Financial Fitness Fun!

Not three words one often sees in the same sentence, but this time it’s true!  The following website provides several different learning opportunities in a game format.  Students can test their knowledge on a variety of topics.  In addition, there is free curriculum for money management courses that is offered as well.  Enjoy!

www.practicalmoneyskills.com/games

The perfect youtube clip has been lost forever!!!!!

Recently I went to find a youtube video that I used in previous classes only to find out the video has been removed. After asking around I found three sites that will allow me to save web videos as quick time movies on my computer.

DVD Video Soft - http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/

Vixy. net - http://vixy.net/

Squared 5 - http://www.squared5.com/

Google

As we continue to close out another successful year, I am always looking for ways to make it more efficient and a better experience for the students. This year, I used Google Docs as part of my DECA program and it was a great experience. The students were able to collaborate with partners and type on the same document simultaneously! This worked well because if 1 group member is gone, then the other can still be working.

The true advantage was when one of my students approached me about running for National DECA office. I knew that in order to have a successful campaign, we would need to be organized and be branded. For organization, I selected Google Docs. This allowed for his entire campaign team (no matter where they were) to meet online and complete documents, review documents, and submit feedback.

Often high school students are bored with email and attachments, but this was different. They got excited and they wanted to be online working together as a team. This also allowed for students that may not have Word or 2007 to participate. Is this where teamwork is going?

Next year, I have already created a registration form that will be submitted into a spreadsheet that will save me a ton of time. This summer if you have some time on your hands, I would suggest that you check out Google's features!

Book Review : Buyology

I was going to write a review of a book I just finished by Martin Lidstrom called Buyology but since coming across some good videos on YouTube I figured a picture / video is worth 1000 words. Here is my bottom line this is a very interesting book, an easy read and it is something I will use to enhance my consumer buying behavior unit in my marketing class. This book provides good insight on why people do what they do, buy what they buy, etc... The only gripe I have with this book is I wish it would of went more in depth. If you are looking for a business / marketing book to read this summer take I would recommend this one.

Great site for law classes!

The Discovery Channel supports a website with a vast array of offerings for topics related to the legal environment.  It’s worth a look!  Www.investigationdiscovery.com

Financial Literacy

When teaching financial literacy, do you find yourself tiring of the same old text book examples?  If so, you may want to take a peek at the following website.  You can find some curriculum under the “Financial Education” link.  There are also other tidbits geared towards teaching credit and other topics.  Happy hunting!

Teaching Personal Finance

Apparently there are many of us business education teachers that are currently teaching personal finance courses. I was surprised when the state designed the current standards for the social studies curriculum. Somehow the designers embedded a few standards within the economics standards. It appeared that it was done without research or input from teachers of personal finance.

I have taught both economics and personal finance courses. These are both content areas where business education teachers are highly qualified. I believe that both economics and personal finance should be separate courses even though the subject matter of one course could be integrated into the other.

The social studies standards will be revised soon and many of us should be involved in the process.

How I Use Blogs

Blogs are a great way to interact with your students and parents outside of the classroom. Below are two examples of how I use blogs as a teacher. Blogs are so easy to use and can be a very valuable educational tool. Before you start blogging, make sure your blog has a purpose. On another note much like an advertisement you need to incorporate A (attention) I (interest) D (desire) A (action) into your blog constantly to get students and others to view and respond to your blog.

HARRISON’S MARKETING STORIES - Marketing and business current events are fun to talk about and the students love discussing them. How many of you are like me and have started off class with some sort of marketing or business story for a bell ringer activity only to look at the clock and realize you have spent the entire hour discussing / talking /going off on a tangent about current events? I realize there are worse things but I also started to think about the “quiet student” who I know is with me but not adding to the discussion because they are over voiced by the other students.

This is why I decided to create the Harrison’s Marketing Stories blog and give students extra credit if they post a comment to an article / video / question I pose. I tell students in order to get extra credit two things must happen. 1. They have to pose a justified response – just saying I agree / disagree will not earn any extra credit. 2. They must sign their post with their first name and first letter of the last name as well as their hour they have my class. I also tell the students that even though all comments are worth extra credit; a comment earlier in the trimester is worth more than ones a few days before the final exam.

