Are you a technology lover who needs a way in which to organize all your instructional ideas and tools?

If so, you need to check out LiveBinders (Link: http://www.livebinders.com/)!

With all the resources I collect while publishing this blog, in doing research for my doctoral program, and just the day-to-day resources I collect for instructional and professional development purposes, this is an awesome way in which to collect, organize, and share them with colleagues or students.

Creative ways in which to use LiveBinders for personal finance or social media in the classroom:

1. Create a LiveBinder for your students that contains all the resources, lesson materials, and assignment details for your personal finance class
2. Have students gather financial literacy resources and create a class LiveBinder that can be shared with all students and stored for sharing with future students
3. Use LiveBinders to pool social media activities and lessons as a way to develop a social media learning resource for students

As you can see, the possibilities are endless with LiveBinders! Do you have a unique way in which you have used LiveBinders in your classroom? Share them via a comment to this post or tweet your comments to @MCWhiteOH today. I look forward to hearing what you have to say regarding this unique Web 2.0 resource!

Create a lesson on saving while in college - a must as young people head off to college this fall!

Are your high school students financially ready to head off to college? Do they possess the knowledge and skills to save money that will help them through the next few years? Do they know the tricks needed to keep from going broke before they graduate? You can equip your students with a great deal of information that can benefit them for years to come, putting financial literacy first!

I was inspired to write today's post by an article on AOL Daily Finance entitled "Help Your Kids Save While They're Still in School" (Link: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/11/02/help-your-kids-save-while-theyre-still-in-school/). In this article, the author gives several helpful hints on how a college student can save incrementally and overcome several financial woes that can be thrown at him or her. I have put a few of these helpful hints together here to help spark some teaching ideas for personal finance educators:

• Students need to open a savings account early and regular make contributions, even if only a few dollars
• Set short-term savings goals (i.e., How much would you like to have saved in six months? In one year?)
• While studying is important, students should take a part-time job where possible to help supplement their income and also allow them to regularly contribute to their savings
• Find other ways to earn a little extra money, like tutoring other students, giving lessons, or even selling all those unneeded items randomly collected on eBay
• Find ways to avoid the common money pitfalls. For example, instead of buying Starbucks every morning before class, buy an inexpensive coffee pot and make coffee in the dorm every morning - a student can save hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars a year just from this one tip!
• Set limits on spending. For examples, avoid overspending on clothes, shoes, or other such items - although it may feel like it, a young person does not need every dress, pair of shoes, sunglasses, or outfit that he or she just "absolutely loves" - impulse buying can drain one's savings very quickly

These are just a few of things college students can do to navigate their college years and come out financially sound. Be sure you are equipping your personal finance students with these necessary tips--although they may not fully understand them now, they will thank you later for helping them become financially savvy!

Do you have additional college savings tips you share with your students? If so, share them here today so everyone can gain new ideas!

Financial literacy and politics - making a meaningful marriage!

Financial literacy education and politics have not always made a productive marriage. Educators and politicians often have differing views of what is and isn't important to our nation's children, especially in areas outside the common core of English language arts (reading and writing), mathematics, social studies, and science. Teachers of elective subjects, including personal finance, have been fighting this battle for several years now as they lobby for their state and for the federal government to recognize personal finance education as a required core learning component.

On Tuesday, September 4, 2012, in conjunction with the Council on Economic Education, politicians, educators, business professionals, and members of the larger community will come together in Charlotte, NC at the Democratic National Convention at a Financial Literacy Policy Luncheon to discuss which states are closing the gap in financial literacy and which states yet have a ways to go (Link: http://www.councilforeconed.org/events/financial-literacy-policy-luncheons/). A similar program took place at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, FL on Monday, August 27, 2012 as well.

Events such as this are critical to the success and future growth of financial literacy initiatives. All educators must lobby their state and U.S. representatives and senators to ensure the voice of financial literacy and personal finance education is heard loud and clear. Organizations such as the Council for Economic Education (http://www.councilforeconed.org/) and the National Business Education Association (http://www.nbea.org/), plus numerous other content area teaching professional organizations are investing tirelessly in ensuring that personal finance education becomes a required educational component for all American children.

I encourage each and every one of you to contact your representatives and urge their support on this national issue. Plus, if you happen to be in the Charlotte area on Tuesday, September 4th, register to attend the Financial Literacy Policy Luncheon. The more of us that push for political support of financial literacy and personal finance education, the greater chance we have to positively affect the lives of children for generations to come!

Ready for a new school year? Get your social media on, because it is a key to future student success!

I hope everyone is ready for a new school year! Summer vacation is over and this weekend marks the official end of summer, even though by the calendar we still have about three more weeks. That bring me to the subject of social media use in the classroom. We've talked about social media in education extensively, yet I still wonder if teachers have truly embraced this advance in technology.

An article by NBC News' Education Nation entitled "Social Media Belongs in the Classroom" (Link: http://www.educationnation.com/index.cfm?objectid=5DE1F0EE-21AE-11E1-A9BF000C296BA163) discusses the ongoing debate about whether social media truly has a place in classroom instruction. As the article discusses, in a time when social media continues to advance its reach and scope across the business world, there are still teachers, schools, and even districts that ban its use in the classroom believing there is too high a risk in allowing it as an instructional tool. However, one important point that educational writers and bloggers alike continue to address is that not allowing its use in the classroom has the potential of discounting a student's education by not preparing them for the real world in the career(s) he or she will choose later in life. Whether we as teachers like it or not, social media is here to stay and we have a responsibility to engage students in a meaningful way through its use.

