Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:Our original target audience included rural K-12 STEM students, their families, and teachers. Just prior COVID-19, we sought and were approved to pivot our technology and services to address the adults from rural communities seeking entry into the workforce. More specifically, these job seekers are attempting to find gainful employment through work-from-home opportunities among companies the likes of Hilton, Kelly Services, U-Haul, and Amazon to name a few. These types of jobs are especially important in rural communities as they offer job opportunities to those that may face geographical isolation and/or reside in communities that offer relatively few career opportunities. These jobs include an added benefit as their salaries represent new money, often from out of state, coming into rural regions. This is especially important as the communities like those we serve in Eastern Kentucky, have poverty and unemployment rates that have been between two and three times the U.S. average for nearly six decades. The massive decline of the coal industry not only affected the economy of Appalachia but has indirectly caused an increase in substance abuse disorder (SUD). The opioid epidemic further exacerbated these economic losses, but the COVID-19 pandemic presented a perfect storm that has further decimated so many Appalachian communities. Given the gravity of situation, we decided to make another transition and are currently working on a collaborative effort with a nationally renowned non-profit organization, the Fletcher Group, at seven long-term recovery centers that they service in eastern Kentucky. We recently received a grant from Kentucky's Cabinet for Economic Development (KYCED) to assist with this endeavor. Our efforts to better assist those in recovery will soon extend to more than 100 of the predominantly rural substance use disorder (SUD) recovery centers that the Fletcher Group currently serve in twelve states. Our current product and services are designed to improve the general communication and interview skills among SUD clients at these centers. These adults represent a highly diverse population based on their education levels, prior work experience, and legal histories. We are also conducting customer discovery interviews with 2nd chance employers, labor boards, workforce development groups, regional healthcare providers, local court systems, etc. as our overall objective is to establish an interactive employment forum specifically catered to the fair chance employment labor pool. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Shortly after making the pivot towards workforce development, we applied for and were accepted into the inaugural cohort for a small business accelerator - Invest 606. This non-profit has a mission to catalyze business growth in the Appalachian region of Kentucky serviced by area code 606. In addition to valuable training and a host of resources, our participation in Invest 606 led to numerous press releases and participation in their culminating pitch competition which was broadcasted online due to concerns with COVID-19. After participating in a different pitch competition sponsored by a small business accelerator in Lexington hosted by Awesome Inc, PI Stuckey was contacted by their Fellowship Director and was subsequently accepted into their 12-month program. Benefits of this program included access to a large variety of mentors from various industries, access to free services that included accounting, marketing, web development and legal services. Additional perks included numerous media releases and participation in a highly publicized podcast. Shortly after receiving the fellowship, Inquiry Technologies was also accepted into a pre-seed accelerator sponsored by Launch Blue - a small business accelerator sponsored by the University of Kentucky. This program, combined with the subsequent incubator program that we are currently participating in, has posted numerous press releases and continues to reach out on our behalf to initiate various connections to business leaders in related fields in and around the Lexington community. Launch Blue has also been of assistance in putting us in touch with key personnel at the university that are involved with substance use disorder, especially as it relates to impoverished communities such as those we serve in eastern Kentucky. Although the pandemic has limited the number of in-person conferences and trade shows that we have been able to attend, we were able to host a booth at a regional economic development conference sponsored by Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) hosted in Corbin, KY in October 2021. The longstanding conference set a record with over 1,500 attendees and more than 100 exhibitors. Our booth was well attended, and we are still following the many leads that came our way during the two-day event. The SOAR Summit also reinitiated interest among their economic ambassadors that we have maintained relationships for several years. For example, the person responsible for servicing small businesses for the county we are headquartered in has connected us with numerous for-profit businesses and non-profit organizations that are committed to helping those in recovery. These entities alone represent hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue and appear eager to learn more about novel approaches that can improve their success rates even further. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The initial purpose of our Phase II R&D was to develop and commercialize technologies that increased student understanding for complex concepts in STEM, provide teachers with a better mechanism for presenting content and generating feedback, and subsequently increase awareness among parents and guardians in rural households as to STEM career and educational opportunities available to their children. As described in detail in our interim technical report, the first task associated with the three objectives related to Phase II were accomplished in our first year of development. We developed a first-of-its-kind communication platform that allowed student users to show their understanding of complex STEM concepts through providing demonstrations of various digital activities captured through video and by simultaneously providing oral explanations regarding their efforts. Teachers used similar a suite of similar tools designed specifically for them to monitor student activity, provide feedback in the form of audio commentary that was layered the individual student videos, and to create brief content videos that