Home Smart 100 2010 Cursions – the online resource database for Australian teachers (SMART 100)

Cursions – the online resource database for Australian teachers (SMART 100)

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The following SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity. More about the SMART 100.

This innovation initially came to life when…

We have spent almost fifteen years working in the Victorian education sector, teaching everything from Outdoor Education to Science to History to Geography. We have seen firsthand the increasing frustration felt by many teachers trying to find the best educational opportunities for their students, and how this was matched by an inability by many providers to successfully advertise their products to schools. Having identified a big gap in the market, we looked around at the technology available, decided upon ones and zeros as our medium, and after many sleepless nights and cups of coffee — Cursions was born!

WHAT & HOW

The purpose of this innovation is to…

Be THE one-stop-shop for Australian teachers when planning school activities. Whether designing a school camp, an excursion or simply a classroom activity, our aim is to help teachers find the best solution for both themselves and their students.

It does this by…

Allowing teachers to search a database using specific criteria such as year level, curriculum, and location to find relevant activities and resources throughout Australia. Be it zoos, aquariums, sports grounds or outdoor education providers that offer anything from hiking to surfing to canoeing to bike riding to abseiling — we offer Australia’s largest searchable database of school activities and resources.

PURPOSE & BENEFITS

This innovation improves on what came before because…

While it is tempting to delve into the world of banner ads and special promotions in search of a quick profit, we have deliberately steered away in favour of a clean, uncluttered website that teachers can navigate with ease. It’s an even marketing platform for each of our clients such that everyone has an equal slice of the pie.

Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…

That at the drop of a hat our clients can change content, view their own stats, see which listings are garnering the most attention (and which ones aren’t) and rewrite them as they see fit. We’re service freaks, not control freaks!

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

In the past, this problem was solved by…

Mailouts to schools, filling teachers’ pigeonholes with rubbish to the point that nothing worthwhile was able to reach them. The only other alternative was to advertise in traditional print media such as magazines destined for staffroom tables in the hope that the right teacher would somehow stroll in and magically flip to the right page and find an advertisement.

Its predecessors/competitors include…

A range of fantastic traditional print mediums, that unfortunately (for them) just got lost amongst the sheer volume of words and advertisements and pages that clog up staffroom tables and teachers’ pigeonholes across the country.

TARGET MARKET

It is made for…

10,000 schools, 160,000 teachers, 3,300,000 students…that’s one hell of a market. And it’s not ever going to get any smaller. If we can help make Australian education better by providing teachers with quality resources for their students — and turn a profit at the same time — then this is success for us. There is a whole world of schools and students out there, matched by an immeasurable number of quality resources, and we aim to connect with them all.

DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY

It is available for sale through…

The Internet at absolutely no cost to teachers. It’s there when they want it, at the expense of providers who have a genuine product and are keen to promote it via our services. An online billboard, so to speak.

Our marketing strategy is to…

It’s ironic — we exist because of the traditional print medium and its failure to deliver, so we ourselves avoid it like the plague. We work within existing teacher networks throughout Australia (e.g., industry events) as well as an increasing emphasis on social media such as Facebook.

SUPPORTING IMAGES AND/OR VIDEO

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THIS INNOVATION

While the judging is now officially over, you can still show your support for this innovation in one of the following three ways:

  1. Hit the VOTE UP button: Top left of each page (Not available for IE users)
  2. Trigger a Reaction: Re-Tweet, Like on Facebook, etc.
  3. Leave a Comment: Share the love!

To check out the Anthill SMART 100 Readers’ Choice winner for 2010, click here.