Common arguments against its use include:

1. Classroom discussion strengthens students' ability to communicate with one another and prepares them for workplace interaction
2. Students still need to be able to handle written communications properly
3. The use of social media can create classroom risks, such as cheating, bullying of other students, or other inappropriate communications

In fact, it is still fairly commonplace for many schools to block access on the Internet to pages such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. In addition, due to acceptable use policies within schools or districts, teachers have a difficult time developing appropriate lesson materials to include social media use because creating a way in which he or she can communicate with students can be difficult as well.

So, my challenge for today's post is to look for ways in which to develop classroom lessons that include social media activities and encourage students to use social media in other ways than just communicating with friends and family. Throughout this school, you will be provided with a multitude of new teaching ideas and tips on social media in the classroom and I want to hear all of your best tips as well. Together, we can help our students reach new heights in learning while also preparing them responsibly for the technology advances they will continue to be bombarded with throughout their lives.

Happy teaching and welcome back to school!

A conversation with teachers on personal finance education and the economy...

Recently, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke conducted a Teacher Town Hall meeting where he met with approximately 60 teachers from around the nation who teach economics or personal finance. Here is a video recap of the town hall meeting:

As an educator, I believe such interactions with key political and government officials are of utmost importance if we are to ensure key educational programs receive the proper support and funding and lead to better educational outcomes for all Americans.

A special congratulations to Brian Page (@FinEdChat), a fellow blogger and financial literacy educator, who had the distinct honor of attending this town hall meeting and sitting just three seats from Chairman Bernanke to his left! Thank you, Brian, for representing Ohio and all financial literacy educators at this important event.

Stay tuned to Personal Finance and Social Media in Education as we embark on a new school year! I am committed to bringing my followers another year of news, tips, ideas, and professional development opportunities.

Here we go...preparing a presentation on bringing social media into the business classroom!

Well, followers...among all my other activities coming up this fall, I've agreed to present at the 85th Annual Professional Development Conference of OBTA--An Association for Business Technology Educators (http://www.obta-ohio.org). I'll be presenting on ways to bring social media into the business classroom. This presentation will provide information gathered from a recent social media in the classroom study as well as ideas for using social media platforms with students to expand their awareness of social beyond just friends and socialization.

Continuing my summer of professional development, stay tuned to the OBTA Website for more details about "Flying to New Heights with Business Technology Education!" Conference registration is open to all OBTA members and registration information will be available on the website around August 15th.

I hope everyone is having a great summer! I'm looking forward to a new and exciting school year and to sharing many, many more tips and ideas on personal finance education and social media in the classroom!

International Society for Technology in Education - a great professional development opportunity!

Summer is always the time to review your professional development options and to determine your plan for professional development for the upcoming school year. I thought this would be a great opportunity to share more about ISTE, yet another professional organization for technology-minded educators!

If you're not familiar with ISTE, take a few moments to browse their website at http://www.iste.org/. You'll find yourself immersed in the variety of information available to ISTE members. You might even take the leap and join! Membership is comparable in cost to other professional organizations for teachers.

My motto regarding professional development is that the benefits one reaps from membership in any professional organization far outweigh the cost. I frequently find myself in conversation with colleagues who have made the decision not to join or renew their membership in an organization because of the cost involved. As a result, I am often defending my decision to join or renew my membership because of the benefits, real and perceived, that I receive each and every year. Not only do I receive the publications and have the opportunity to attend awesome conferences and events, but I also find the networking and connections to like-minded educators to be exceptional and well worth my small membership dues investment. I look at professional organizations just like I look at technology and its application in the classroom--we must be equally, if not more, prepared than our students and organizations like ISTE help us to be the best we can possibly be.

Professional growth is priceless and staying in tune with technology and its application to education is invaluable. Those teachers who take that extra step to involve themselves in professional development in organizations like ISTE become innovators and leaders in our profession. Be a leader in your classroom and make a pact today to develop your professional development portfolio for the upcoming year!

Are young people today really prepared for the financial challenges that go along with a college education?

Being involved in administration at an institution of higher education, I frequently find myself observing just how unprepared or underprepared young people really are about the financial challenges that will face them when they head off to college.

Students often find themselves overborrowing on college loans and living off the excess funding they receive. In career college settings where the average student age is approximately 26 years old, students even go so far as using excess student loan funding as a source of income to pay living expenses and to take care of everyday needs. To make the picture even more bleak, these sames students see nothing wrong with overextending themselves financially and even hopping school to school to try and increase the availability of funding available to them. Is this really what these young people should be doing? What, if anything, did these young people learn about personal finance education in their younger years?

This is an all too common phenomenon occurring every day in colleges and universities across the country. As educators, we simply must do better to help students better understand the financial challenges ahead. Default rates on student loans are at an all-time high and starting salaries of recent graduates are less and less commensurate with the accumulation of debt with which many graduates embark on their new chosen careers.

With back to school time just around the corner, be sure you build your lesson plans for next school year to include lessons and activities that present college funding options, explain the cost of education, and also prepare young people to deal with the student loan payments that are sure to come upon graduation.

I hope everyone is having a terrific summer thus far and hope you are energizing yourself in preparation for a new year of learning in personal finance education and social media in the classroom!

A great resource for social media news!

On a lazy (and very hot) Sunday morning, I stumbled across a useful website, Social Media Club (Link: http://socialmediaclub.org/). Something that intrigued me about this website was the variety of information it offered. The site offers a blog, a journal, a user newsletter, tips on social media education, and you can even create a local chapter of the Social Media Club--what a great way to bring social media into the classroom!

This site got me thinking about another social media idea--a social media-oriented student organization. Students are already so immersed in the social media generation and having a local school club that offers them both added learning experiences and social interaction with their peers and teachers brings learning full circle into a real-world application. Our students today most likely will be involved in some form or fashion of social media in the course of their future careers. Why not offer them an outlet that helps them develop social media etiquette and develop social media campaigns?