discussed students STEM activities or upcoming events. All these products of learning were made available in rural homes online and through portable storage devices that could be carried back and forth to school. Having demonstrated feasibility in Phase I for learning attributes, the majority of our data collection and subsequent analysis centered on the functionality, ease of use, and efficiency at which the platform performed.Students found the technology easy to use with the vast majority being able to start using it effectively with only a few minutes of training. As we continued to test the products performance attributes, new student users to the system were able to login and get started by following a one-page pictorial handout. As anticipated, teachers required more training than students. This was largely due to additional tools enabled for teachers which included an audio feedback tool and access to the user management system. The learning curve for teachers was manageable though as all participating staff members (n=5) were able to navigate the platform and utilize all features. Students found the technology easy to use and highly effective with the digital curricular activities they were engaged with. Parents were also very appreciative for being able to view their children's videos as well as those authored by their teachers. While all the participating teachers were able to create and deliver numerous content videos, most of them displayed some reluctance to using the feedback tool to assess and provide corrective information on individual student performances. A lack of time was expressed as the main concern as each of the middle school science teachers taught more than 100 students throughout the day. One exception came from a highly motivated career and technical education (CTE) teacher that worked exclusively with students at-risk of dropping out in high school. This teacher found several creative ways to use the technology with her students and provided feedback to them on a regular basis. It should be noted that the students she worked with were limited to two classes each of which did not exceed 20 students. Given the interest in CTE, we began exploring the idea with high school teachers and CTE program directors. Many of these individuals expressed a need for technology that could assist with soft-skills development among their students as they felt most were simply not prepared to present themselves in a job interview, scholarship meeting, and other personal discussions that pertained to their career interests. Given the reluctance we were seeing among STEM teachers and understanding that if we could not garnish their full support, regardless of how well students and their parents liked the platform, our commercialization efforts were at a high risk of failing. At this point, we sought and were granted permission to expand the scope of our commercialization efforts to include workforce development groups and other entities that help prepare individuals for various career opportunities. Our approval to make such a pivot was granted largely due to level of interest we obtained from Teleworks USA and their expressed support for assisting their staff with their efforts to train and place rural residents in eastern Kentucky in work-from-home jobs. We had developed an extensive amount of curriculum for the Teleworks USA initiative, had trained their trainers on two separate occasions and made site visits to each of their nine hubs in located in seven deeply rural counties in Kentucky. We were in the final stages of rollout when the fury of COVID-19 hit. Telework's hubs closed almost immediately and schools across the nation shuttered their doors. Initially, we thought that the increased demand for online learning might help our commercialization efforts. We quickly realized that most instructional technology providers assumed a loss for the year and literally gave away their online software at no charge in the hopes of generating new clients that might decide to pay for their services in the following academic year. With the odds stacked against a true startup trying to break into an extremely crowded marketplace with a daunting sales cycle and diminishing resources, we made a strategic decision to shift the majority our commercial endeavors to assisting adults in rural communities with their efforts to achieve gainful employment. Fortunately, we were able to recieve a one-year no-cost extension from USDA.We subsequently adapted the curriculum designed for Teleworks, made a few modifications to the platform and began hosting both online as a paid subscription model, The Job Winner™ (TJW) (www.thejobwinner.com). While excited to launch our first commercially viable product, its presence has drawn little attention to date as competition among companies and institutions delivering online interview skills development flourished since the start of the pandemic. The launch of TJW did spark interest from organizations that we have collaborated with over the years. For example, a director from a long-term supporting partner, the Southeast Kentucky Economic Development Corporation (SKED) while assisting with the search engine optimization for TJW, got a full demonstration of our program. She felt very strongly that our B2C model could be readily adapted to assist residents of recovery programs that are struggling with SUD. She connected us with the Fletcher Group (a non-profit organization, formed under the direction of former KY Governor Ernie Fletcher and his wife Glenna) that supports substance abuse recovery centers located in more than 100 rural locations across twelve states. After providing a demonstration to the Director of Employment Services and a subsequent presentation to their CEO, the Fletcher Group agreed to commit to a pilot project in six of their facilities in eastern Kentucky and one in Lexington. We were able to leverage this collaboration to receive a $125,000 SBIR matching grant from Kentucky's Cabinet for Economic Development for our Phase II efforts. The matching grant continues through June, 2022. At the time of this posting, we are currently in discussion with the Fletcher Group to expand our pilot to a paid model and include a much higher percentage of their centers. We have also gained a great deal of interest from other recovery centers, healthcare institutions, workforce development organizations, and 2ndchance employers. Thus, while the specific audience for our technology and services has shifted over the course of the award period, our emphasis on assisting those residing in rural communities has remained steadfast throughout.