To compliment the extra credit I will randomly reward students for a post with a free soda or candy bar. I feel the more I can fulfill the “what’s in it for me” need the more successful this blog will be. I also can not tell you how many times students have come in and asked if they get a soda because they posted a comment on my blog.

I purposely try to “stir the pot” when I post a new story / video / question. I want the students to question why and ask why not. I have even posted stories just to see if the students are following what I am saying in class.

I have my blog linked off of my faculty home page to make it easier for the students to find. Another reason I did this was because if a parent / perspective student was wondering if they should take my class or another class hopefully this blog would give them an idea of what we talk about in class on a daily basis.

IRISH DECA NEWS - I also have a blog that is basically a news feed for all of my DECA members and parents. I communicate heavily with my DECA members and their parents via email. Every email that I send out to either the parents or the students is sent via email to my Irish DECA News blog. This is also linked off of my faculty main page for the same reasons listed above.

Blogs can be used for almost anything. I have seen teachers post the daily assignments, make the student’s authors and they have to post a journal entry, market research, essay quizzes, etc…

You can put as much or as little time as you would like into your blog. I spent probably too much time looking for just the right background and the best gadgets to add. When you do decide to create your blog, send me a link and I will post it on our site.



The two blogs mentioned are listed below


Harrison's Marketing Stories - http://harrisonmarketingstories.blogspot.com/




Irish DECA News - http://irishdecanews.blogspot.com/

Are we out of new ideas?

Wisconsin's new slogan faces some pushback

After talking with a fellow Wisconsinite, we discussed the new slogan for Wisconsin. Yes, there are many slogans that could be used, but the State of Wisconsin tries to promote themselves and they are wanting for a slogan that sticks.

The problem is that the slogan has been used before, "Live like you mean it." The problem is that Bacardi has already used the phrase in marketing campaigns. Is it ok for a state slogan to be the same as a former slogan for a alcohol brand?

This was a question that I took to my senior level marketing students. I asked them, is it ok for anyone to reuse the slogan from a business? Then, what about from an alcohol company?

The results were not shocking. Many students felt that a company should not reuse a slogan of recent history. They also stated that if a company reuses a slogan, then any negative feelings (or positive) would be inherited by the new company. I then shared the information on Wisconsin and many students were shocked, but admitted that they never knew that it was the slogan for Bacardi.

Slogans?

I often struggle in class when it comes to a game that is educational enough in class. Recently I came across Ad Slogans. The I thought back to the numerous times that I say "Adverteasing" at a local thrift store (I go there to pick up items to resell on eBay). Looking at the game, you will notice that students and perhaps even yourself will not know what company is advertising.

Looking at Ad Slogans, it can provide you with the necessary break from the normal grind to keep students focused. They have voted the best slogans, but basically I see it as a huge slogan bank, which can be nice to have and can create some great discussions with students.

Who Says Science Can Have All the Fun

Experiments are something that should not stay in the science class room. Here are two examples of the random experiments regarding Facebook that I have done in my class.

1. Behavioral Targeting
After a class discussion about behavioral targeting I challenged my students to go their Facebook page and change their personal information and see if they noticed a difference in the ads appearing on their home page. The students did find this to be true and were amazed at how quickly ads can change when you change your personal information on a social networking site.

2. Is Facebook Too Cliche?
I hear students and marketers talk about how they will use social media sites to promote their product / store / etc… Sure it is a great low cost concept that could generate a large return but is it becoming too cliché? With this in mind, I asked one class of 32 students to go home and change their status to say something along the lines about how they were excited to get a free lanyard in room 126 tomorrow. I informed the class that this would give us a good idea how effective Facebook is in regards to creating buzz about a product.

We found that of the total students only 9 went home and changed their status. The next morning by 7 AM I had one student stop by and ask for a free lanyard. Through out the day I had two others stop by. Once it was time for class to start I asked the students if they had heard other students talking about it. The nine students who changed their status update said it generated seven wall posts, six text messages, and five people stopping them in school to see if they were still available.

