Kizuna Speech Intro by John Ternieden I first met Henry Lis-ow-ski while volunteering with our Church in Western

Africa. My immediate reaction to his behavior was quite simple. I thought he was a little weird. He was also a genius. Most of what he said was so far over my head I could only nod and smile. Im sure he saw right through my expressions, but he was kind enough to never point them out. We quickly became good friends and upon returning to school at Brigham Young University we decided to room together for a few months. During that time I saw even clearer how smart Henry was. While I was out playing sports or trying to read my textbooks through osmosis, Henry was hard at work on his computer. Programming. Fixing. Whatever it was, he would do it quickly and often. It was another language to me, but Henry spoke it fluently. I was confident Henry would achieve great things and help many, many people in the process. It now looks as if my prophesy is coming true. Henry has been hard at work to grow his business, Kizuna Education, for the past six months. He has assembled an impressive team of programmers and teachers, and is entering a number of contests to win the money he needs to get his product in the hands of students. We all wish learning was just a little easier, and Henry and his team are confident in their approach. They believe their idea, coupled with technology, will increase student learning and help prepare students for brighter and more successful futures. Everybody, please welcome Henry Lis-ow-ski.

Henrys Speech Thanks John. I do not know about genius, but weird is an appropriate title. My wife likes to use the same word, though I often remind her that because she married me, she would have to be of the same peculiar persuasion. I would like to thank you all for coming tonight. Like you, I have always been very passionate about education. Aside from the home, schools play a more important role in shaping a childs future than any other institution I can think of. Therefore, it is imperative that it is done with care, and that it is done correctly. I have a tremendous amount of respect for teachers. This is mainly because teachers have had to put up with troublemakers like me. Yet their patience and persistence have helped me learn many important lessons and grow to become better than I once was. I would like to thank all you teachers who consistently make a difference in the lives of those in your classrooms. The world needs more people like you. However, it is no secret that our educational system is facing some difficult problems. We have growing class sizes, limited resources and there are just not enough hours in a day to reach every individual need. As a result, there are some students, who despite our very best efforts, seem to fall through the cracks. We cannot let this continue. Last month, there was an article that appeared in the Washington Post stating how S-A-T scores, which gauge the ability of college-bound teens to read, answer questions about
sentence structure, understand vocabulary and demonstrates math proficiency, reached a

four decade low. This is in despite of record high levels of spending in education. It does not

take a genius to recognize this equation of high spending and poor results does not make sense. Something in the system just is not working. The blame itself cannot really fall on anyone. While we love to point fingers, this problem is not as simple as money, policies or course material. Teachers work as hard as they can to meet all the needs in the classroom. Students try and balance school, work, social lives and everything else thrown at them. Finally, parents do a very good job encouraging their kids. So what is missing? It is our belief that the problem resides with HOW students learn and the actions currently being taken to correct misunderstood material. Essentially, learning is individual. You cannot learn for someone else. Every student must learn the material, and each student has their own way of going about this. However, because most teaching is done in a collective environment, the needs of many students are not met, primarily because whatever style of teaching being used does not necessarily work for them. The problem worsens as we consider if students never fully grasp a particular lesson or principle, later concepts that rely on this previous lesson are much more complicated and can never be fully understood. We call this a breakdown, or gap, in learning. This breakdown results in students who feel continually overwhelmed and who just cannot seem to progress in their studies. We believe this could be the reason why many children seem to do very, very well early on in a particular subject, like math, but end up struggling in high school. Somewhere along their educational pathway they misunderstood something, and as a result, they had challenges understanding everything that came afterwards.

So the obvious question is, how do we fix this? We believe that our approach at Kizuna Education holds the answer. We believe very strongly that learning does not have to be difficult. That is why we have developed an approach that is tailored to each individual student, and to their specific needs. Here is how it works. As students answer questions programmed on their own Kizuna tablet computer, the program records their answers and detects those breakdowns, or gaps in learning that we discussed earlier. Instead of giving students question after question to correct a current principal that conceptually they do not understand, Kizuna goes back to previous concepts and identifies the students misunderstandings in those earlier lessons. Kizuna can then provide students with specific and customized lessons and questions that address their specific needs before moving back along the path back to the current lesson or concept being taught. Essentially, we are fixing the root of the problem, instead of focusing on the leaves. Let me use an example to help you visualize what Kizuna does. If youd come back with me to high school for a moment, and visit your math teacher, you may remember lessons on functions. If you do not remember what functions are, maybe the term F at X will ring a bell. In order to understand these functional problems, a student NEEDS to understand multiplication. So, instead of giving dozens of questions about functions to help a struggling student, Kizuna would correct multiplication and then move on to functions. Additionally, this ensures that students fully understand material, instead of memorizing and regurgitating information which may or may not prove understanding. Everything we are taught within disciplines is interconnected, like our multiplication and function example. At Kizuna, we are working to create a map of interconnected ideas and

concepts so everything can be linked together. This will then allow us to determine which concepts rely on others, and better determine the cause of breakdowns in their learning. Another important point I want to emphasize is that Kizuna is NOT meant to replace teachers. It is an educational tool. Current trends in technology are pushing for these improvements. Children and teenagers today are very familiar with technology because of computers, tablets and smart phones. This means that introducing an electronic element to their learning would not only be embraced, but beneficial because so much of their learning is done through digital mediums as it is. Kizuna will help teachers focus their efforts, better understand where and why students are struggling, and then help in lesson preparation. Kizuna will make the lives of teachers and students, much easier. We are very confident in our approach. We have been doing lots of research, including working with Professor Burton at BYU who has done lots of work and investigation into methods of teaching and education in general. Additionally, we have spent time talking with students, teachers and other academic professionals who have all expressed extreme interest in our idea. We have started speaking with a number of schools, including a few charter schools in Draper. Overall, we have heard a resounding voice of support and we are confident Kizuna can help students improve their learning and prepare for brighter and richer futures. Once again, thank you so much for being with us today. Your passion for education has led us to want to help others. We are determined to provide teachers and students with a tool they can truly benefit from. Finally, learning does not have to be hard. It is our goal to make it easier and possible for everyone. Thank you.