I think there are some real possibilities with this idea! I'm curious what my educator followers have to say about such a club. Is this something that could be implemented fairly simply and be successful? Let me know your thoughts!

A great article discussing Facebook use in the classroom!

In my continuous quest for information about the use of social media in the classroom, I ran across a great article today about the use of Facebook as an educational tool. The article itself raised many questions I found to be critical if we, as educators, intend to make social media work in the classroom. (Link: http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/06/ultimate-guide-to-use-of-facebook-in.html). I will allow you to read on with this article, because today, I am taking a slightly different approach to my post.

One interesting point raised by the author was that little empirical research exists on the use of Facebook, or many other popular social media outlets, as an educational resource in the course of instruction. As a doctoral student and someone interested in furthering the field of educational research, this struck a chord with me. Why is it that we have volumes and volumes of research on other areas of educational interest; however, we so little research on an educational area that is burgeoning?

This is certainly something that we must correct if we are to have factual data to support the ongoing push for technology use and social media in the classroom. As such, I would love to explore some ways in which we can fill this void in the educational research arena. Share your thoughts with me regarding a social media idea that you believe has validity and can produce a reliable study--I would love to partner with one of my readers to conduct a study of this nature!

Let's kick this idea into gear and blow away the research community with a study that will help to validate the future of our profession! Without solid research, the field of education becomes stagnant and we lose the ability to change with the times, so to speak. Educators must unite, explore new social media outlets, and report factual details about the opinions, experiences, and future applicability of this technology as a resource for instruction. I look forward to hearing from you on this exciting topic!

Evaluating technology use in the classroom...an introspective point of view...

I came across a great article this morning from fellow Tweeter, Steven W. Anderson (@web20classroom). The article discussed the effectiveness of evaluating technology use in the classroom when conducting faculty observations (Link: http://www.thethinkingstick.com/evaluating-technology-use-in-the-classroom). Having been in the observer's role in the past, this sparked my interest, especially seeing as how technology has advanced significantly in the classroom in recent years. One of the most notable developments in classroom technology is the use of social media in the classroom as an instructional tool and learning resource.

After reading the article, I became interested in looking at the article's context from a more introspective point of view. I wonder how many of you out there have seen a new technology idea or product and immediately thought, "Wow, this will be great in the classroom with my students!," without effectively evaluating the technology and its applicability to your instructional style or to the lesson(s) to be taught. The article above's author, Jeff Utecht (@jutecht), asked some very pertinent questions in his approach to evaluating technology use in the classroom that I am twisting slightly in order to be used as a self-evaluation of technology:

1. Can the technology be used "Just because it is there?"
2. Does the technology allow teachers/students to do old things in old ways?
3. Does the technology allow teachers/students to do old things in new ways?
4. Does the technology create new and different learning experiences for the students?

Thanks, Jeff, for developing this new thought process for evaluation! These questions, with slight refinement, suit themselves perfectly for allowing teachers to conduct their own self-evaluation of technology before they mistakenly choose something that later turns out to be a dud.

Now, I know you are probably thinking, "Well how do these questions effectively evaluate technology use in the classroom?" I am glad you asked! Here are my thoughts:

1. If your chosen technology tool or idea is heavily weighted in the "Just because it is there" direction, you might think twice before using it in the classroom. "Just because it is there" is often a sign that there is little more value in the tool or idea than just passing novelty.
2. If your chosen technology tool or idea allows you or your students simply to do old things the same way you've always done them, again, think twice before implementing this tool or idea. After all, as educators, are we not trying to encourage our students to move beyond the mundane and repetitive ways of learning to think outside the box?
3. Now, if you have selected a technology tool or idea that allows you and your students to do old things in new ways, we are definitely getting warmer! Continue to explore the tool or idea and be sure you fully understand the technology, then give it a test run. You may have just found a new best friend in the classroom.
4. Finally, if the technology tool or idea you have become enamored with creates new and different learning experiences for your students, then you have a winner! Again, be sure you fully embrace the tool or idea before rolling it out in the classroom; however, tools and idea that produce this response and to which you are fully vested are most likely to produce results that you, your students, your school administrators, and even parents appreciate.

In addition to reviewing technology tools and ideas, this same, simple evaluation process can be employed to evaluate social media resources for their applicability to classroom instruction and learning.

I hope you each find this post to be a valuable addition to your evaluation arsenal! Be sure to let me know if you find a new technology or social media tool or idea that you have evaluated using this approach and share how you have subsequently use the selected tool or idea. I look forward to hearing some great ideas from you all!

Financial literacy and healthcare coverage...

A recent case of the shingles got me thinking about financial literacy and
understanding the importance of healthcare coverage and related healthcare costs. My shingles bout only cost me a $20 co-pay at a neighborhood urgent care center, a $20 co-pay for a follow-up visit to my family physician, and 19 dollars and some change for prescriptions. However, these prices were all thanks to having healthcare coverage provided by my employer, substantially mitigating the risk I could have had had I not been covered by health insurance.

Understanding healthcare coverage options and the risk associated with not having healthcare coverage are important financial literacy lessons for students of any age. Personal finance educators can prepare to teach these important financial literacy lessons on insurance through professional development opportunities offered by the Griffith Insurance Education Foundation (Link: http://www.griffithfoundation.org/k-12/rmi-education/). Through online curriculum resources and the ever-popular Insurance Education Institutes, K-12 teachers can develop themselves professionally in order to properly prepare their students with risk management and insurance lessons.