Publications

Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:This reporting period initially focused on an audience that was related directly to K-12 STEM students, their parents/guardians, and teachers in rural public schools. As described in detail in the comprehensive final report that follows, this audience transitioned to include others students and teachers that were involved in career and technical education (CTE). With permission from our program manager at the time, we were able to pivot further to include workforce development groups and other organizations committed to assisting those recovering from substance use disorder (SUD). Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Inquiry Technologies, LLC sought and was granted a one year no-cost extension for the R&D period described by this project. Details of activities that occured after the first year of this award period are described in detail in the Comprehensive Final Report that follows.

Publications

Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19

Outputs
Target Audience:As we have demonstrated clear research results that our technology enables deeper learning and recall, we have been pulled by market demand into the workforce development training industry. Consequently, we will be examining the use of our technology in various Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs within high schools, community colleges, and various organizations associated with registered internships and apprenticeships. To confirm our commercial viability, we have designed pilot projects with these clients that involve real test-case uses along with extendable contracts should the projects yield positive results. Consequently, we will be working with the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP) to implement our technology across eight Teleworks USA hubs involving hundreds of trainees in Eastern Kentucky. The introduction of our technology should lead to improved hiring rates among the trainees as they are able to practice and receive feedback on their skill and interview demonstrations. Many of these trainees have a difficult time acquiring a job because of the lack of professional soft skills, especially during the interviewing process or when conversing with potential clients in an online forum. The result, as the leaders of EKCEP believe, will be more trainees hired into quality jobs upon completion of the Teleworks USA program. Such an extensive study will not only lead to our first revenue stream, but it's success will also open doors among the multitude of workforce development programs that EKCEP and similar programs are associated with. In addition, these efforts will provide evidence of accomplishment that can then be used to introduce our product and services to the corporate partners Teleworks USA is providing training for. These include Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Kelly Connect, Concentrix and Amazon to name a few. Much of the CTE programs in the United States are assisted by a longstanding federal program known as the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 which was recently reauthorized in 2018. Its contribution to CTE programs across the country amounts to roughly $1.3B in 2019. One attractive modification to the Perkins Act is that it now supports "Career Exploration" in grades five through eight. This important change makes our target market in education much more attractive for two reasons. First, its regulatory mechanism includes federal funding for CTE programs and assessment. Second, it adds four more grade levels (5th-8th grades) to the target market, essentially doubling the size of the highest potential market segment. To this end, we are currently negotiating with a CTE Director within a school system that has shown interest in using UniCast™ with eighth grade students in an effort to help them produce "Capstone Projects" that summarize their learning growth over the course of the year. We are also working with two other local school districts to implement our technology in their CTE programs. These initial potential customers have said they would buy our technology should the pilot projects replicate results from our prior studies, which we are confident will happen with matching funding support. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Our primary focus during year one was to develop the technology to the point where it is ready to be properly vetted in the marketplace. Having accomplished most of those tasks, much of our attention during year two will be on implementing the platform in classrooms and among institutions involved with various aspects of workforce development training. To that end, we will be designing a number of training modules and providing professional development within all of the instituions that will be participating in our reseach and among paying clients as they begin to emerge in the near future. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?PI Stuckey presented a conference paper at the National Rural Education Association's (NREA) Annual Convention in Denver on October 12, 2018. The session presented findings from Phase I and outlined the goals and objectives proposed for Phase I research and development. The PI and Dr. Marietta are also active on various councils, boards, and non-profit organizations related to economic development and rural education. Consequently, an informal component of their attendance at meetings sponsored by such organizations involved the dissemination or our research in education and community development. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?As we begin evaluating the software in various educational environments, InqTech will constantly monitor its performance and relay information back to the development team to make improvements to its performance, fix any bugs that appear, and to add or refine any additonal features that may be warranted. Controlled studies will also be performed within our participating school districts to ensure that the positive learning attributes associated with studies involved with the prototype that was implemented in Phase I are also observed when the market ready software is utilized by students and their teachers. We also plan to measure the impact the resulting videos have within rural households with respect to their career and college choices. Finally, as we enter Phase III commercialization, we intend to expand the scope of our target markets to include a much wider audience of individuals and organizations actively involved with workforce development training in communities.