Case Study - Lonnie Moore, Iowa

Posted by Bryan on 15 November 2009 | 0 Comments

Lonnie Moore, a Personal Finance teacher at Waterloo West High School, in Waterloo Iowa, discovered Banzai while searching for interactive financial literacy resources. Lonnie has long understood that students learn best by applying their knowledge during the learning process. He concluded that Banzai would be a perfect way to bring financial literacy and technology together for applied learning in the classroom.

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The Simple Setup

Before long, Lonnie was up and running with his free Banzai teacher account from www.teachbanzai.com. It was a cinch for students to enroll -- they simply signed up with the class code issued by Banzai’s Teacher's Assistant. 

Banzai in the Curriculum

Implementing new and interactive tools is nothing new for Lonnie. His commitment to innovation has opened doors for students to prepare for daily experiences and decisions in post-graduation life. Each student that enters Mr. Moore's classroom is trained and provided research tools for starting out a new simulated life. The first assignment is to decide on a place in the United States where he or she would like to live. Assignments that follow include finding a real job posting in that area, researching the cost of living, and finding an apartment no more than 20 miles from the new employer. What will be the rent? Are utilities included? Is it a studio? Will it be a two-bedroom apartment? The students learn that expenses add up quickly, increasing the incentive to become wise stewards of their money.

In order to introduce his students to many of these ideas, Lonnie added Banzai's Life Scenarios to his curriculum. He spent a short time introducing the scenarios, and then he gave the students a portion of each of three class periods to work on the scenarios. Anything not finished in class was assigned as homework. "It's great for my students because they have the ability to use it outside of class." He then guided them through the entire Life Scenarios together with his class, answering questions and expanding on the concepts.

Banzai's Impact

After priming his students’ minds, Lonnie instructs them to begin entering real or fictional daily expenses and income of their own. "The kids really like Banzai. It keeps their attention and it's interactive. They like keeping it up to date." Even though Banzai is useful in the classroom, Lonnie's goal is to prepare his students with principles and habits that they can utilize in their lives, especially after graduating from Waterloo West High.

Conclusion

One of Lonnie's key factors to success is his dedication to providing real experiences for his students. "When I look for something to use in the classroom, it has to be interactive and keep the kids' attention. It needs to help them understand, and they need to think it's fun!" Whether Banzai is used as a curriculum supplement or a foundation for a financial literacy course, the principles will become part of students’ lives as they grow to understand the value of a dollar.