iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

If your school doesn’t teach a course about personal economics, there are many online sites that address the topic as mini-lessons. Some are narrative; others games. Here are fifteen I like. See if one suits you (check here for updates on links):

Money means different things to different people. This website will help you make financial decisions that enable your money to work harder for you.

Check out their Twitter account at @MoneySmartMB

and the Facebook Page 

In 2015, my organization embarked on an ambitious initiative to improve financial capacity in middle school students across the United States. Research found that by the age of 12, students had developed an economic understanding that was “essentially adult”—but they did not have the education or skills needed to tackle many complex financial decisions.

. . . nearly 90% of students are taking the knowledge they learn home to the dinner table or using our companion app outside of the classroom.
As of April, we have reached over one million students through the MassMutual Foundation’s FutureSmart program; we’re now halfway to our goal of providing two million students with financial education by 2020. The knowledge gains and behavioral changes we’ve seen at scale give me hope that young people are prepared to be smart stewards of their own financial futures. We have seen students’ scores on pre- and-post assessments rise from a D to a B. In addition, nearly 90% of students are taking the knowledge they learn home to the dinner table or using our companion app outside of the classroom.

However, it’s the individual stories from more than a million students, teachers, administrators and partners that most inspire and encourage me. Here are some of my favorite stories of real people having real impact:

Today children of all ages have access smartphones or tablets, and this reality makes mobile apps one of the best avenues for teaching kids and young adults important concepts about financial literacy. These apps can help students to quickly understand money, and the consequences of their financial decisions.

As a parent and educator, I know it is super important that my kids learn how to make smart financial decisions now, before they go off into the real world.  But I know that raising money confident kids isn’t always easy.

It involves planning.

It involves understanding ourselves how to be money confident—and that can be scary, even as adults.


So when I was asked by the good people at T. Rowe Price to take a look at the Money Confident Kids® resources they have for school and home, you bet I was ready. The more I learn, the more I can help my children become financially fit.

I really love the range and creativity of these resources, and you will, too.

Show a fourth grader how to balance a checkbook and it won’t be long before her eyes start to glaze over or his mind starts to wander off to more interesting things. Infuse a financial literacy lesson with terms like bitcoin or cryptocurrency, however, and the lesson gets a bit more interesting. Better yet, give the student a very hands-on, tech-centric way to experiment with those financial concepts, and suddenly you’re in an entirely new learning realm.

As it stands now, a high percentage of K-12 students never getting the tools and training they need to make informed financial decisions. Only a third of states require high school students to take a course in personal finance, while less than half require them to take a course in economics before graduating. So in a push to make learning more relevant—and fun—a pair of startups, BitLearn and Pigzbe, are fusing gamification with finance, propped up by digital currency tokens. Call it the 21st century piggy bank.

Teaching financial literacy in the classroom is one promising way to improve financial capacity for today’s young people.
Today’s young people face an overwhelming number of complex financial decisions. However, many are unprepared to make informed financial choices as they move into adulthood. In fact, three out of four young adults cannot answer basic financial questions.

Teaching financial literacy in the classroom is one promising way to improve financial capacity for today’s young people. Research shows that by the age of 12, students will develop an economic understanding that researchers describe as “essentially adult”. By including lessons on smart money habits early in their cognitive development, we can encourage young people to save money, foster family conversations, a

It’s important for teachers to introduce their students to financial literacy, the ability to manage one’s income wisely and make intelligent long-term monetary decisions.

Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, and Utah have laws in place to include a personal economic or financial literacy course at their high schools, but every student in every state could use a few lessons in smart money management. Need some ideas? The activities below are a great place to start.