Promising Practices in Youth Entrepreneurship
Doug Woodward suggested we include the list of “Promising Practices” that was included in the “Technology Enabled Entrepreneurship Education” Report done by Karen Bantel. I think the formatting is great and we can add to this list. In addition Erica Tobe suggested we take a look at the National Best Practices Guidelines for Personal Finance Education Materials to use as a guide for determining how to select “Promising Practices”. See http://www.jumpstart.org/bp.cfm
K-12: YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The following describes online entrepreneurship curriculum for K-12 students. Some offer course credit.
• City University of New York (CUNY) Institute for Virtual Enterprise (IVE): builds student awareness in Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship, Leadership, and Environmental Preservation within a context of Sustainable Development. Virtual Enterprise (VE) is a business simulation program in which student entrepreneurs conceive, develop and manage enterprises that trade their products and services in a global marketplace utilizing various web-based technologies. Evolving from an ongoing collaboration among Kingsborough Community College, the New York City Department of Education, and the Kingsborough College Now program, VE has been a growing and increasingly vital program on the campus of Kingsborough Community College. Students trade their products and services through a worldwide network of 5,000 firms in forty countries through the MarketMaker, a web-based banking, credit card and stock market developed at CUNY. VE employs a student-centered approach towards teaching, learning, and working which provides goal oriented instruction in a simulated yet real entrepreneurial environment, using synchronous and asynchronous components. It now encompasses nearly one-half of all New York City high schools: http://www.ive.cuny.edu/ve/introduction.php
• Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED): is a nonprofit organization that expands economic opportunity. It offers eREAL, based on the REAL Entrepreneurship curriculum, an online, facilitator-led, experiential course of study. eREAL was developed by NC REAL Enterprises and CFED-REAL. It can be used by educators in high schools, post-secondary institutions, and community-based organizations like e-learning sites and small business development centers. As it is currently being taught, the eREAL course is one semester (approximately 14-18 weeks) in length and all activity occur online using discussion boards, on-line collaboration tools, and e-mail interaction. Virtual Classroom (Live Chat) sessions and face-to-face meetings are optional.
http://www.cfed.org/focus.m?parentid=341&siteid=341&id=416
• Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED): offers the Future Entrepreneurs Program, developed for middle and high school students in the greater North Carolina Research Triangle area, with support from The Coleman Foundation and The Cisco Systems Foundation. It is an eight-lesson curriculum for students to learn about the processes of entrepreneurship: from identification of potential business opportunities to development of a business plan. The curriculum is free and available online:
http://www.cednc.org/initiatives/student_programs/future_entrepreneurs/curriculum/index.htm
• Disney Epcot Center - Opportunity City: brings the challenges of starting and running a business to life for young entrepreneurs. Inspired by the success of the Disney-Kauffman Hot Shot Business Internet simulation game (see below), Opportunity City features several activity stations, including state-of-the-art interactive kiosks:
http://www.kauffman.org/entrepreneurship.cfm?topic=youth&itemID=603
• Disney Online – Hot Shot Business: an Internet simulation that allows kids to experience the adventure of starting and running their own businesses. Hot Shot Business is a collaboration between the Kauffman Foundation and Disney. Hot Shot Business blends fast-paced, fun game play with real-world lessons to teach kids entrepreneurship concepts and skills as they build a virtual business from the ground up. The game is designed specifically for "tweens," children ages 9 - 12, to introduce entrepreneurial thinking during a unique stage of their development when economic habits are being formed. http://www.disney.go.com/hotshot/hsb.html
• Education, Training and Enterprise Center (EDTEC): is a national youth entrepreneurship training company. Founded in 1985, EDTEC is a minority-owned firm with a mission to address the needs of urban America by making the most of the human capital often overlooked by traditional training firms through programs in management consulting, training, education, economic development and information technology: http://www.edtecinc.com/about_edtec.htm. EDTEC offers the New Youth Entrepreneur curriculum, which has sold nearly 20,000 sets worldwide. EDTEC, the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Kauffman Foundation, and the US Department of Education's Safetynet program collaborated to create a fully interactive, animated online version - New Youth Entrepreneur Interactive. The course has online access for teachers, yet is currently delivered to students in an on-site format: http://www.edtecinc.com/nyeint/nye_interactive.htm
• GenX Startup.com: is a web site to help teach Generation X about starting a business and to tell others about what their fellow Gen X'ers are doing. Biz Nuts & Bolts is a web-based tutorial on the elements of starting your own company: http://www.businessownersideacafe.com/genx/biznuts.html
• Marketplace for Kids: was developed to encourage youth to explore entrepreneurship and self-employment through recognition and development of their inventive, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. A free curriculum for educators is available at: http://www.marketplaceforkids.org/information/vision.asp. (See mention above under “Available Online Entrepreneurship Curriculum”.)
