FQ FUN story - Financial education K-12 project

A Story about FQ FUN

It all started from a group of kids

who were average aged 10.

They were our Experimental Class.

2010.01 Experimental Class

Every Friday evening, we teach them, well, about the financial world.

(Yes, the actual, evolving financial world!)

Phase I Phase 2 Phase 3

With a weekly comic illustrating the top 5 global headlines of the previous week,

7,000 Bloomberg headlines selected into top 5

Top 5 headlines processed into comic & cards

Phase I Phase 2 Phase 3

Phase I Phase 2 Phase 3

they observed how these fairy tales themed comics developed week after week,

and how certain 5 characters had mood swings accordingly.

Phase I Phase 2 Phase 3

Who? What characters?

Phase I Phase 2 Phase 3

It’ s the FED 5!

Phase I Phase 2 Phase 3

Phase I Phase 2 Phase 3

They are Stock, Bonds, Money, Oil and House, who have become the media and framework for the kids to learn about the financial world.

With FED 5, there are endless ways for kids to play or relate to…

Phase I Phase 2 Phase 3

In the minds of CLC kids, there existed the miniature of theglobal market, and that was FED 5 would have their ups and downs when weekly news events happened.

Phase I Phase 2 Phase 3

That was how the experimental class learned.

Well, at least in Phase I.

Phase I Phase 2 Phase 3

After 3-month-of-learning, they are still passionate about the FED 5, and the comics.

Phase I Phase 2 Phase 3

But they had become much less excited compared to the beginning.

We were seeking new ideas to again provoke kids’interest and passion.

What would be their drive for wanting to knowmore and learn more?

Phase I Phase 2 Phase 3

2010.01.15 Experimental Class

2010.01Phase II : Games

2010.01Phase I : Comics

Stepping into phase II, we came up with the idea of

game cards,

and,

board game!

Phase I Phase II Phase III

A game card looks like this.

Phase I Phase II Phase III

One game card illustrates how FED 5 each would react numerically when a financial event occurs.

(Weekly top 5 events from the comic are regularly made into game card format)

Phase I Phase II Phase III

So, we used the game cards in the board game named WALEX then?

Phase I Phase II Phase III

Yes! WALEX is a road-map like board game. By rolling dices you come across financial event cards with different colors (risk factor types)

Phase I Phase II Phase III

Phase I Phase II Phase III

Just like fund managers, players assess event cards ahead their route and are required to make chip (asset) allocation on the FED 5 to deal with these events they might then encounter.

Phase I Phase II Phase III

There can also be much variation to the game, such as role-play,

Role-play WALEX:(L) What would regional policy makers do when certain events occur? (R) Playing WALEX, trader team style!

Phase I Phase II Phase III

or applicability to sell short on FED 5, or buy option and other derivatives, or each corporation in game has varying prices conditioned on the economic environment…etc

And so on.

Phase I Phase II Phase III

Give Me Five: Battle between fund managers

Phase I Phase II Phase III

High Frequency Trading Simulation: to test one’ s prompt response to certain events

Phase I Phase II Phase III

The WALEX game can be so very real portraying the con-current financial world, with a great deal of possible simulating mechanism design added to the game.

Phase I Phase II Phase III

So, do kids like WALEX and those little game cards?

Phase I Phase II Phase III

Turned out,

Phase I Phase II Phase III

they love the game!

(Yes!)

Phase I Phase II Phase III

Kids love the game

in Russia…

in Japan,

in Taiwan,

in Hong Kong,

How do they love it anyway?How passionate?

Phase I Phase II Phase III

1.They have become obsessed WALEX maniac.

Phase I Phase II Phase III

They cannot put up with one Friday evening without playing WALEX, or any other type of WALEX variation (Give Me 5, High-Frequency-Trading simulation, virtual WALEX etc.).

Phase I Phase II Phase III

They even came to love Lehman Brothers-collapse-like financial turmoil(!)

(They love the card, not the event itself…)

Phase I Phase II Phase III

2.They have become fearless.

Phase I Phase II Phase III

Fearless to…• WALEX challenge from the elder,

(Beaten 3 groups of undergrad from top schools in this case)

Phase I Phase II Phase III

Fearless to…• WALEX challenge from people speaking different language (Beaten teams from Finance Univ.(RU) undergrad and Moscow

Econ. School )

Phase I Phase II Phase III

3.They have pretty much passed Macro Economics 101.

Phase I Phase II Phase III

(College level, no kidding)

Can you imagine a 10-year-old outcry in mere seconds the FED 5’ s impact factor numbers to almost all the top financial

events of 2010-2012?

Phase I Phase II Phase III

Game competition is a natural thing. They learned from it and they had fun with it.

Phase I Phase II Phase III

And when it’ s fun, passion lasts.

Phase I Phase II Phase III

Learning by Playing it is.

Phase I Phase II Phase III

To kick it up a notch, in the 3rd phase, we decided to broaden kids’ prospective to another level.

Phase I Phase II Phase III

2010.01.15 Experimental Class

2010.01Phase 1 : Comic

2010.04Phase 2 : Game

2012.01Phase 3 : Story

Dr. Jeng, founder of CLC, is working on a sci-fi masterwork [2355 AD], which covers topics of a wide range of science fields, historical facts, and projection of the fictional future.

Phase I Phase II Phase III

CLC finds [2355 AD] a great source not only to incorporate many ideas from the story to add twists into WALEX, but also a road-map for kids to think about the current and project into future.

Inspired by Dr. Jeng’ s “ Plato’ s Wisdom” article (Scientific & Cultural Elements for [2355 AD]), this was how “ Plato’ s Cave” being demonstrated

Phase I Phase II Phase III

WALEX in essence of [2355 AD] can be the time-machine and gateway for kids to develop their imagination and creativity for the world’ s future we live in together.

Phase I Phase II Phase III

Something we’ d gladly see, and believe will go on potentially a long way.

Phase I Phase II Phase III

2010.01 Experimental Class

2010.01Phase 1 : Comic

2010.04Phase 2 : Game

2012.01Phase 3 : Story

Through the constant exposure to financial scenarios simulated in WALEX, the perspective of kids in CLC has been used to envision at the macro globe.

This kind of mindset was normally acquired not so easily, let alone having fun in the process.

Now with WALEX, we hope to make a little difference.

And the little difference may, possibly, bring enormous impact.

We Open Kids’ Minds