DECA Insight | Sept.- Oct. 2014

COMPETITIVE EVENTS Find out the latest tech tool in preparing for DECA’s exams.

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CHAPTER RESOURCES

Get five tech tools for collaborative learning.

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CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION:

DECA and financial literacy make $ense.

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GET MORE WITH DECA DIRECT ONLINE

“I am DECA” is the cornerstone of this membership year. With competitors, leaders, creative thinkers, entrepreneurs, volunteers and more, the DECA experience is different for everyone. Here are some easy ways to get all of your members involved this year.

I AM A CHAPTER MEMBER. No matter members’ interests – membership recruitment, community service, advocacy, entrepreneurship or promotion, the DECA Chapter Campaigns are perfect for engaging and motivating all of your DECA members. See more on page 8.

I AM A COMPETITOR. DECA’s competitive events program is a highlight for many DECA members. Check out this year’s two new events – Financial Consulting and Personal Financial Literacy. We think you’ll also like the new icons in the DECA Guide and on the poster included in this packet!

I AM A NETWORKER. DECA’s educational conferences are the perfect setting to extend classroom learning. Connected to National Curriculum Standards and 21st Century Skills, these are tremendous learning experiences.

I AM A LEADER. There are plenty of leadership opportunities, but you can’t miss DECA’s all-new Emerging Leader Series at DECA’s International Career Development Conference!

I AM AN ENTREPRENEUR. From school-based enterprises to the DECA Idea Challenge to competitive events, opportunities abound for entrepreneurs of all levels.

I AM CONNECTED. Be sure to follow us on decadirect.org, facebook.com/ decainc and twitter.com/decainc for all the latest DECA information. Don’t forget to show us your #IamDECA selfie!

Consult the DECA Guide and our all-new website (coming soon!) for a comprehensive listing of DECA programs.

3 WAYS TO INCREASE THE “I AM DECA” PRESENCE IN YOUR SCHOOL Everyone in your school will know you are DECA with these great ideas. http://bit.ly/1AbyJwx CREATE A CONSISTENT & SUCCESSFUL SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE Your association or chapter will benefit from these social media tips and tools! http://bit.ly/1zV9D51 DECA NIGHT BRINGS IN 40 NEW MEMBERS Find out how to get your membership recruitment off on the right foot this school year! http://bit.ly/1rp6mJy COMMON SBE MYTHS Not sure a School-based Enterprise is right for your chapter or school? Get the real answers! http://bit.ly/LjUcP0 HOW TO GET OVER 200 STUDENTS TO ATTEND A CHAPTER MEETING Find out how to create a DECA “buzz” in your school and get students to your meeting. http://bit.ly/1qUsHuI TECHKNOWLOGY TIPS FOR YOUR DECA CHAPTER Your chapter can be tech savvy this year with a few helpful tools. http://bit.ly/1rk2mJ9

■ WWW.DECADIRECT.ORG

GONNA BE THE BEST APP OF YOUR LIFE Prepare for DECA exams on your favorite hand-held device.

NOW AVAILABLE

$3.99 EACH

CHAPTER RESOURCES

5 TECH TOOLS FOR COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

BY JANELLE SCUDDER | DECA INC.

Are you looking for ways to help your students learn together and collaborate on group projects? Check out these five awesome technology tools that can take traditional learning to a whole new level.

1) Google+ Hangouts Up to 10 students can join together for a private video chat – great for when meeting in person is hard to coordinate (no more excuses!) – but you can also make hangouts public and broadcast live (great presentation idea).

Screen share allows for students to pull up documents, webpages and more, so they can collaborate on written documents or presentations.

2) Simple Surface | SIMPLESURFACE.COM Simple Surface is an ‘online’ whiteboard that give students room to share ideas, brainstorm and create topics/lists online while also collaborating and sharing their input. You can share your group’s Surface with others through links, email, social (publish to Pinterest or Facebook), PDF or make it public. For visual learners, this is a great way to organize thoughts or ideas.

