Teaching With Virtual Business Virtual Business Personal Finance Melissa A. Garcia Irene Saenz
Virtual Business Personal Finance O Virtual Business-Personal Finance is a personal finance and life skills curriculum that is centered around a highly visual computer simulation. O It is ideal for teaching personal finance, finance financial literacy, life skills and career skills.
Virtual Business Personal Finance O This 3-minute video will give you a quick overview of Virtual Business Personal Finance. O http://www.knowledgematters.com/product http // kno ledgematters com/prod ct s/vbpf/
Virtual Business Personal Finance O There are three steps to using Virtual Business-Personal Finance in your classroom. O Students can work on the following steps individually or in groups of 2 to 3 students per computer. O Step 1: Lessons O Step 2: New Career Project O Step 3: Multiplayer Competitions
Step 1: Lessons O Each E h llesson begins b i with ith a reading di assignment on a specific topic, e.g. credit cards. The reading assignments are followed b written by itt assignments. i t After Aft the th students t d t finish the written assignments they move on to the computer portion of the lesson. O This gives your students hands-on experience with the concept they were readingg about, while also providingg trainingg for the next step in the curriculum, The New Career Project.
Lessons O 18 Lessons (2 class periods per lesson) O 4 to 6 p pages g of readingg p per lesson O 2 to 4 written assignments per lesson O Computer exercise with worksheet for each lesson O Multiple choice quiz
Sample Lesson
Sample Lesson Con t.
Key Terms &Written Exercises
Computer Exercise
Student Tutorial O http://help.knowledgematters.com/vbpf1/h elp/index.htm
Required Lessons O You Y should h ld not let l students d attempt the h New N Career C Project or the Multiplayer Competitions unless they have completed the following lessons: O Required Lessons: Lesson 1 Time Management & Health Lesson 2 Finding a Job Lesson 3 Budgeting & Saving Lesson 4 Finding an Apartment
Step 2: New Career Project O Students are put in the position of a high school graduate who must make their way up p in the world. Theyy are in charge g of all aspects of their person s life including finding a job, getting an apartment, getting and managing a checking account, account getting a credit card, saving money, getting an education, dealing with taxes, investing in the h stock k market, k buying b i a home, h and d more.
New Career Project O As they become more successful, they move O O O O to new levels which present additional opportunities and challenges. challenges Approximately 15 class periods for completion 3 levels of advancement Questions and worksheet for each level Multiple choice quiz
S Sample: New Career Project l N C P j
New Career Project Levels Level 1: Goal Net worth of $25,000 to get to Level 2. Level 2: Goal Net worth of $100,000 to get to Level 3. Level 3: Goal Maximize your net worth.
Step 3: Multiplayer Competitions O Students compete in the same simulated city to see who can attain the highest net worth. O A network is required to run multiplayer competitions. competitions O This is a very exciting and motivating format for most students.
Multiplayer Competitions O Approximately 5 class periods for completion. O Up to 15 teams per session. Multiple session i can b be run simultaneously. i lt l O Scoreboard shows results.
Multiplayer Action Journals O During the multiplayer competitions students run their businesses all within the same simulated region. You, the educator, automatically get a journal comparing the performance of each team complete with a log of all the actions taken by each team. The teacher scoreboard shows the scores of individual students as they fight it out to see who will have the leading team.
Teacher Training Videos O Virtual Business-Personal Finance comes with Internet-based videos that walk you through each lesson, the New Career Project, and Multiplayer Competition setup. O Teacher Training videos are also available online. O http://www.knowledgematters.com/vbvideol inks/personalfinance/onlinebanking/online Banking.html
Optional Assessment CD O Quiz Generator generates hardcopy quizzes with questions based on all the different lesson. lesson O Questions are based on both the written material and computer exercise portions of the lessons. Features include: O Savable quizzes for future reuse O Easy drag and drop quiz creation O Question bank with hundreds of questions O Ability Abilit tto add dd your own custom t questions ti tto the th question bank O Color coded correct and incorrect answers on screen O Printable preview of quizzes O Multiple version quizzes with random ordered questions O Printable answer keys for all quizzes
Banking & Financial Services
State Standards
National Standards
The H&R Block Dollars and Sense National Challenge is an opportunity for DECA members to demonstrate their financial literacy. In this challenge students compete t online li ffor more th than $50,000 $50 000 iin college ll g scholarships. In addition, the top four teams will receive a $1,000 classroom grant. And, H&R Block will also help subsidize travel cost to the ICDC for all fi li t tteams. finalist The H&R Block National Challenge is based on Virtual Business - Personal Finance. If your school d does nott own Virtual Vi t l Business B i - Personal P l Finance, Fi a free competition version of the software is available for download following registration.
O H&R Block Partnership VBPF is the central curriculum of the H&R Block Dollars & Sense national financial fitness program. Knowledge Matters and H&R Block are working together to create a new generation of financially fit Americans, teens who are ready for whatever the real world throws at them. O The Educator's Choice The Virtual Business family of simulations is now in over 5000 schools across the United States. Their simulations are built with educators in mind and are always correlated to state and national standards as well as leading textbooks. Virtual Business is the choice of key players in business, marketing, and economic education including Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, DECA, and FBLA. Virtual Business Personal Finance has been nominated for a Distinguished Achievement Award by th Association the A i ti off Ed Educational ti lp Publishers bli h (AEP) (AEP).
T h T i Teacher Testimonial i l O Using Virtual Business - Personal Finance turned out to be the highlight of the class for all of my students, regardless of gender, academic level or interest in personal finance. Not only did the students get excited about its game like atmosphere they became energized about atmosphere, learning the financial concepts contained in the simulation. My students got a feel of the emotions one might experience if a diploma was earned, or a promotion was granted, or fined for late payment of taxes, or if their apartment was robbed - all from the safety of the computer lab. I wanted to offer an experience in class that would make my students aware of how to manage their own financial lives. Melissa A. Garcia Business Teacher
Student Testimonials It has taught me the realistic nature of what it s like to be an adult and be responsible for personal finances. -Anastacia Hernandez Using this simulation is the best way to learn time management skills and we have fun while doing it! -J.J. Villegas
Student Testimonials It has helped me by informing me of how life will be in the future and also how to manage my money and my schedule. I do enjoy using it in class because it is interesting and fun. -Everardo Everardo Suarez The simulation will prepare you for the real world. It teaches you how to pay bills and helps you to manage your time wisely. -Frankie Cavazos
Any Questions? O For additional information, please contact me: Melissa A. Garcia Mission High School Business Education Teacher magarc37@mcisd.org