We then did a rough estimate and calculated it reached approximately 2500 other Facebook members. Once this was calculated the students quickly pointed out that this in not a true number since some people don’t look at their page every day, they could not go to our school, etc… I was very excited to see the students grasp this concept.

I then asked the students what it would have done if we had posted this message for say 5-days in advance of giving out the lanyards. How many actual people would that have touched? I will save that for the next experiment.

I thought this was a great way to show how buzz marketing can work and it proved how it can be effective for a business (more so chain companies) because it doesn’t matter where you live you can still go to a store or restaurant.

This is just some of the fun random experiments that I often times pull out of mid air and do in my marketing classes. I realize the sample size is too small to give this any validity but it was fun and the students seem to like doing this.

Three great sites

Here are three great websites providing the latest marketing and branding information. These sites will provide you with the more interesting non main stream advertising and branding news stories. I use these sites a lot to get my "marketing stories" which is how I begin class everyday. Click on the images below to be redirected and enjoy!

Keeping Current

After debriefing with my students that attended the Minnesota State DECA Conference, I had them fill out a short survey. Immediately following the conference, I felt that it was the best conference that I have been apart of for student leadership and responsibility.

One of my personal beliefs is that if you give the students respect, they will give it back. Some other advisors said that I was crazy for ALL (94) my students have my cell phone number. It came in handy because if there was a student that needed to talk to me, they were able to do that.

What I did different this conference is I created a list on my phone using PowerSMS. PowerSMS is a free program that allowed me to create and send the same message to all students. This came in handy when reminding students about bus times, seating assignments and floor meetings.

Overwhelmingly, students have said that they liked it a lot. It allowed the students to have the agenda in their pocket and be on time to meetings, photos and meals. When talking with the students, they loved that I took the initiative to get to their level. This spoke highly and I am planning on continuing. I don't think that we should resist technology, but we should embrace it and use it to our advantage. I just wish schools were not anti-technology and thought about how they could use it, such as daily announcements, or review questions.

Just my thoughts.

Cotinuing With the Theme of Good Content

Part of my Sunday morning routine includes an hour and a half with Charles Osgood watching CBS Sunday Morning. I have been doing this for the better part of 8 years since I got out of college. The sound of trumpets and the soothing sound of Osgood's voice took on a new meaning to me yesterday morning.

As I was enjoying a cup of coffee and thinking about this up coming week and what / how I want to teach a segment came on about working conditions at a company that makes 100's of different products and how the leadership runs the company. It was a great clip. So great that I am including it in my careers discussion in my Personal Finance class. This really opened my eyes to see that CBS Sunday Morning has many segments that are appropriate and great for the Business and Marketing Classroom. There was another segment on sales and whether they work or not. I am embedding the clip I am going to use.

Check it out next Sunday Morning.


Watch CBS Videos Online

Ideas for Business & Management

If you haven’t had the chance to stop by the Business Week website at businessweek.com, I highly recommend it!  There is a wealth of articles, information, and video clips to help keep us current and supplement our lessons plans.

What It Is To Be...

This video was shown at a staff meeting earlier this year. Even though this clip is about the Battle of Gettysburg it really made me think about business and marketing educators.


If you think about it...

• We keep moving on every day never looking back only looking forward despite what may be waiting for us.


• We all came into teaching for different reason but all of us believe in the value of the content we teach and the importance of it.


• We have the option to quit fighting for our educational beliefs but we never chose that option.


• We are always teaching something new to hopefully inspire someone new each day.


• We have to keep fighting for each other working together more often to make our classrooms even better providing more value to our students.

Top 10 Marketing Books of All Time

Advertising Age just released its top 10 media and marketing books of all time. Click here to view the entire list

Personally, I was suprised Purple Cow was not on the list.

What books do you feel should be on the list that are not listed.

Great Free Newsletters

Here are a couple of great free newsletters to subscribe to.

1. NRF SmartBrief brings you the retail news that really matters. Their editors handpick key articles from hundreds of publications, do a brief summary of each and provide links back to the original sources.

In other words, they do all the research...and you get the news you need, without the fluff.

http://www.smartbrief.com/nrf/

Make sure you also check the box for the shop.org briefing.