3) Twitter Chats Host your own Twitter Chat by picking a time, creating a hashtag (#techtoolschat) and having your students log into TweetChat.com to converse in real-time. You can also join an existing Twitter Chat! Search Twitter, Google or Twitter Chat Schedule (http://tweetreports.com/twitterchat-schedule/) to find out what chats are taking place. This is an awesome way to take classroom learning into the real world, network with industry professionals and see what professionals are saying about classroom topics.

4) Evernote | EVERNOTE.COM/EVERNOTE Download Evernote to your desktop and mobile device for ultimate on-thego note keeping. Your students are on their phones more than desktops, so give them the tools they need to learn and take notes with their phones!

This app is great for research – students can save notes, webpages, photos and more all in one place.

PUBLISHER

Paul A. Wardinski

5) Skitch | EVERNOTE.COM/SKITCH Skitch is a great app for students to edit work and collaborate while putting the finishing touches on a project. Use it on your mobile device to easily share and send photos, documents and more with various notes added for revision or editing. You can take a photo, write on a map, mark up a webpage, annotate a PDF, draw a diagram and more!

Other Resources to Consider:

EDITOR

Christopher Young

THIS EDITION Sept./Oct. 2014 No. 17

Published four times each year

by DECA Inc. Sept./Oct. Nov./Dec. Jan./Feb. April/May Copyright ©2014 by DECA Inc.

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Janelle Scudder Shane Thomas Michelle Walker

CORRESPONDENCE

DECA Insight 1908 Association Drive Reston, VA 20191-1594 (703) 860-5000 www.deca.org communications@deca.org

DECA Direct Online

DECA’s Pinterest

www.decadirect.org

www.pinterest.com/decainc

101 Free Online Collaborative Learning Tools for Teachers and Educators http://bit.ly/101techtools

FINANCIAL LITERACY AND DECA MAKE $ENSE

EDUCATION IS TRYING TO HELP

HERE’S A LOOK AT PERSONAL FINANCE EDUCATION

FINANCIAL LITERACY IS A HUGE ISSUE

DID YOU KNOW?

My Budget

57%

of teens make purchases using their own money

8 in 10

17%

but only maintain a budget

states (+D.C.) include the K-12 standards

states (+D.C.) require standards to be implemented

58%

are concerned about finding a good job as an adult

worry about being worse off financially than their parents

states (+D.C.) where states (+D.C.) that high school course is require student testing required to be taken Source: surveyofthestates.com

3 in 4

turn to their parents for financial information

62%

say their parents are good financial role models

Source: H&R Block Dollars & Sense through a survey conducted by The Futures Company.

“If our young people aren't financially literate, we are part of the problem, not part of the solution. And as a nation, we have a huge problem,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Source: article published at pionline.com.

BUT EDUCATORS NEED RESOURCES

The demand for personal financial literacy resources has never been greater, and DECA has developed an ever-expanding list of programs to help educators teach personal financial literacy standards and engage students in meaningful instructional activities. From competitive events to partnership resources to certification, there’s no better time to offer these DECA opportunities to your student members and consider additional ways to engage more students.

SEE HOW

CAN HELP

PERSONAL FINANCE VS. FINANCIAL LITERACY PERSONAL FINANCE describes the principles and methods that individuals use to acquire and manage income and assets.

FINANCIAL LITERACY is the ability to use knowledge and skills to manage one’s financial resources effectively for lifetime financial security.

NATIONAL STANDARDS DECA utilizes the National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education which were created and are maintained by the Jump$tart Coalition® for Personal Financial Literacy. Broadly, students will be assessed on their knowledge of areas such as: • FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND DECISION MAKING Apply reliable information and systematic decision making to personal financial decisions.

• INCOME AND CAREERS Use a career plan to develop personal income potential.

• PLANNING AND MONEY MANAGEMENT Organize personal finances and use a budget to manage cash flow.

• CREDIT AND DEBT Maintain creditworthiness, borrow at favorable terms, and manage debt.

• RISK MANAGEMENT AND INSURANCE Use appropriate and costeffective risk management strategies.