With ever-rising healthcare costs nationwide and more restrictive healthcare coverage options, Americans must be prepared with clear, concise, and understandable information in order to make appropriate decisions when choosing a healthcare plan for themselves or for their family. In offering comprehensive personal finance education programs, as educators, we must equip ourselves adequately in order to have up-to-date teaching resources for our classroom.

Be sure to check out this important content area within personal finance education and take advantage of the resources provided by organizations such as the Griffith Insurance Education Foundation and business education professsional organizations!

Personal finance education in college...

What preparation for financial decision-making do today's college students have? Are college students leaving high school with an understanding of financial literacy? Maybe this video will provide some insight into these questions...

After viewing this video back in February, I was concerned with the level of understanding these students had with fairly simple financial concepts that are quite important in college.

As a business educator and researcher in the area of personal finance education, I believe it is critical that colleges and universities begin to embrace personal finance education more realisitically. All college students should have access to financial literacy programs and certificate, diploma, and degree programs should include basic personal finance education coursework that is designed to facilitate lifelong learning. I am currently conducting doctoral level research in the area of personal finance education and am finding that while educators believe the American educational system is doing a better job of providing quality personal finance education, they also believe much more could be done to allow young Americans to better prepare themselves for effective lifeline financial decision-making.

What are your thoughts? Do you believe more needs to be done to help college students better prepare for financial decision-making they will do upon graduation? In what ways do you believe colleges and universities could include financial literacy programs and coursework without interferring with ontime graduation and financial outlay of students? Post your answers to these questions as well as any other thoughts on this subject as a comment to this post or tweet your thoughts to @MCWhiteOH.

I look forward to hearing what fellow educators have to say on this very timely topic!

Banking...at school...really!

I recently attended a professional development conference in Boston, MA and attended a session about how a high school business educator worked with a local bank and opened a small branch office of the bank right in the high school. Student employees worked as tellers in the bank that was open a couple of hours each day and was also staffed by a bank employee. These same students who staffed the bank also were enrolled in a course in financial education at the school, an elective course and one which interested students also had to interview with the teacher and a bank employee to determine suitability for working in the school-based bank. What a cool concept!

As I did some additional research on the subject upon returning home, I found that school-based banks staffed by student employees is a growing trend across the country. In just a limited search I did online, I found at least six other school-based banks being operated in local high schools in virtually every corner of our nation. One key factor, however, was that these banks were operated often by local banks or credit unions rather than big-name banks we commonly see on every street in town. After hearing the presentation in Boston and doing my own research on this trend, it got me thinking, "Why don't more schools engage in such a joint venture?" Everything I have heard and read presents favorable results, especially for personal finance education!

As I always do, I am curious if any of my blog followers either have a school-based bank in their school or are familiar with a school in their area that operates a school-based bank. If so, what is the general consensus among students, staff, and parents?

I think school-based banks have great potential for providing a real-world experience for learning about personal finance education. Yes, operating such a bank takes effort from the sponsoring teacher, the school and school district, and the bank choosing to enter into such a venture. However, participating students learn a variety of personal finance and business education topics during their experience and even the general student body has the opportunity to learn basic financial education just by having an account at the bank, interacting with the bank employees, and experiencing the bank's operation on school grounds.

This is a real-world learning experience I am all in favor of--as business educators, forging such relationships with local banks and bringing that relationship to school can provide tangible benefits for many. I encourage and even challenge you to look into this possibility in your local district. Approach your school board member(s) and put together some tangible benefits to discuss at a board meeting. Meet with your local bank or credit union and see if they would be interested in working with the school district to operate a school-based bank. Above all, don't give up--if rejected once, revise your strategy and keep the idea fresh in everyone's mind. Personal finance education is something we must actively involve ourselves in order to provide the best financial preparation of our students.

Share with me your thoughts and let me know if this is something you have worked with before. I know I am going to come up with a plan to discuss with my local school district over the summer! Financial education is what we make of it--if we can make learning fun and show its real-world benefits, maybe more of our students will leave high school for college and/or careers more prepared to make the challenging financial decisions facing them in the future!

Related Article - "Bank branches in high schools a good financial lesson" (Link: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/03/09/bank-branches-in-high-schools-a-good-financial-lesson/)

Pinterest - A valuable classroom tool or not?

I came across an interesting article today published by the University of Phoenix on how to use Pinterest as an online, visual resume (Link: http://www.phoenix.edu/forward/careers/2012/05/how-you-can-put-pinterest-to-work.html?utm_source=social&utm_medium=link&utm_content=articles&utm_campaign=facebook). This got me to thinking whether or not Pinterest could be a valuable social media outlet for use in a careers class.

Are there any experienced Pinterest users out there? This is one social media tool I have not explored. In my personal interactions, I have heard mixed reviews of Pinterest. However, being the consummate professional I am, I am always open to new ideas and to hearing how one can take something such as Pinterest and put an educational spin to it.

I would be curious to hear from all of you out there about Pinterest, especially if you have used it in the classroom. After reading the article above and looking at some of the ways in which this social media tool can be used from a professional standpoint, I think there may just be a way in which we can give our students one more way in which they can effectively use social media to advance both their personal and professional interests and goals.

Happy Wednesday and happy exploring! Be sure to share your insights on Pinterest as a comment to this post or by tweeting me @MCWhiteOH. I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Just a post for fun...

Today, rather than share an article or offer a great resource, I thought I'd just have a little fun...by sharing some personal insight into financial literacy and social media.

Working in the field of higher education, I see the shortcomings of financial literacy education in America today. Students choosing to come to school as a source of income to make ends meet by overborrowing on student loans that they may or may not ever be able to repay. Students choosing a $7.00 an hour job over attending class that has the potential to lead to a job paying much better. Students not contributing, even if only a small amount, to their education and thus increasing the amount of interest paid and length of repayment. These are just a few of the financial decisions young Americans are unprepared or underprepared to make as a result of lacking personal finance education in high schools and colleges today.