2. Trend Watching - One of the world's leading trend firms, trendwatching.com and its 8,000+ trend spotters scan the globe for emerging consumer trends.

http://www.trendwatching.com/

3. Advertising Age - A free daily newsletter about current events in the advertising industry.

http://adage.com/register.php

What do you see?

I had a guest speaker the other day who held up a sheet of paper with the image below and asked the students what do they see. Post a comment and tell me what you see, I will post the answer in a couple of days.

Whats New?

Take a minute and think about why people check their Facebook, email, text messages so much?

Being awake way too early before work the other day I began to think about this and I came to one conclusion. They are looking for something new.

Every time you log onto Facebook there is always something new that one of your "friends" posted. This could be a status update, profile update, friend update or a picture. The next time you are with a group of people watch how they check their phones to see if someone called or texted them and the same goes true with email.

This leads me to my over caffinated deep thought of the day: What is new with your classroom / teaching style / lesson etc... every time a student comes back in to your classroom? How do you harness this concept in your classroom?

National Debt Video

This post comes courtesy of Chris Scanlon AVHS...

"Perhaps you have seen this but here is a great video (documentary) that explains the national debt - very informative. I showed it and only one of my kids slept, everone else was watching the entire time. I think that says a lot. Check it out and pass it on to someone who might want to use it."

Don't You Hate It When...

Your students come to you and say I can not do any work today because another person in my group is absent and they have all the files. I have found a way around this by using PB Wiki. PB wiki is a free website where students can upload files, make comments, post videos, add links, add new pages etc...which ultimately makes group work more efficient and less stressful. I have a group working on the DECA Creative Marketing Project right now. I have only seen one student in the room working on the project but when I log into their page ( I require them to give me access in order to check up on them and also provide assistance as they go) I see that they are all working quite hard on this project just at different times.

I have also used PB Wiki for other projects such as introduction activity in Sports Marketing class. Click here to see what my project was. In order to get the grasp of this project make sure to look on the left at the sidebar box to see all of the students pages.

If you have a website...

I was talking about our blog with another contributor and mentioned how it would be nice if we could get some information on who is viewing our site. Just by doing a little digging in blogger we came across the Google Analytics feature. Because so much of what we do with technology is just clicking we clicked on it and set it up. I will warn you, in order for this to work on your site you need understand basic HTML coding. It is not as easy as just clicking.

The next day my colleague brought over the full report from Google analytics. I was so impressed. I was able to not only get the # of views and page views but also a bounce rate, average time on site, % new visitors, unique visitors and more. There was a world map overlay that told me we had visitors from Alaska, China and Cambodia view our site. Granted the China and Cambodia were bounces but still. It also told me what pages were looked at the most as well as how they found our site in the first place. It even goes as far as letting us know what type of browser was used when viewing our site and connection speed.

Not only is this an awesome tool to see if people are actually looking at our site but what a great tool to help me explain to my students how internet marketing works. I forgot to mention the best part of Google Analytics. It is completely FREE!!!! If you would like to see a sample report from our site send me an email.

To Twitter or not to Twitter

Do you Twitter? The social networking website Twitter has been receiving a lot of buzz in the media lately as an awesome marketing and brand building tool. So with some extra time remaining in class, due to a home room earlier in the day, I set one up for my DECA students. At first it seems extremely easy to use but I found people had problems finding my account or my "Tweet". See if you can find me our account name is IrishDECA.

I am considering using this at the next DECA conference in March to give the parents an idea of what is happening, but after investigating this, I am unsure. What is the difference between this and a blog an email or a text message. Has anyone else ever used Twitter for their organization, class, etc...

The truth and nothing but the truth...

An insightful look at the new Pepsi logo from adage.com

"Breathtaking," a 27-page document purported to be the thinking behind Arnell Group's recent revamping of Pepsi-Cola's logo. Littered as it is with marketing jargon, images of yin-yangs, mobius strips and Da Vinci's Vitruvian man, you'll maybe wonder if Michael Phelps worked on this project.

