Teaching With Virtual BusinessVirtual Business‐Personal Finance

Melissa A. Garcia Irene Saenz

Virtual Business‐Personal Finance

O Virtual Business-Personal Finance is apersonal finance and life skills curriculumthat is centered around a highly visualcomputer simulation.

O It is ideal for teaching personal financeO It is ideal for teaching personal 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 // kno ledgematters com/prod ctO http://www.knowledgematters.com/products/vbpf/

Virtual Business‐Personal FinanceO There are three steps to using Virtual O There are three steps to using Virtual

Business-Personal Finance in your classroom.

O Students can work on the following steps O Students can work on the following steps individually or in groups of 2 to 3 students per computer.

O Step 1: LessonsO Step 2: New Career ProjectO Step 2: New Career ProjectO Step 3: Multiplayer Competitions

Step 1: LessonsE h l b i ith diO Each lesson begins with a readingassignment on a specific topic, e.g. creditcards. The reading assignments are followedb itt i t Aft th t d tby written assignments. After the studentsfinish the written assignments they move onto the computer portion of the lesson.

O This gives your students hands-onexperience with the concept they werereading about, while also providing trainingg g gfor the next step in the curriculum, The NewCareer Project.

LessonsO 18 Lessons (2 class periods per lesson)O 4 to 6 pages of reading per lessonp g g pO 2 to 4 written assignments per lessonO Computer exercise with worksheet for each

lessonO Multiple choice quiz

Sample Lesson

Sample Lesson Con’t.

Key Terms &Written Exercises

Computer Exercise

Student TutorialO http://help.knowledgematters.com/vbpf1/H

elp/index.htm

Required LessonsY h ld l d h N C O You should not let students attempt the New Career 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 ApartmentLesson 4 Finding an Apartment

Step 2: New Career ProjectO Students are put in the position of a high

school graduate who must make their wayup in the world. They are in charge of allp y gaspects of their person’s life includingfinding a job, getting an apartment, gettingand managing a checking account getting aand managing a checking account, getting acredit card, saving money, getting aneducation, dealing with taxes, investing inh k k b i h dthe stock market, buying a home, and more.

New Career ProjectO As they become more successful, they move

to new levels which present additional opportunities and challengesopportunities and challenges.

O Approximately 15 class periods for completion

O 3 levels of advancementO Questions and worksheet for each levelO Multiple choice quiz

S l  N  C  P jSample: New Career Project

New Career Project LevelsLevel 1: Goal Net worth of $25,000 to get to Level 2.

Level 2: GoalNet worth of $100,000 to get to Level 3.

Level 3: GoalMaximize 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 competitionscompetitions.

O This is a very exciting and motivating format for most students.

Multiplayer CompetitionsO Approximately 5 class periods for O Approximately 5 class periods for

completion.O Up to 15 teams per session. Multiple

i b i lt lsession can be run simultaneously.O Scoreboard shows results.

Multiplayer Action Journals

O During the multiplayer competitionsstudents run their businesses all within thesame simulated region. You, the educator,automatically get a journal comparing theperformance of each team complete with aperformance of each team complete with alog of all the actions taken by each team.The teacher scoreboard shows the scores ofindividual students as they fight it out to seeindividual students as they fight it out to seewho will have the leading team.

Teacher Training VideosO Virtual Business-Personal Finance comes

with Internet-based videos that walk youthrough each lesson, the New CareerProject, and Multiplayer Competition setup.

O Teacher Training videos are also availableO Teacher Training videos are also availableonline.

O http://www.knowledgematters.com/vbvideolinks/personalfinance/OnlineBanking/OnlineBanking.html

Optional Assessment CDOptional Assessment CDO Quiz Generator generates hardcopy quizzes with

questions based on all the different lesson questions based on all the different 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

Abilit t dd t ti t th O Ability to add your own custom questions to the question bank

O Color coded correct and incorrect answers on screen O Printable preview of quizzes 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

t li f th $50 000 i ll g compete online for more than $50,000 in college 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 t finalist teams.

The H&R Block National Challenge is based on Virtual Business - Personal Finance. If your school d t Vi t l B i P l Fi does not own Virtual Business - Personal Finance, a free competition version of the software is available for download following registration.

O H&R Block PartnershipVBPF is the central curriculum of the H&R Block Dollars & Sensenational 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 ChoiceThe 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 A i ti f Ed ti l P bli h (AEP) the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP).

T h  T i i lTeacher TestimonialO Using Virtual Business - Personal Finance turned

out to be the highlight of the class for all of myout to be the highlight of the class for all of mystudents, regardless of gender, academic level orinterest in personal finance. Not only did thestudents get excited about its game likeatmosphere they became energized aboutatmosphere, they became energized aboutlearning the financial concepts contained in thesimulation. My students got a feel of the emotionsone might experience if a diploma was earned, ora promotion was granted, or fined for late paymentof taxes, or if their apartment was robbed - all fromthe safety of the computer lab. I wanted to offer anexperience in class that would make my studentsexperience in class that would make my studentsaware of how to manage their own financial lives.

Melissa A. GarciaBusiness Teacher

Student TestimonialsIt has taught me the realistic nature of what it’s like to be an adult and be responsible for personal finances.

Using this simulation is the best way to learn time management skills and we have fun while -Anastacia Hernandez 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 Suarez

The simulation will prepare you for the realworld. It teaches you how to pay bills andhelps you to manage your time wisely.

-Frankie CavazosEverardo Suarez

Any Questions?O For additional information, please contact

me:Melissa A. Garcia

Mission High SchoolBusiness Education Teacher

magarc37@mcisd.org