Sealund’s Serious Games Blog

The ASTD TechKnowledge™ 2010 Conference at the RIO All Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 27-29, 2010 was a smashing success! http://www.tk2010.astd.org We were hoping that, in this case, what happened in Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas but would spread with great impact into the world of training.

On Wednesday, 1/27 from 4-530 PM and Friday, 1/29 from 10-1130 AM, I presented “Managers Will Create Games in Minutes,” beginning with a brief discussion of the effectiveness of Serious Games and how to implement them for the maximum impact – but most of each session had the participants working hands-on with our Serious Games. I also distributed copies of my white paper, Serious Games – What’s In It for My Organization?

During these interactive sessions, people actually created mini games, using our new Interactivity Creator and took their games back to the office for deployment. Our Interactivity Creator is available for download here for $299 per developer perpetual license.

Our booth enjoyed enthusiastic visitors who were impressed with our Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), especially the Alaris Identity Theft demo. Our drawing for a 32” Vizio TV was won by Mahar from India. (We don’t want to put his identity—or his new TV—at risk by giving his last name.)

Of course, a good time was had by all.

My suite at the RIO served as Sealund Command Central, and gave us a great view of Las Vegas.

We wanted to give a big “thank you” to Joey’s family who drove us around Vegas, so we took them to the Rio Buffet on our last evening there. Kristin, Joey, Barbara, Beverly, Sue, Joe, Steve, and Stacy all enjoyed unwinding after a very busy conference.

Did you attend the conference? What do you think? Please share your comments.

With St. Petersburg Honorable Rick Baker, my husband Phil and I co-hosted a coffee reception for Florida Governor Charlie Crist on Saturday, February 6, 2010. The crisp, clear morning weather lit up our great room, and our guest of honor lit up the conversation.

We also enjoyed our time with newly-elected Mayor of St. Petersburg, Bill Foster.

A 60 Minutes film crew captured the event; can’t wait to see that segment!

Governor Crist met with Reverend Moses Brown of Feed Our Children Ministries and the girls recently brought here from Haiti.

Of course, everyone was interested in the plans for Florida’s economic recovery. Our involvement with the 2010 Real Economic Impact Tour (REI Tour) has us participating with diverse partners in national economic recovery efforts for consumers. And my November, 2009, participation in Governor Christ’s Florida Small Business Summit with its theme, Road to a Brighter Future, had informed me of areas of concern, such as The Unique Challenges of Florida’s Small Businesses, Florida’s Economic Gardening Program, Cutting Red Tape for Florida’s Small Businesses, Finding Strength in Numbers, and Connecting Small Business Owners with Florida’s Workforce. Everyone at the reception was interested in Governor Crist’s evolving vision for Florida’s small businesses and citizens as we build a path to greater prosperity.

What do you think? Please share your comments.

Banks’ Programs for Customers

The 2009 consumer credit crisis combined with the way the TARP funds bank bailout has been playing out has motivated banks and other financial institutions to bolster their image and their own financial stability by offering financial literacy information to their customers. Examples abound.

In April, 2009, Sarah Spear of the Association of Advanced Life Insurance Underwriting published a white paper on The Need for Financial Literacy, in which she summarized the financial literacy situation like this: “Government officials, educators and broadly diverse civic organizations agree on the need to increase the financial literacy of the American public. Ranging from school children to those who have recently retired, Americans need to learn the basics of personal financial planning and management, especially in the areas of budgeting, investing, and managing debt. The current financial and economic environments are only exacerbating the inability of our citizens to manage their personal finances.” She noted Sun Life Financial’s statistical findings that “Within the last 12 months, 20% of American workers have stopped funding their pre-tax retirement account, e.g., a 401(k), a 403(b), or an IRA (source: AARP). 59% of working Americans believe they are doing an “average” to “below average” job of preparing themselves financially for retirement (source: PlanAdvisor.com). 48% of American workers anticipate that they will continue to work beyond age 67.” Her call to action for 2009 also cited powerful reasons and measurements: “There is need for a new and innovative financial literacy delivery system to deliver financial literacy education as is evidenced by the subprime mortgage crisis, the growing number of personal bankruptcies, the dangerously high level of credit card debt, the low savings rate, and the lack of retirement planning, etc. We are living in a very complex financial environment, and many consumers are beginning to react to the financial crisis by increasing their knowledge of financial products. Open Course Ware financial literacy courses, an initiative by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has experienced a 27% increase in enrollment in their Fundamentals of Financial Planning since September 2008. The Consumer Credit Counseling Service saw a 43% increase in webinar attendance since September 2008. The 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy, an initiative of American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), saw 43% increase in their financial literacy programs since 2008.”