Growing up in a small town in rural Ohio, I look back on the personal finance education I received. With the exception of a few lessons on checkwriting in one of my high school business education courses, most everything I learned was from watching my mom...how she paid bills, how she went to the bank to handle transactions, and much more. Thanks Mom--you have no idea how much I learned from you all those years ago! Yet today, I worry that if I were growing up now that I would not be prepared to make the financial decisions facing teenagers and young adults with that knowledge given to me by Mom. This is one of the reasons why I have become so passionate about the field of personal finance education and why I have chosen to do research in this area as part of my doctoral education. If I can just give back to this generation to help them prepare just a bit, I will have done what I have been called to do.

In terms of my interest for social media, that came about rather oddly. Just a few short years ago, I was one of those individuals who said, "I'll never have a Facebook account or ever open a Twitter account." Today, I have both! And LinkedIn and have several other social media outlets through organizations of which I am a member. I guess I never really saw a purpose of outlets like Facebook or for Twitter or even a blog, something I am growing to truly enjoy. As a result of my opening up my horizons, I have reconnected with old friends and colleagues and made many new personal and professional acquaintances. Plus, social media is a powerful tool that can be used to reach a variety of audiences. Through my involvement in professional development in business education, I have really grown to appreciate this power and have learned ways in which to harness that power for the greater good.

So, there you have it! A little insight into what brought me to start my personal finance and social media journey and what ultimately brought me to start this blog a few short weeks ago. I hope this short diversion from our normal path gives you a little boost and helps you explore your own passions for personal finance education and social media!

Rounding out a year of personal finance education...

Today is the last Monday of another school year for many educators. As the years pass, it is surprising how quickly the school days pass. When looking at the area of personal finance education, we sometimes only have 180 days (or less in many states) to teach our students everything they need to know to be able to conduct a financially responsible life. When you look at it that way, it seems daunting, huh?

That is why we must engage ourselves in content-area appropriate professional development and explore all of the unique and useful resources that exist to help us bring the best learning experience to our students. I found a great website developed by CollegeInvest, a division of the State of Colorado Division of Higher Education, called EducationCents. This website provides a financial education program that includes worksheets, calculators, and videos on a variety of personal finance education topics. Plus, it's all free! You can visit the site at http://www.educationcents.org. Something I found interesting as I visited this website was that one of the colleges in Colorado actually uses the online EducationCents curriculum in lieu of a textbook for a one-credit financial literacy course. I wish more colleges would pick up on this and build in financial literacy learning into all degree programs!

How are you wrapping up your school year with personal finance education? Have you brought in some summer activities into your final lessons, such as vacation planning, planning for college in the fall, and working a summer job? These are great ways in which you can ensure your students are well prepared as they leave school either for the summer or to head off to college or to work following graduation.

As for professional development, what are you doing this summer to bring your own personal finance education learning full circle as you prepare for a new school year? Several organizations offer summer programs or workshops that can offer you some content-specific professional development that can really have a positive impact in the classroom. One such valuable program is the Insurance Education Institutes offered by the Griffith Insurance Education Foundation (Link: http://www.griffithfoundation.org/k-12/institutes/). Check out this wonderful opportunity for junior high and high school personal finance educators to take part in a three-day, action-packed learning experience! Another valuable and inexpensive opportunity is the EconIllinois and North Central Business Education Association Summer Workshop to be held in July (Link: http://www.ncbea.com/). This workshop is a one-day professional development workshop designed for business educators in the windy city of Chicago, IL. Be sure to check this opportunity out as well!

I hope these ideas have sparked in you both some exploration for new material for your students as well as excited you to take part in some valuable professional development opportunities with fellow colleagues. I find professional networking to be one of the most important and valuable ways in which to get new ideas and meet new like-minded professionals.

Please share your ideas for summer professional development here - I look forward to seeing all the different ways in which you have stayed up-to-date with personal finance education!

Social Media Sunday!

Are you wrapping up your school year? Have you explored the learning possibilities offered by social media use in the classroom? Let's spend today, what I'm deeming Social Media Sunday, to brush up on some social media strategies or find some professional development opportunities to take part in this summer to ensure we exercise social media use in the classroom next school year.

We are all familiar with Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, and several other popular social media sites. However, there are several social media platforms that naturally lend themselves to the classroom. I'm going to share just a couple of them with you in today's blog post.

Have you tried Edmodo? Edmodo is a social media platform designed especially for teachers, students, and parents to effectively integrate social media use into the classroom. Accounts can be set up for free (as teachers, we like free!) and there are a multitude of free resources available in the Edmodo Help Center to assist you in getting started. One of the cool resources available is the Edmodo in Action link in the Help Center - this link helps new users to determine how they can best integrate Edmodo into their content area, including how to use for specific assignment types.

What about a NING? I have effectively used a NING as a social media platform for one of the professional organizations I am in and this is a great platform! The options available through a NING are amazing. From creating an instant social community for your classroom to allowing social integration with a number of other social media platforms, a NING can offer you several resources for creating your social classroom. A NING does cost a little money; however, the cost can be covered if your class includes a lab or resource fee and the cost truly is minimal. Check it out today!

Here are just a couple more resources you can use to effectively integrate social media into your classroom lessons and activities. As always, I look forward to hearing from you and if you have used either of the platforms presented in today's post, please share your experiences with me. I value the feedback from my visitors!

Happy Social Media Sunday to everyone! Now get out there and explore social media!

Share your thoughts on tweeting in the classroom...

