Week 6- Article 1(REDO)

I was fortunate to attend Portsmouth High school which offered several business classes such as typing, accounting I and II, and Intro to Business Economics in the early 2000s. For the duration of business economics my teacher would bring in the newspapers and we would track pretend stocks to learn about pretend investment. It was a nightmare. No one knew what they were doing. Recently I attended a business class at this same school and was introduced to the Stock Market Game . The students loved this game. That day they pummeled the teacher with requests to play. The teacher instructed the students to do their busy work first before retrieving their pre-assigned lap tops. One by one the students provided the proof of their finished work and retrieved their lab top. Every student participated and competed in the game. Some students worked together while others listen to music through headphones.


In an article, Stock Market Game Teaches Kids Investing Basics” , written by Taylor Temby a journalism major at the University of Colorado Boulder for the News9.com of Colorado discuss the success their state has seen with this program. “If you were given $100,000 to invest, how would you pick companies that would earn you a profit? Students at Columbine High School faced this challenge in the realistic Stock Market Game. Though the money is fake, the game's central idea of teaching students investing basics is as real as it gets.” Along with the game, teachers can opt to enlist the help of stock market mentors who volunteer to discuss investment and economy lessons with the class. The game also allow student to compete with other classes in near by states or solely compete within their class. This option allows for all types of districts and their technology abilities. This article goes on to talk about a study by Learning Point Associates who found students who participate in The Stock Market Game, tested higher in both mathematics and financial literacy.

In another article, “Program Stimulates Real World Investing for Teens” , from Newjersey.com describes the game as an afterschool program for student in grades fourth through ninth. In this program, students make teams of three or four and compete with our counties for prizes.

The concept is excellent. Students are drawn to technology. Also they need experience with it to compete in today’s job market. How many people check there investments in a physical newspaper. Not many, most investors track there earnings online or on their smart phones. The students in the class I attended watched the real time stocks on their smart phones outside of class. They had a true interest in the subject they were learning because it was fun. Cognitive theory suggests that student learn better from physically doing. Schools can’t budge $100,000 to every student to play with, but the game is the next most real thing and it helps students to learn at the same time. After researching the website I discovered there is an international version of the game. There are many global opportunities with a game that is international. Collaborating with teachers and having student share there experience among different cultures. Also the stock market is affected globally and students will be basing their investment decision on all economies.

I believe it is extremely important to incorporate technology in as much as a classroom as possible. Technology is the forum student use to communicate and it also allows more avenues for global collaboration. I plan to use games such as this one in my classroom because it will reach more students and be more affective than old methods. I hope the school I work for will see the value and invest in these types of tools to provide a better future for all students. If the school needs more proof of its success I know I can connect with council and associations mentioned in the above articles to help persuade administrators.

Colorado Council for Economic Education (CCEE)
Security Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Foundation of Investment