BizzyB is a first-of-its-kind innovation platform that connects students, parents, educators, curriculum authors, contest producers, education institutions and employers into a powerful innovation and entrepreneurial online community. Our goal: deliver a new education paradigm that offers employer-demanded life skill training in a project-based learning, innovation & entrepreneurial mindset environment.

Applications

BizzyB is designed to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in the following contexts:

• • Education: STEM curriculum + Soft Skills training via hands-on project-based learning for students ages 13 and up.
  • Incubators: A backbone system for maker spaces, incubators, accelerators, co-work and other business help centers.
  • Internships: A project assignment and management platform to monitor and mentor internship projects.
  • Entrepreneurship: A concept development, pitch development and business planning tool for inventors and entrepreneurs.
  • Contests: Online challenge events featuring awards and prizes. Includes business plan contests and hackathons.
  • Influencers & Authors: A publication platform for “how-to” YouTubers and curriculum authors of project-based learning experiences.
  • Research: An innovation and entrepreneurship data model for academic research.

Education Model

BizzyB is the result of a three-year grant by The Larry & Helen Hoag Foundation to create an online student innovation and entrepreneurship platform. Over 3 years, design research included studying innovative learning processes with MIT’s LaunchX (a high school feeder program to MIT) and the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Center on Disability Studies. Education theories and approaches explored and employed in the design of BizzyB include:

• • STEM, STEAM & STREAM
  • Project-, Problem-, & Innovation-Based Learning
  • Inquiry-Based Learning
  • 21st Century “Soft Skills” Theory & Assessment
  • Learning Management Theory & Systems
  • Digital & Collaborative Education
  • Design-Thinking
  • Game & Engagement Theory
  • Post-Secondary Recruitment
  • Mentorship, Internship & Career Pathways
  • Child Identity Security Policy & Laws
  • Fair & Equal Access
  • Needs of Under-Serve & At-Risk Children

As an education model, BizzyB is a digital hands-on Project-Based Learning platform that combines the following:

• • Embedded STEM: delivers STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) content in an applied fashion so students can directly apply STEM learnings and thereby understand content relevancy. STEM content is embedded in multiple BizzyB locations including Factoids (a section within project templates that presents reference knowledge in an engaging and easy to skim format) and Lessons (optional how-to exercises that are referenced from project templates).
  • Embedded Soft Skills Training: delivers employer demand skills training including 4Cs (creativity, critical-thinking, collaboration and communication skills), leadership, social and emotional intelligence and team-building through “C Suite” team member roles (CEO, CTO, CMO, CSO and CFO) that parallel BizzyB’s 5 Themes of Innovation.
  • Soft Skill Assessments: delivers VIBE, EIS, 4Cs, SEL, MTC and Snapshot soft skill assessments to give users personal soft skills insights. While education has always measured STEM proficiency skills, Soft Skills have not previously been measured, despite employer demand for Soft Skills.
  • Innovation & Entrepreneurial Mindset: activates ideas and relationships to foster career pathways in the form of higher learning, internships, jobs and new business launches.

Concept Banking

At the heart of BizzyB is a journaling system that disciplines the development of 5 Themes of Invention to yield strong and comprehensive innovation concepts. A template system offers selection of contextual tips, examples and just-in-time resources. Through this process, users learn foundational STEM content and professional writing skills while learning team-building and management skills as they create innovation and entrepreneurial projects. Additional features such as skills assessment, mentoring and challenge authoring are built around this core.

User Privacy

BizzyB is extremely vigilant in protecting user information. A same of key privacy provisions include:

• We don’t sell data.
• Users can delete or mask identity content at any time: This includes features for guardians of students to mask or delete respective student’s identity content.
• FERPA and COPPA Conformance: We observe student privacy laws.

See detailed privacy descriptions and provisions at Privacy Policy »

Soft Skill Assessments

BizzyB includes a number of creative skill assessments to aide team-building, self-improvement curriculum and career planning including:

• • VIBE® Creativity Skills & Aspirations: measures 12 creative cycle skills both existing and aspired to generate a user’s personal creative skill profile. Each user is assigned a primary creative archetype of Visionary, Inventor, Builder or Explorer, hence the “VIBE” acronym.
  • EIS™ Entrepreneurship & Innovation Skills: measures skills related to 5 essential themes of innovation.
  • 4Cs, SEL, MTC, SnapShot: measure existing “Soft Skill” dimensions favored by the education industry.

Assessments are currently derived through pre- and post-intervention self-evaluation surveys. Next-phase measurements will utilize user behavior from activity within BizzyB Concept Bank to create user insights and evaluation.

Technology

BizzyB leverages Bizgenics® Innovation Framework (a business topics standard that makes entrepreneurship and innovation easy and accessible to all) and Bizgenics® HaccUp™ (a social venture application accelerator that features SaaSms™ Platform).