This is your opportunity to participate in sharing about Twitter use in the classroom!

Have you or a colleague found an effective method by which you integrate this social media tool into classroom lectures as a communication method? What types of lessons work best when integrating Twitter as a communication method? Do you only allow students to tweet you directly without following your students' Twitter feeds?

I am excited to hear what my blog followers have to say about this very timely topic as we close another school year. Summer is time to plan for the next school year and we want to hear all of the best tips from experienced classroom tweeters across the nation.

Feel free to share your thoughts as a comment to this post or tweet your thoughts to me at @MCWhiteOH. I'll review all ideas received and select some of the top ideas to share as featured posts in my blog! I'm excited this year for summer planning...I've gotten some great resources gathered up and am looking forward to using them with students next fall!

Research on Social Media Use in the Classroom...

Pearson Learning Solutions, a leading learning and publications organization, conducted a very interesting survey in 2011 entitled, Teaching, Learning, and Sharing: How Today's Higher Education Faculty Use Social Media. If you haven't taken time to read the results of this survey, please do so...there are some very useful facts that were uncovered and you might be able to use some of these facts to bolster your case for social media use in the classroom (Link: http://www.pearsonlearningsolutions.com/educators/pearson-social-media-survey-2011-bw.pdf).

More personal insights on social media as a platform for learning

As I continue on this blogging journey, I continue to ask myself, "Why has social media become such an integral part of society and why do institutions of learning still continue to raise such concerns about its use as part of the learning process?" It is research such as that presented above that helps us as educators to answer such questions.

I look around me in my daily life and observe the way in which my family, friends, and colleagues use social media. Through these observations, I have gained a true appreciation for this media platform and continue to seek out ways in which we can strengthen its use for the greater good as part of the classroom activities we carry out each day as educators. Furthermore, I look at how companies continue to embrace social media to reach larger audiences and to help their customers make better, more efficient use of their products and services. Just today, I was booking a flight on Expedia.com and noticed how that company now has a tool through which you can post the details of the travel you just booked as an event on Facebook...a sort of virtual calendar through which you and your friends can view your travel plans. What a smart tool! Not only does this help you become more organized by allowing you to store your travel details in one central location, but it allows your friends to see your travel plans (should you choose to share them) and mirror your travel plans should they have reason to join you on your trip. Very smart marketing, Expedia.com!

So, through that activity alone, I see numerous learning activities for my business students. Time management, marketing, social media marketing, and the list goes on. Teaching students how to appropriately use social media platforms in their chosen careers as well as their personal life presents several different educational opportunities. Plus, doing so sets them ahead of the learning curve when it comes to their future colleagues. As noted in the survey presented above, while nearly two-thirds of higher education faculty note that they have introduced materials or engaged in learning through social media outlets, the vast majority of social media use in the classroom is through video outlets such as YouTube.

I hope today's post has given you both some much-needed research on the subject as well as the motivation to step outside your comfort zone and find ways in which to pull social media outlets into your classroom activities on a more frequent basis. Both you and your students will rise to the occasion and hopefully come out pleasantly surprised with the outcomes achieved. Also, I hope you now keep your eyes peeled for all the places throughout your daily life in which social media has crept its way into the mainstream!

Happy instructing and feel free to share a new and innovative way in which you have pulled a lesser-used social media outlet into your classroom as a learning tool!

Great Personal Finance Education Resources from the State of Kansas!

Whether you live in Kansas or not, the Kansas State Treasurer has put together a great resource page for personal finance education for all ages (Link: http://www.kansascash.com/prodweb/personal_finance/resources.php). From grade school and middle school resources to adult resources, there are numerous free resources available through this site.

State government agencies are increasingly becoming involved in helping educators find the best resources in personal finance education for their classrooms. Check out your state treasurer's website or state department of education website to see if your state has prepared a resource site. Below are links to a few other states that have similar personal finance education resource sites:

State of Virginia

State of Missouri

State of Washington

State of Ohio

If your state has a specific state-level resource page, please feel free to share the link as a comment to this post. These resource pages contain valuable information for educators in meeting the requirements of personal finance education as set forth by each state government. Best of all, many of the resources suggested are free and provide a wealth of ideas for "sprucing up" your personal finance lessons. Check out these resources today!

"Toto! I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!" - Keep your resources fresh and new by visiting other states' resource pages. You don't have to be a resident of these states to take advantage of the resources they offer. You might just find something you have been looking for that will take your curriculum to the next level.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Very interesting details in the social media in the classroom area. Dave Copeland, in a blog post on ReadWriteWeb (Link: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/for-social-media-in-the-classroom-to-work-instructors-need-best-practices.php), presented some very good information for those of us interested in using social media with out students in the classroom.

Many teachers and college instructors have dismissed the notion of social media in the classroom as a mere distraction and not worth the time to learn more about how this emerging technology can effectively be integrated into the day's lessons. To work effectively, we must set expectations of social media use in the classroom with our students so that they understand that social media is not just for fun but can be used in a manner that is productive and engaging. If we model appropriate technology use with our students, we can create meaningful learning experiences that result in a boost in learning outcomes.

If used correctly, social media can be used in a variety of classes. The way in which it is used or the social media platform used in class may depend on the specific content and/or the lesson at hand. Copeland presented ideas for social media use in a writing course, a film course, and an introductory journalism course. Of course, business courses are a natural for social media use. For example, an introduction to marketing course could use Twitter to tweet social media marketing ideas during a lesson on branding. The ideas are limitless - just be creative and you can come up with some great social media use ideas for your students.

If you have some effective lessons in which you have used social media to engage your students, please feel free to share them via a comment to this post. I'm excited to see how you have chosen to embrace social media use in the classroom and learn some new ideas from my followers!

