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/)
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
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.
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.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
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!
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!
Monday, May 21, 2012
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!
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!
Sunday, May 20, 2012
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!
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!
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
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!
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!
Monday, May 7, 2012
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!
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!
Sunday, May 6, 2012
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.
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.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
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!
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!
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