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Through this SBIR Phase II award with NIFA/USDA, Inquiry Technologies, LLC (InqTech) is developing a first-of-its-kind communication platform that allows users to show what they know by recording think-out-loud explanations and interactions with content. This digital capture technology builds on pioneering assessment research that finds that people show far more of what they learned or are able to perform through active demonstration than what they can write about. The advent of this technology is especially warranted in rural schools as these students enter school less prepared, consistently perform at lower levels throughout their K-12 experience, are less likely to pursue STEM degrees after high school and/or enter jobs that require a background in science or technology. We also developed an adaptation of our technology for teacher use and have demonstrated value by enabling feedback in new format. When teachers deploy this technology, students obtain feedback through visual and auditory content (video) in lieu of the traditional red ink in a paper's margins. Teachers can also use UniCast™ to easily generate and share informative content videos on related to their day-to-day curriculum. We found that the both the explanatory videos from students and content and feedback videos produced by teachers were extremely well received in rural homes, so much so that the vast majority of parents and guardians reported that they actually learned and retained portions of the STEM curriculum their children were involved with. These digital capture videos also resulted in higher levels of communication among students and their parents/guardians in rural homes. This parental aspect is extremely important as numerous studies have shown that parental influence in rural communities is a dominant factor in determining a student's career pathway beyond high school. The full development and commercialization of this technology will help produce a greater number of rural students that can successfully pursue career and educational opportunities in high-demand areas, including those associated with all USDA program priorities. In addition, increasing opportunities to expand upon a STEM workforce in rural communities will have a positive impact on the specific priorities of the SBA and Congress, including Agriculturally-related Manufacturing Technology and Energy Efficiency and Alternative and Renewable Energy. Our research results have also led to commercial traction in the Career and Technical Education (CTE) field and workforce development sectors. Areas of concentration here include CTE programs conducted at high schools, middle schools, community colleges and technology centers as well within adult programs where emphasis is place on teaching the necessary skills to gain entry into the workforce and/or develop the necessary skills for occupations that are in high demand. Given our successful research results in education and gaining traction in workforce development, we believe that our digital capture software solutions are uniquely designed to address the most pernicious education and workforce training challenges in eastern Kentucky. Rural Appalachia in particular needs additional support due to the higher number of workers with lower levels of educational attainment, little or no prior job experience, previous criminal activity, histories of substance abuse, low literacy levels, and/or a general sense of hopelessness and despair that has come to characterize many communities across our region. Our first and second objectives have been met in terms of technical production as we have fully-functional iterations of our student and teacher digital capture Google Chrome Extension tools. Our extensions are web-based applications that run through a computer's browser, providing access on multiple operating systems and requiring fewer resources from the host computer, thus increasing accessibility. Typically, applications running as an extensions are wholly dependent upon an Internet connection, whereas, our development team was able to develop the digital capture technology to function without requiring access to the Internet. This represents a rarity among browser-based applications of its type and the breakthrough with our technology will significantly lessen effects of the digital divide, especially within rural homes that lacking access to the Internet. We were also able to code UniCast to capture video that resides outside of the browser thus allowing functionality with any document, program, service, etc. that can be run on the host computer. We included a feature in the teacher version that allows audio input from an instructor to be dubbed over the original audio recorded in a student-authored digital capture video. When the teacher completes their spoken feedback, audio levels associated with the original recording return to their normal levels. The management component needed in K12 education is currently being integrated with UniCast and offers levels of support and oversite rights that vary with each user type. Items that can be controlled through this hierarchical system include account creation, license distribution, video quality settings, default password options, and the capacity to monitor student activity and control their access to the system. Evaluation of both products in authentic educational settings is slated to begin in the fall of 2019. Our third technical objective was to develop a separate file management system, housed on a USB flash drive that would allow for seamless transfer of digital capture files between rural homes lacking access to the Internet and the classroom. When we submitted our Phase II application, it was not seemingly possible to allow for offline recording with an application designed to function as a Chrome extension. But given our current state of development, the capacity to record offline makes the need for a third-party, portable hardware device somewhat obsolete for the following reasons. A growing number of school districts that have one-to-one initiatives where each student is issued some type of computing device, are allowing those devices to stay with the student as they travel to and from school. In this situation, a portable storage device simply is needed as students without connectivity at home can still record digital capture videos, save the files locally on that device, and transfer them once regain a Wi-Fi connection and/or access to the local area network at the school. Not having to issue portable storage devices not only makes our product more affordable, but eliminates many of the risks associated with loss and/or damage to these small devices. In addition, having no dependency upon flash-drives that travel to and from the home helps reduce the risk of virus's and or mal-ware being introduced within the district's network infrastructure. Therefore, we have decided to re-evaluate the full development of the flash drive initiative and will render a decision during the second or third quarter of Year Two.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 2018 National Forum to Advance Rural Education 110th NREA Convention and Research Symposium October 11-13, 2018 Denver, Colorado Findings from USDA SBIR Phase I Study: SCICAST: Stimulating Community Involvement by Cultivating Screencast Technologies Scott E. Stuckey, Ed.D. Principal Investigator / Chief Technology Officer Inquiry Technologies, LLC London, Kentucky This work is supported by an SBIR Phase II grant no. 2018-33610-28626 / proposal no. 2018-03193 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.