Have a great Saturday and stay tuned for more personal finance and social media ideas tomorrow!

We're back!

Sorry for the absence over the past few days - it was a busy week for me! But, I'm back with more articles, ideas, and tips for personal finance education and social media use in the classroom!

I read an article today, albeit a few months old, regarding states pushing to teach personal finance in schools (Link: http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/high-school-notes/2011/08/26/states-push-to-teach-personal-finance-in-schools). This is a very important topic to me!

As educators, it is one of our many duties to work with legislators and lobby for our content areas to ensure students are provided with an education that is both meaningful and relevant to preparing them for the real world. 

The article noted that only four states have a required course in personal finance as a required course for graduation. Four states?!?!?! Yes, twenty other states do require personal finance instruction in other content areas like mathematics or family consumer sciences. However, business educators are most prepared to teach personal finance. Allowing students to receive education in a subject where the teachers are not as well prepared is like having an auto mechanic decorate a wedding cake for a bakery client.

I am asking that every business educator do his or her part by working with local, state, regional, and national organizations to ensure personal finance becomes a required course for graduation and is taught by highly-qualified business educators who can best teach students in this critical-knowledge subject.

Give me your thoughts and feedback on this issue! I want to hear what you have to say and also want to hear what you have done to make this happen in your state.

Great ideas - 25 Way to Use iPads in the Classroom!

Thanks, Steven W. Anderson (@web20classroom) for sharing this great graphic!

This graphic was part of an article published on Edudemic.com (http://www.edudemic.com). Edudemic.com is a great resource for ideas on how to bring technology into the classroom, including some great ways to bring social media into the classroom.

This is a slight departure from my traditional social media topics; however, I just thought is was an awesome idea that business teachers could find very valuable.

Enjoy your Sunday and see how you might use this information tomorrow!

Great idea to bring in a little extra cash this spring!

Yours truly was checking out the latest personal finance tips on the social media outlets this morning and ran across a great idea for bringing in a little extra cash this spring--spring cleaning! One of the companies I follow on Twitter, Investopedia, published a short article yesterday on this very subject (Link: http://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0412/Time-For-A-Spring-Clean.aspx#axzz1sgNZIMDq). Here is a short summary of the suggestions offered.

1. Get rid of those outdated or unwanted technology devices - old mobile phones, computers, gaming systems, etc... You'll be surprised what you can get for these items. Depending on the item, selling on eBay may be an option or even going into a retailer and "trading in" on a new device is likely to garner you a nice little chunk of change for saving.

2. Clean out the closet - sell those old bell bottoms from the 70's (well probably not!) and get rid of those gently used clothing items that are still in fashion but you just don't (or maybe never did) wear anymore. Again, there are several different options, such as consignment shops, thrift stores, and even online outlets where you can clear some space and bring home some cash.

3. With the dawn of e-readers and iPads and such, clear out your stash of old books, CDs, DVDs, and the like. You are still likely to get a good price on them and you'll make Mother Nature happy in the process!

All in all, this is a great personal finance strategy to employ yourself as well as share with your students in the classroom. Whether teens or young adults, I'm sure your students have a few extra things lying around that they could part with in exchange for a little extra money. And we all know our students can always use some extra cash. Furthermore, you'll be teaching them a valuable lesson in personal finance (just make sure you also teach the value of savings as part of the lesson--don't want them to spend every penny right away!).

This is a great kick-off into spring and something we all could learn a little from, for sure!

More on social media use in the classroom...

I read an interesting article today published on USAToday.com regarding teacher attitudes regarding social media use in the classroom (Link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2012-03-04/facebook-twitter-social-media-classroom/53358382/1) and it got me thinking even more on the growing debate on the issue.

Why is it so important to teach young people about responsible use of social media? One of the contributors to the article discussed how she uses Twitter in her journalism class as a virtual notebook of thoughts and ideas on her lecture--she encourages her students to tweet their thoughts during the class. What a great way to track students' contributions! On the other hand, how does one effectively use this platform, but also ensure responsibility on the part of the students (i.e., that they are not being distracted from the classroom activities by engaging in non-productive activities not related to the learning at hand)?

So, have you found productive ways in which to engage your students in a social media platform while ensuring responsible use of the technology that is appropriate to the classroom activities and does not distract the students from required learning? Please share your thoughts as a comment to this post--I'm interested to hear what others have to say on this topic.

Very interesting concept, to say the least!

Social media use in higher education - positive or negative?

As a higher education professional in business education and business technology, the initial thought of using social media as a resource in the classroom scared me a little, considering some of the potential risks involved. However, there are some interesting facts about social media use in higher education that may just change the way in which we teach in the future:

1. Colleges and universities are increasingly using social media as a vehicle to help potential students learn more about their institution and also to help make decisions about which program or school of study in which to enroll. According to Justin Marquis, Ph.D., "College admissions offices are creating groups on the social networking sites to make their prospective students feel more like they are part of the community long before they arrive on campus." (Source: http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2011/09/using-social-media-in-the-higher-education-classroom/)

2. Colleges and universities are also using social media to help organize on-campus activities as well as alumni connections and functions. 

3. Dr. Marquis further noted that social media likely has the most potential positive outcomes when applied to learning in the classroom. College professors are increasingly using social media as an added technology tool in the classroom for communication and networking as well as enhancing instruction in other content areas.

Based on some of these bits of information, I truly believe that we have yet to harness the true power of social media from an educational perspective. As professionals, we must be proficient in the social media world and develop ourselves professionally in a manner that allows us to stand on the forefront of what I believe will become a major factor in education in the future.

So, what can you do? 

