A free beta version of Bulls & Bears, a full-featured online personal finance and economics education course that combines multimedia excitement with real life situations – “cleverly designed” as an online, interactive game with videos – is now being released and available for trial to educators, parents and students, after its successful initial test and United States unveiling at The Council for Economic Education’s 54th Annual Financial Literacy and Economic Education Conference in October and Jump$tart National Educator Conference this month.
Featuring the tagline “Play, learn, achieve... Today's finance whiz kids, tomorrow’s business leaders!"– Bulls & Bears was created by a diverse team of top global industry leaders based in Raanana, Israel that includes economists, financial experts, and instructional game designers. Says Bulls & Bears CEO Dr. Mario Fischel, “We need to educate our youth – and ourselves – about the core principles and the fundamental trends that are moving the world forward.”
He continued. “We can seek advice from experts, but we need to get the basics right in order to benefit from the advice given.”
Bulls & Bears: Revolutionizing Finance & Economics Teaching with Real Life Challenges and Multimedia Excitement
Bulls & Bears is an innovative and fun tool designed to educate middle, high school and college students, as well as teachers and parents, about the various factors that shape financial markets and the economy at large, using current events and real-life scenarios. Lessons are practical and experiential as players apply theoretical principles to real-life investments and personal decisions.
Players watch video clips that explain key subjects in a concise and easy-to-understand way. They are then tested on their absorption of the material, and given a chance to apply it to real-life decisions. Players are given specific news events, such as the 2008 financial crisis, the U.S. fiscal challenge, the Fed’s new monetary policy, and the Euro crisis – and then asked to buy or sell assets based upon their interpretation of these events.
Core concepts are tested through Multiple Choice Questions, encouraging students to test their knowledge and seek more information that will deepen their understanding of the subject. Players are also invited to advise various characters on optimal education and career choices that fit their backgrounds and circumstances. Finally, they’re given a real portfolio to manage so they can learn how to select and allocate assets. They will either reap rewards – or pay the price – based on the decisions they make in all these areas.
Key features of the Bulls & Bears course include:
- Fun videos that teach the basics of personal finance, economics and investment
- Games to test knowledge by responding to timely and thought-provoking questions and news items
- Activities that require students to apply their skills by making decisions about their personal investments and life choices
- A special Guidebook on personal finance for students
- Lesson plans for teachers
- Bulls & Bears has been designed as an ideal companion to textbook or classroom learning. It covers essential parts of the Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics Education and of the National Standards for Personal Finance Education.
The free beta version has three units. The first unit is an introduction to finance and economics, which seeks to instill the fundamentals that students need in order to understand economic and financial principles and teaching. The second unit focuses on education and careers, and teaches students the skills they’ll need in the job market of the future. The third unit features information on saving and investing, and teaches students about money, banking, interest rates, and inflation.
It also includes guidance on how to build a well-balanced portfolio that will generate strong, long-lasting returns without excessive risk. In addition, students receive a guidebook that contains everything that individuals of all ages would need to know about personal finance and investing.
Additional units will be released starting in early 2016, covering essential subjects like planning for retirement, buying a home, asset valuation, credit and debt, the market cycle, starting your own business, etc. The entire course takes students through a structured learning program where they will absorb core concepts and subjects in a logical sequence.
Coming Soon… The Bulls & Bears Board Game at Toy Fair NY 2016
The popular Bulls & Bears board game is being “re-created” in partnership with the Bulls & Bears online course. An exciting launch is planned at the Toy Fair 2016 in New York City, February 13-16. The game will reflect the latest market developments and evolution in economic and financial thinking, and is designed to be an effective play-learning tool for those seeking traditional family entertainment while conveying essential principles and values to the younger generation.
Bulls & Bears: The Creators & Their Inspiration
Bulls & Bears was created by a team of top global industry leaders, led by CEO Mario Fischel, Ph.D., who spent over 20 years working as an economist and senior manager with the World Bank Group. For the past 10 years of his career, Dr. Fischel managed financial and business advisory programs for the International Finance Corporation, the private-sector arm of the World Bank.
Dr. Fischel is joined by Kerin Jacobs, who was a venture capital associate for Draper Fisher Jurvetson in Shanghai, China, and worked at RockYou, a successful social game company based in San Francisco. Kerin, who is an expert in internet startup strategy and marketing, is aiming to bring Bulls and Bears to classrooms both in the United States and around the world. Playful Shark, a leading Israeli game development company, helped design the online game concept as well as produced and developed it.
Says Dr. Fischel: “In my 25 years working as an economist and financial advisor, I learned that too many of our youth – and older folks alike! – are not prepared for the complex world in which they are expected to perform. Bulls and Bears is a full-featured personal finance and economics course that empowers students to learn about the modern economic environment.”
To request a free trial and for more information, call 914-747-2500, visit www.bullandbearsonline.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bullsandbearsgame.