"Breathtaking" goes on to explain how "consumers will feel a gravitational pull elicited by the new logo, one that will lead consumers to fill its shopping carts with Pepsi."

This is a good document to show to your students what 1 Million dollars will get you for a logo design. CLICK HERE TO READ THE DOCUMENT FROM THE ARNELL GROUP

Lesson plans at your fingertips...

Need inspiration for a class?  Looking to find the “perfect” activity to round out a lesson?  I invite you to check out something I recently stumbled upon...www.lessonplanet.com.  I was impressed by the wide variety and quality of the lessons hosted by the site!  I initially signed up for the 10-day free trial, but have enjoyed it so much that I found it well worth the $29/year price tag to commit to the service.  Happy hunting!

Great Keyboarding Filler!

I tried something new today in my Keyboarding class and it was a hit!  Some students needed more time to finish their assignments, leaving the faster students with time on their hands.  We had a Text Twist Competition (located at the games.com website).  Students recorded their high score on the board and the top scorers were rewarded with a treat.  I am considering keeping a running scoreboard for the Trimester.  I enjoyed seeing how engaged my students were while knowing that the game encourages the building of speed, accuracy, and thinking on their toes.  Have fun!

What is in it for me?

The other day I was discussing our blog with another person and they brought up a point that made me think. "In order for collaboration to work effectively we can not expect an immediate return on investment for what we share. If you get one item back in return for sharing ten wouldn't that be a success?" As I thought about this statement I started to relate back to the business world, as I do with most issues in MBE. In the advertising world it would be considered a huge success if you get a 10% response to lets say a Super Bowl commercial where 97 million watched. Not to mention the long run effects of your ivestment. People are already calling Denny's 5 million dollar investment a success where less than 2% of the viewers responded to their commercial and giveaway.

On the same lines people often think what we have is not good enough...WHO CARES...everyone knows that when someone shares something, you always modify it anyway. I was just looking through "Best Practices Vol 3" and saw some great concepts but I knew I needed to modify them to fit my class needs.

Bottom line is this, this blog is a new step for me as it may be for most of you as well, I am not going to worry about how good my stuff is I post or when I will get something in return. Instead if I can work WITH another teacher and help them out then I will have produced a significant amount of short run and long run ROI. I know we are all strapped with time, so am I but if we all can make contributing, commenting, reading this blog a minor priority we will all be better in the end. I look forward to taking new steps in the right direction with all of you.

FREE Alternatives to The Stock Market Game™

With the current market and school funding being the way they are we as Business and Marketing teachers need to find ways to cut costs in order to stay afloat. Here are a couple of alternatives to The Stock Market Game™. These are FREE!

Market Watches Virtual Stock Exchange - This was recommended to me by Diane Luhman, Business and Marketing Teacher Rosemount High School.
http://vse.marketwatch.com/Game/Homepage.aspx
Nice Features
- Can host private games
- Full ability to control starting dollar amount
- The ability to Short Sell
- The ability to buy on Margin
- The ability to use Limit Orders
- The ability to use Stop Loss Orders

Downfalls
- Students Need an Email Address

How The Market Works Stock Market Game. This was recommended to me by Paul Kovach, Business and Marketing Teacher at Eagan High School.
http://www.howthemarketworks.com/stock-market-game/create-a-contest.php
I have yet to review this game. I would imagine that this site has the same functionality as the other site.

If you have another please post a comment with its review and web address.

Articulation Agreements from a New Teachers Point of View

As this is my first year as a teacher I hope to post reflections that may help new and maybe some veteran teachers. Yesterday I went to an articulation agreement meeting. I had this meeting originally scheduled for a different day and was going to use the day before the meeting to pull together the information I needed to get the agreements approved. To me these agreements are a great way to market your classes. There are many students out there that look for these classes to earn credits so to me these are a big deal. When I came in and asked Harrison about the meeting and he told me it was today my stress level shot through the roof as I didn't want to lose the agreement.

I really did not know what to expect so I gathered the information that was suggested by the lady organizing the meeting. I was really stressed about this meeting thinking that if I don't have this agreement my school will not be able to offer credit. To add to the stress I wanted to add two more agreements, one of which I have not yet taught. The materials I brought were the course syllabus and final exam.