• Michigan Virtual High School (MVHS): is an online resource that enables Michigan high schools to provide courses (all taught by certified teachers) and other learning tools that students wouldn't otherwise have access to. Funded by the Michigan Legislature in July 2000, it works in cooperation with individual school districts to grant course credit and diplomas. MVHS offers an online entrepreneurship course: http://www.mivhs.org/course_details.cfm?courseID=020B0159
• National Council on Economics Education - EconEdLink: is a source of classroom-tested, Internet-based economic lesson materials for K-12 teachers and their students. With over 470 lessons to choose from, teachers can use as many of the lessons as they would like and as often as they would like. It offers lessons on a number of online entrepreneurship topics: http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.cfm
• National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE): teaches entrepreneurship to young people from low-income communities to enhance their economic productivity by improving their business, academic and life skills. Since 1987, NFTE has reached over 120,000 young people, trained more than 3,700 Certified Entrepreneurship Teachers, and continually improved its innovative entrepreneurship curriculum. NFTE teaches entrepreneurship using an experiential curriculum aimed at middle school, high school, and young adult students, with corresponding reading levels and complexity: http://www.nfte.com/startaprogram/curriculum/. It is an internationally recognized award-winning high school curriculum, titled “How to Start & Operate A Small Business” (9th Revised edition), and is the winner of the 2002 Golden Lamp Award for Books—the most distinguished prize in educational publishing. BizTech 2.0 is the new and improved online adaptation of the curriculum, and can supplement or, in some cases, be used without the standard textbook: http://www.nfte.com/biztech/. The entrepreneurship curriculum may be used in a semester-long or year-long entrepreneurship course, integrated into an existing course, or used for an after-school program or intensive camp. The programs are offered in a variety of settings, including public schools, after-school programs at community-based organizations, and intensive summer business camps.
• University of Nebraska at Omaha, UNO Center for Economic Education - Economic Education Web (EcEdWeb): offers curriculum ideas for using the internet to teach economics (entrepreneurship topics are integrated within materials), aimed at 6th grade to college level: http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/teachsug.htm
• U.S. Small Business Administration: offers a number of on-line educational materials and tools for teens at the Teen Business Link: http://www.sba.gov/teens/tips.html
• Venture Kids: is an entrepreneurship program for minority elementary students. It incorporates two topics - education and entrepreneurship - and examines how each can play a role in personal and professional success. An online entrepreneurship training program, “Build Your Very Own Business Plan”, is available online: http://www.venturekids.org/buildPlanNow.asp
• YoungBiz: aims to empower youth with entrepreneurial, business, and financial skills through innovative education and real-world experience. The company’s four primary lines of business are: Media Services, Youth Programs, Professional Development Workshops, and the YoungBiz Online Catalog. It offers an online activity based learning program called YoungBiz Net: http://www.kidsway.com/
Additions to this list that will need write-ups:
Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour/ http://www.extremetour.org/
Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE)/ www.sifeusa.org
Tuscola ISD High School Program
Clinton County Regional Education Services Agency (CCRESA) High School Program
Genesee Area Skill Center
DECA Programs (Distributive Education Clubs of America)/ www.deca.org
Junior Achievement - http://lansing.ja.org/
www.Facebookcom look for:
NFTE/ http://www.nfte.com
REAL (being used in the UP by Northern Initiatives and by MI Tech)/ www.niupnorth.org/html/up_real.htm
EDTECH-New Youth Entrepreneur Curriculum (grades 5-8)
Generation E Institute/ www.genei.org
4-H – Be the “e” entrepreneurship/ www.n4hccs.org and
http://web1.msue.msu.edu/4h/M4HTD/2007-08/askentrep.htm
BizE
Core Four Business Planning Course / www.corefouronline.com
NxLevel – Get the Buzz on Bizz http://www.nxlevel.org
NFIB (National Foundation of Independent Businesses) – Young Entrepreneur Foundation / www.nfib.com
Textbook - “Exploring Entrepreneurship in Economics, Cynthia L. Greene (Thomson, South-Western)
My Start Up Life – Ben Casnocha
0-7879-9613-0 $24.95
For a review copy, visit www.josseybass.com
For more information, visit www.mystartuplife.com
Ben Casnocha started his first company at age 12. By the time he was 16, he was nominated for Inc. Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year” and was chairman of his second company, Comcate. While playing high school basketball and editing the school paper, Casnocha was also sneaking away to early morning flights for sales calls with customers. With the support and advice of some of Silicon Valley’s brightest minds, Casnocha crammed a lifetime of business experience into just a few years, all of which he shares in this unique book.
Jason Dorsey www.jasondorsey.com
Jason R. Dorsey is a young person who believes in youth. He wrote the first edition of “Graduate to Your Perfect Job at age 18. This book is now used along with its Integrated Teacher’s Curriculum in over 1,500 schools. Dorsey is one of the most highly sought-after youth and education speakers in America. Through his inspirational insightful programs, Jason directly helps over 100,000 people a year achieve their dreams.