• SAVING AND INVESTING Implement a diversified investment strategy that is compatible with personal goals.

COMPETITIVE EVENTS PERSONAL FINANCIAL LITERACY EVENT

New for 2014-2015, DECA’s Personal Financial Literacy Event measures the personal finance knowledge and skills that students should possess. The Personal Financial Literacy Event is designed to measure a student’s ability to apply reliable information and systematic decision making to personal financial decisions through an exam and role-play scenario. This event is ideal for DECA members who are enrolled in personal finance and financial literacy courses. The H&R Block Dollars & Sense program provides a total of $37,500 in scholarships for the top 10 finalists at DECA’s International Career Development Conference.

FINANCIAL LITERACY PROMOTION PROJECT

The Financial Literacy Promotion Project provides an opportunity for DECA chapter members to demonstrate the skills needed in planning, organizing, implementing and evaluating a campaign to educate chapter members and the general public or an organized group about the importance of financial literacy.

After learning the economic principles associated with financial literacy, chapter members will utilize their marketing skills to communicate the benefits of financial literacy to others. This event is a perfect application activity for students to demonstrate their learning of key personal financial literacy concepts.

VIRTUAL BUSINESS CHALLENGE – PERSONAL FINANCE

In the Virtual Business Challenge (VBC) – Personal Finance, DECA members operate a computerized business simulation to manage bank accounts, credit and debit cards, bills, credit scores, taxes, insurance and investing, and interpret actions, charts and graphs to make strategic financial decisions and optimize net worth. The simulation uses a competition version of the Virtual Business software.

The VBC qualifying rounds are conducted via the Internet, where participants post competition scores for chartered association, regional and overall rankings.

FINANCIAL LITERACY CERTIFICATION Beginning in 2014-2015, DECA members meeting the minimum score requirements on the new Personal Financial Literacy Exam at the chartered association and ICDC levels of testing will be eligible to obtain financial literacy certification through Working In Support of Education (w!se). Members or chapters will pay a small administrative processing fee to DECA and certification documents will be sent to the chapter. In some states, this can meet a graduation requirement that students must obtain an industry credential. Established in 2003, w!se’s Financial Literacy Certification Program has been widely recognized for its success, earning the U.S. Treasury Department’s John Sherman Award for Excellence in Financial Education.

Many of DECA’s partners provide specific resources available to DECA advisors and members in the areas of personal financial literacy.

AICPA has resources to help students understand their personal finances through every stage of life. Given the challenges students can face when going through school with student loans, credit cards and even saving those funds from summer internships, resources can help with their day-to-day financial health.

■ www.feedthepig.org and www.360financialliteracy.org H&R Block Dollars & Sense helps give young people the understanding they need to manage their personal finances. Resources, including lesson plans, workshops that are ideal for DECA’s Financial Literacy Promotion Plan and videos, are available.

■ www.hrblockdollarsandsense.org.

The Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy is a coalition of organizations that share a commitment to advancing financial literacy among pre-school through college-age youth and working collaboratively toward effective financial education. They created and maintain the National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education.

■ www.jumpstart.org

Knowledge Matters is the creator of the Virtual Business – Personal Finance and the DECA competitive events companion designed to use a computer simulation to help students learn key personal financial literacy skills.

■ www.knowledgematters.com

Working In Support of Education’s Financial Literacy Certification Program provides high school students with access to financial education and the opportunity to become certified financially literate.

■ www.wise-ny.org

LEVERAGING PERSONAL FINANCE

With all of these terrific resources and opportunities focused on personal finance, consider how you will integrate them into your DECA chapter and school. Here are a few ideas.

■ If your personal finance students haven’t

joined DECA before, now they can get even more out of DECA with competitive events specifically related to their coursework.

Encourage them to join DECA and take advantage of our competitive events.

■ If you’re teaching personal finance,

integrate the resources provided by our partners like AICPA, H&R Block Dollars and Sense, Jump$tart, Knowledge Matters and w!se into your classroom instruction.