All together once I got the materials and the easy forms filled out the meeting went smoothly. I was able to renew my Local and Regional Articulation agreements for Accounting and establish a new local agreement for Computer Applications A&B along with Advanced Accounting.

The process was really informative and I learned quite a bit.

Hope this helps someone!
Gg

You Tube is great but...

Have you tried hulu.com or used iTunes for the free podcasts, or even teachertube.com?

What other video sites do you use?

A True Purple Cow...

If I worked for McDonald's I would start doing this on off ramps

Making sense out of Seuss

While reading Dr. Seuss books with my daughter I started realizing how much his books related to business education. Take Horton for example, not only is there a reference to shirking but the quote of the book can be taken so many ways. "A person is a person no matter how small" could be related to a niche is niche no matter how small...and "We are here, we are here" a motto for all entrepreneurs, managers and business educators. The Grinch has an subliminal theme of giving to charities because "maybe Christmas does not come from a store, maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more..." Of course, "The Places You Will Go" is all about careers but yet once again can be related to sales, management and entrepreneurship. So the next time you are reading to your child, nephew, cousin or whomever take a look at Dr. Seuss and see what you can find if you actually ate a new product such as Green Eggs and Ham.

Does anyone do a scavenger hunt at a DECA/BPA conference?

I have been thinking about doing this for some time at our state conference. Post a comment and let me know if you have done this and what items you have your kids search for.

Similarities of Logos

Similarities of Logos

Today after reading AdAge and sharing information to my students, we immediately became confused on the idea the Pepsi logo looks like the one that Obama developed for his campaign. After further review, I question the idea that logos are similar. On BNET there is the list of the four logos (pictured). It created a unique discussion in class about the colors of logos and also the importance of shape.

Another activity that is great to use is the Retail Alphabet Game. It can be a great activity to use in the classroom.

WOW!!! They are reading and actually like doing it and so do I...

I have always wanted my students to read more business books but I did not want them to do the same old silent reading with a study guide and concluding with a test.  While at a district wide meeting I learned about literacy circles, so I decided to give them a shot.  I decided to have my senior advanced marketing students read Jim Collin’s Good To Great.  The first discussion day was the better than I expected!!!  Even the students who are normally class shirkers were participating and seemed to be very involved.  I can not wait to see what else happens using literacy circles.  If you want to see my hand outs feel free email me.   

 

 

What can I do to reinforce the concepts taught in my Accounting Class?

As an elective teacher we are faced with having to disguise the learning in our classes. Our students get plenty of worksheets from their math and english teachers. We need to accomplish the same thing but without the worksheet listing the concepts.

In Accounting I like to use Monopoly to do this. We play every week to reinforce the concepts studied that week. Playing Monopoly in accounting is nothing new. I am not the first to do this but I am at my school. The kids love it and the game can grow with you. There is a small initial investment for the games or you can even have the kids bring one in from home. Have the students work in teams of two and create a team or company name. Then you need forms. You can create or download these or you can even buy them. I start with the 5 column General Journal and then add in the General Ledger. Once you get to the sections on financial statements you can have them create worksheets, Balance and income statements along with post closing trial balance sheets.

You can make this work for your accounting classes at all levels and its not to late start. You don't have to play every week but when you tell your students that you are going to be playing Monopoly your students will have fun. You need to walk around a monitor the class as they may not want to track their transactions.

The First Day Of A New Semester.

If you think about it, the first day of a semester is just like the first time you walk into a new store. Within the first five minutes students will decide whether they will want to be in your class or not. Thus, I do not hand out a syllabus the fist day I try to take advantage of the opportunity and make my classes stand out.

One way I attempt this is on the first day of class, I ask the students why do they have a job? I will get answers ranging from to make money, to pay bills, to pay for college, etc... after letting the students run out of ideas on why they have a job I tell them they are all wrong. Informing the students that the only reason they have a job is because of the customer. I use the circular flow model and explain how the customer starts everything as well how there are different types of customers (B to B).

What different activities do you do to start off the semester?

Thanks for reading and remember it takes ALL of us to make all of us better educators.