Being fluent in finance is important. Now, even more so because institutions take advantage of the average person’s ignorance on this issue. If you’re not sure how, check out a fantastic video on the recent credit crisis by my instructional design hero, Jonathan Jarvis.
The Credit Crisis – Animatic from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.
Today, I received free licenses from Enspire for their Fluent in Finance online course. They’ve done an excellent job. As I was taking this amazing course, I realized that I participate in an amazing simulated economy that would allow learners to take these concepts and try them out with tremendous results. It’s called EVE, the virtual world with a robust virtual economy. Using cash flow models, understanding the time value of money, and calculating risk are all essential to being able to succeed in this environment where corporations are fighting for control of scarce resources. Although, not knowing this and having a shit-ton of battleships helps a lot; if I were a student of finance, I would probably have more fun and gain longer lasting knowledge on the subject.
Recently, a group of players decided to create their own corporation. It’s fascinating to see them discuss these concepts (knowingly or not) with passion and conviction. It’s not the type of discussion I was used to in class. I truly believe that a learner would have the concepts of finance reinforced if you put their internet spaceship on the line. Also, it’s a lot better for all of us to have learners test financial models in a virtual world before they test them out in the real one, no?
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2 Comments
Thank you for your kind words about our Fluent in Finance curriculum. You’re absolutely right that the best way to cement some of these principles is through practical application in a virtual marketplace.
We’ve developed an online multiplayer simulation as a complement to the Fluent in Finance course. It’s called Business Challenge, and you can learn more about it here:
http://www.enspire.com/simulations/business_acumen
Alex,
Thanks for the quick response. I loved the way your online training is developed and having a simulation makes it a cut above the rest. To compare the two, I would be interested in how many people are participating in this simulation concurrently, what are the costs, and how much of a learning curve there is to participate. EVE’s concurrency is between 27k – 60k, which creates a dynamic, unpredictable, and emergent environment. The costs for EVE is pretty low $14.95 U.S./ month, but the learning curve is pretty steep. There’s also the fun factor. I think making it fun while learning is the key. EVE is pretty fun as long as you’re not afraid of risk, which would lead to an amazing learning experience on risk management, or decision making using financial tools.
Great resource. Thanks for sharing.
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