■ This is a great opportunity to grow your

chapter! With so many personal finance events, encourage those teaching personal finance in your school to take advantage of DECA’s resources by becoming a fellow advisor and offering membership to their students.

Learn more at www.deca.org.

CHAPTER SPOTLIGHT J.P. Taravella DECA took full advantage of DECA’s Financial Literacy Promotion Project as part of a chapter activity last year that not only helped increase financial literacy among 300 students but also expanded exposure of the, DECA program.

“We are always looking to see how we can take the financial literacy lessons learned through our Academy of Finance into the broader population and this project idea seemed like a great way to reach a lot of students,” said J.P. Taravella DECA advisor, Laurie Acosta.

Sophomore Aaron Mitchell and junior Ambalika Tirado-Langal were inspired to approach the topic of financial literacy after viewing the ESPN 30 For 30 documentary, “Broke.” They invited all student athletes at their school to attend, “Makin’ It Rain Won’t Help Your Game,” in which students took a brief financial literacy survey, watched an edited version of “Broke,” and participated in a Q&A with three former professional athletes – Miami Dolphins tight end Ed Perry, Ty Douthard from the Cincinnati Bengals and Tommy Collaro, who played for the Chicago White Sox. The students then transitioned to presenters from 10 different business partners, ranging from credit unions, financial advisors and banks before taking a post-test.

The top 30 scoring students were invited to a guest luncheon with the special guest pro athletes.

Mitchell and Tirado-Langal then turned their chapter activity into DECA’s Financial Literacy Promotion Project and presented it at their association career development conference.

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CHAPTER CAMPAIGNS

CELEBRATE DECA MONTH IN NOVEMBER

■ deca.org/page/campaigns

MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN Guide your membership efforts by meeting these goals.

20

MORE STUDENTS THAN LAST YEAR

20 ALUMNI

DEADLINE

1

DECEMBER

20

PROFESSIONALS

Earn ACHIEVEMENT LEVEL by meeting the requirements in any ONE of the categories (students, alumni and professionals) of the Membership Campaign and receive a pennant and certificate.

Earn THRIVE LEVEL by meeting the requirements in any TWO of the categories of the Membership Campaign and receive a pennant, plaque, flag and three allocations to attend the THRIVE ACADEMY at ICDC!

GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP WEEK CAMPAIGN

Activities must occur during November 17-23, 2014. Chapter must be registered with Global Entrepreneurship Week prior to the week.

3

IDEA CHALLENGE ENTRIES

3

SUCCESS STORIES OF ALUMNI ENTREPRENEURS

3

SCHOOL/ COMMUNITY OUTREACH ACTIVITIES Earn ACHIEVEMENT LEVEL by meeting the requirements in any ONE of the three DECA Month Chapter Campaigns (Global Entrepreneurship Week Campaign, Promotional Campaign, and Community Service Campaign) and receive a pennant and certificate.

PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN

Conduct these activities from the beginning of your school year through DECA Month.

3

SCHOOL OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

3

SUCCESS STORIES OF ALUMNI

3

Earn THRIVE LEVEL by meeting the requirements in any TWO of the three DECA Month Chapter Campaigns (Global Entrepreneurship Week Campaign, Promotional Campaign, and Community Service Campaign) and receive a pennant, plaque, flag and three allocations to attend the THRIVE ACADEMY at ICDC!

COMMUNITY OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

COMMUNITY SERVICE CAMPAIGN

Conduct community service activities from the beginning of your school year through DECA Month.

1

OR MORE COMMUNITY SERVICE ACTIVITIES

75%

OR MORE PARTICIPATION OF YOUR DECA MEMBERS

ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN

1

SCHOOL OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

3

PUBLIC POLICYMAKERS OUTREACH

DEADLINE

FORM OF PUBLICITY OR PROMOTION

DEADLINE

Advocate during Career and Technical Education Month in February.

3

1

DECEMBER

3

COMMUNITY OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

2

MARCH

Meet the requirements in the Advocacy Campaign during February and receive a pennant, special plaque from DECA’s Congressional Advisory Board and a letter of recognition sent to your school administrator and government officials.