Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Introducing Kids To The Global Marketplace Through Online Blended Entrepreneurship Education

By Linda Cook


Technology is a great tool educators can use to their advantage. More and more educators are seeing the wisdom of introducing the concept of entrepreneurship into their classrooms as well. Giving middle schoolers a chance to see how the world works through online blended entrepreneurship education for 6th grade through 8th will give them a start in the right direction.

Online lessons can be successfully blended with the interaction of business volunteers and teaching staff. Students can participate in programs designed to introduce the basics of global marketing. They are introduced to business ethics and how it relates to customers. What constitutes ethical behavior in the workplace is defined. Students are given examples of certain situations and asked to discuss whether the decisions made were, or were not, ethical.

The subject of an early lesson is business and culture. Students are asked to watch videos that introduce them to the various ways people of different cultures greet each other. The leaders discuss terminology. The classroom discusses how different cultures perceive business leaders from other countries and how that affects their buying decisions. Students are led in a discussion about the ways businesses structure their services to accommodate global customers and maximize their profits.

Global trade is the focus of one lesson. Leaders discuss why certain countries initiate trade agreements with other countries instead of relying solely on the manufacturers in their own countries. Students learn the ways technology has impacted global trade. They play games involving trade and use strategy to convince peers to purchase their products.

Not all countries are able to supply everything their citizens need and maintain a stable economy. The benefits of specialization are discussed, and children are given a chance to play a game that underscores these benefits. There is a discussion about the ways in which business decisions in one country can have negative and positive effects on customers in other countries.

Trade barriers is an important concept that is the subject of a lesson. Students watch a video discussing tariffs. They see real life examples of the ways tariffs affect the balance of trade. The ways trade barriers affect countries around the world, and the different ways employees, customers, and businesses suffer is discussed.

International currency is the subject of a lesson. Teachers talk about various currencies and define rates of exchange. They discuss why different currencies are valued differently and why exchange rates go up and down. Students learn to use currency converters and calculate rates of exchange. They discuss how exchange rates impact buying power.

The future of the global workforce is discussed in one lesson. There is discussion about the criteria businesses use to attract the best applicants for their companies. Why it can be important to become proficient in a second language is discussed as well as what else it takes for an job applicant to be competitive in the global marketplace. These lessons incorporate science, math, language, and social skill sets along with their introduction to world markets. Students get instruction that they can build on and use in the future.




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