1. Get out there and immerse yourself in social media! With that being said, don't just limit yourself to Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Start a blog, explore the world of Wikis, or even explore some of the lesser known social media sites (and there are hundreds of them out there to explore).

2. Take advantage of professional development opportunities that allow you to expand your understanding of social media and provide you with examples of how to effectively integrate social media into your classroom. The National Business Education Association (http://www.nbea.org) and its regional and state affiliate organizations offer some excellent opportunities for learning. Also, several of the individual social media outlets offer their own professional development and learning activities that are equally valuable.

3. Begin to identify ways in which you can integrate, bit by bit, various social media activities into your classroom. Social media can be used in virtually any course as a communication and networking source. Plus, you can also integrate content-specific activities (such as business communications or marketing) using social media outlets. Doing so not only shows that you are "cool", but also gives real world experience to students in what they can expect in the business world later in life.

Now, let's get out there and help our students become social media experts!

Wow! A week into this blogging effort already...

Well, I'm enjoying this opportunity to share with all of you my favorite tips, tricks, tools, and ideas for personal finance education and the use of social media in the classroom.

I thought today I'd take a few moments to share some insight into why I feel these topics are so important in education today:

1. Facebook had 845 million monthly active users at the end of December 2011 (Source: http://newsroom.fb.com/content/default.aspx?NewsAreaId=22)

2. On average, users on Twitter send approximately 1 billion (yes, billion with a "b") tweets per week! (Source: http://blog.kissmetrics.com/twitter-statistics/)

3. In 2010, a survey conducted by Visa revealed that 93% of Americans believed that all high school students should be required to take a class in financial education. However, at the time of that same survey, there were only 4 states that required high school students to take a semester-long course in personal finance. (Source: http://www.jumpstart.org/assets/State-Sites/LA/files/downloads/Making_the_Case_2011.pdf)

With the use of social media as a networking tool and a way in which many companies are reaching their target audiences, it is imperative that business educators find ways in which to embrace this technology and show their students how to effectively use social media both on a personal and professional level. Remember, we are not teaching social media use. Rather, we are instructing on how it can best be used in marketing oneself or one's product or service.

Likewise, we must embrace personal finance education and lobby our political representatives to help them understand the urgent need for this education and to demonstrate the current, and frankly very sad, situation our young people (both high school students, college students, and young adults) are in as they embark on adulthood and are forced to begin making financial decisions for which they often are unprepared.

Let's band together as a profession and ensure we do our part to develop tomorrow's generation in a responsible and meaningful matter that protects our economy, our country, and the opportunities for future generations. If, as educators, we do not accept this charge, then who??? Let's face it--the need for personal finance education and the need for education in responsible use of social media are not going anywhere anytime soon!

I hope this post inspires some meaningful thought and sparks your inner desire to become a leader in these educational imperatives!

Today I'm sharing one of my favorite financial literacy resources - Practical Money Skills for Life (by Visa).

Practical Money Skills for Life

I have used a number of the resources from this site and have never been disappointed. There are videos, lesson plans, and numerous educator resources. The other thing I really love about this resource is the fact that there are elementary, secondary, and post-secondary resources. I am a firm believer that financial literacy education is a lifelong learning experience. As such, resources need to be available that are pertinent to all stages of life.

Check out this site today and see how you can integrate some of the resources into your classroom. Afterwards, be sure to share your thoughts and experiences and how you used Practical Money Skills for Life to enhance your teaching of personal finance!

Thursday Question of the Day - 04/11/2012:

What is your favorite social media tool for engaging your students in the context of social media within the course subject you teach (i.e., business communication, international business, personal finance, accounting, etc...)?

Share your answer today and take an opportunity to pick a new idea from other colleagues in business education.

I look forward to your responses!

Have you ever asked yourself the question, "What prevents the use of social media in the classroom?" This is a very interesting question and one that many educators struggle to answer because of acceptable use policies or concern of the risk involved. The following YouTube video gives some excellent considerations in attempting to answer this question:

What prevents the use of social media in the classroom? 

As the individual in this video presents, as educators, we have to take into consideration that we are not per se teaching students to use social media, but rather to use it as a tool as part of their daily life to extend the productivity and efficiency of daily personal and professional interactions.

Great food for thought!

So, what's everyone's take on the use of social media in the classroom? Here's an interesting article on the pros and cons of social media use in the classroom:

Pros and Cons of Social Media Use in the Classroom 

This article brings up some very unique points of view on the subject. I have some mixed thoughts on some points made therein. 

1) The article notes social media use in the classroom as a distraction; however, as professional educators, we must find ways in which to embrace this technology and use it to the fullest extent while mitigating sources of distraction to students--it's here to stay and not going anywhere anytime soon. 

2) Furthermore, the article notes that social media use in the classroom discourages face-to-face communication, yet we should not be looking at this as an issue. Again, as educators, it is our responsibility to instruct in such a fashion as to strike that appropriate balance where social media use adds to the learning experience rather than detracts from it.

I am interested to hear your thoughts on the issue and what experiences you have had or what challenges you have faced with social media use in the classroom.

Visit the National Financial Educators Council to check out some great free resources for financial literacy education! The Council offers financial literacy curriculum for high school and college programs, financial educator training, child-friendly materials for kids in kindergarten through 8th grade, adult financial literacy materials, and much more.

Be certain to add this resource to your personal finance education toolbox today!

National Financial Educators Council

Welcome to my blog - Personal Finance and Social Media in Education! I look forward to sharing ideas, thoughts, research, and much more with you regarding personal finance education and the use of social media in the classroom. These are important concepts to business educators today! Feel free to participate in the ongoing discussions and also share your comments. This is a learning community and I am excited to get things going!