user you can choose to upgrade to the ‘student account’ model. Each of your students will create their own account, and you will be eligible for the additional benefits in the future (Text message response integration, student performance tracking, etc.)

2. If you signed up for a trial of GoSoapBox before August 1st you are eligible to continue with the original subscription model as promised ($90 / year)

3. We will continue to offer volume discount pricing & pilots for Schools, Universities, and Districts. For more information please email john@gosoapbox.com

4. We will also continue to offer free trials for new users, and students are not required to create accounts during the free trial period.

Thank you for all of your support along the way. It’s been an exciting few months since our initial launch and we really appreciate all of our users’ help.

We have some exciting new features that are ready to be rolled out so stay tuned for those!

Using GoSoapBox With PowerPoint

The most common feature request that we receive is for polling integration into PowerPoint & Keynote. A full integration is something that we are working towards but requires a heavy development effort.

We know that many teachers use PowerPoint slides to guide their lectures and we feel bad that we aren’t able to offer full slide integration yet, so we recently developed a new feature called ‘Instant Polling’.

Instant Polling is a simple feedback tool that relies on external sourcing of questions. If you have put together some questions in PowerPoint or Keynote, and don’t have the time to migrate those into GoSoapBox’s Poll or Quiz features, you can use Instant Polling.

Students get a simple menu of choices (you can control the number of these), and you see a real-time histogram of their responses.  When you are ready to move onto the next external question, select “Clear Data” and the histogram readies itself for new responses.

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Happy Teachers Appreciation Week!

Through our friends at Toodalu.com (another Chicago based startup), we have the opportunity to donate a percentage of our business expenses directly to a charity of our choice and we thought, what better way to show our appreciation for teachers than donating money to an education based charity of their choice? So that’s what we’re doing.

 

How It Works…

Any time we use our credit card at a Toodalu partnered establishment, 5% of the expense will be directly donated to a charity of our choice.

  • We have also linked our personal credit cards to Toodalu, and will donate those returns to the same charity.

How Do You Get Involved?

We’ve created a GoSoapBox event and have listed a few education based charities to get the ball rolling.

  • Vote for one of the charities already listed, or add in your own!
  • We have the opportunity to donate to any charity we choose. Feel free to add any education based charity around the world… just make sure to include enough info.
  • At the end of next week we will link our credit cards to the charity that has the most votes.

Teachers play one of the most important, and perhaps under appreciated roles in our world and we’re excited about this opportunity to give a little back. We don’t want to limit the voting to GoSoapBox users, so feel free to share the information with any other teachers in your life.

Thanks for all you do,

John & Dave

 

Monday 4/23 Update

Over the weekend we rolled out a truckload of updates which we think you’ll enjoy. As always, we’re going to continue rolling out new updates, so continue sending us your feedback!

 

  • Everything on the Event Page now refreshes in real-time.
  • New styling for buttons.
  • Students can now review and change their Quiz responses before submitting their final answers.

  • Discussions can now be locked/unlocked on demand.
  • “Quick Manage” lock / unlock  buttons have been added for convenience (you no longer have to click into a poll or quiz to lock / unlock it).

  • Images can be optionally added to Polls and Quizzes.

  • Histogram display format option added for Polls

  • High-resolution icons added for the benefit of teachers and students using retina display iPads.

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