Many financial institutions, from local to national organizations, have been expanding their financial literacy initiatives to meet that need. Minneapolis, Minnesota based Thrivent Financial for Lutherans launched their Debt Savvy program in 2007, and demand among their customers has grown ever since. Thrivent’s Debt Savvy program helps people learn how to budget realistically so they can be thoughtful about taking on debt, but it helps the banks’ business, too, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal reports: “Jill Alshire, director of consumer banking at Thrivent, is sure the program has contributed to the bank’s growth to $560 million in assets this year from $400 million three years ago.”

Charles L. Evans, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago noted at the September, 2009, Conference on Successful Strategies for Financial Literacy and Education that the Fed’s history of engagement in financial education has been growing since the mid-1970s, from focusing initially on “improving public understanding of the Federal Reserve’s purposes and functions and informing consumers of their rights and lenders of their responsibilities” to recent initiatives concentrating on “practical issues, such as: financial skill-building, economics education, bank account ownership, financial planning, wealth accumulation, consumer protection, and foreclosures—issues that affect many people at different stages of their lives.” Looking forward, he expressed the intention for the Federal Reserve to work on both national and regional levels “to develop financial education programs that take into account the needs of their regions. For example, they can respond to variations in state education standards and to regional economic conditions. In addition, they are adept at identifying strong partners in their communities.” This outreach has expanded in the past several years.

School and Non-Profit Programs

Government agencies, organizations of financial services professionals, and community-based organizations may target a broad cross-section of the public or specific categories of consumers by life-stage or special interests.

At the federal level, the U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission provides an increasing number of resources through several websites. The Treasury Department, home of the Office of Financial Education, is the hub of federal financial education resources and has expanded its offerings to respond to citizens’ concerns. In 2009, the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy sponsored the OFE’s Community Financial Access Pilot (CFAP) to increase low- and moderate-income families’ and individuals’ access to financial services and education through Treasure staff serving as community consultants in up to eight pilot sites, after which they identified the most effective practices to achieve that goal. Mymoney.gov provides tool kits and information for consumers on many financial topics and warnings about scams, such as those for loans requiring advance fees and services claiming to offer foreclosure rescue.

Washington state, for example, sponsors the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, which offers many links to financial education and literacy resources. New York’s w!se (Working in Support of Education) sponsors the New York Financial Literacy Coalition program, Moneypower.org, to educate students and young adults.

The Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy has grown since its 1995 origins targeting students in Washington, DC, to a nation-wide network of state coalitions in four regions, with national standards in K-12 personal finance education, and hosting their first National Conference for Financial Educators in 2009.

The 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy organization, sponsored by the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants), offers ever-broadening information to support consumers’ financial decisions throughout their lives, from youth through retirement. It provides information on free financial literacy events in each state, access to the “Money Doctor” via a question form, and an online “Financial Guidance Book” with manageable amounts of high level information on general topics that drill down to more detailed subjects.

The demand for financial literacy is growing, and so is the supply. Many of the online and paper-based resources require a great deal of patience to dig through to the topic you need, but persistence will pay off, even if it just helps you figure out what questions you need to ask a financial advisor to resolve your specific issues.

Do you need financial literacy resources in your community? Would it be effectively delivered through the schools, libraries, or other community organizations? Let us know, and we at Sealund will send the word along.

What do you think? Please share your comments.

CNN Money reported that in the third quarter of 2009, the total number of bankruptcies filed spiked up 33%, the highest level since 2005, when 2,078,415 were filed before Congress amended the Bankruptcy Code. “The American Bankruptcy Institute, an industry research firm, said 388,485 bankruptcies were filed during the last quarter, compared to 292,291 filed during the same period in 2008, according to data released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Filings for the first nine months of the year climbed 35% to 1,100,035, compared to 841,496 filings during the same period in 2008. A total of 1,117,771 bankruptcies were filed last year.” The ABI report included these details as of 2009, Q3:

• During the last quarter of 2009, personal bankruptcies increased 33% to 373,308, with a 42% rise in Chapter 7 filings, totaling 265,721, and Chapter 13 filings rose 15% to 107,142. During the twelve-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009, total filings increased more than 34% to 1,402,816, compared to 1,042,993 in the same period of 2008.

• In the third quarter of 2009, business bankruptcy filings rose 32% to 15,177. Filings for the first three quarters of the year totaled 45,510, topping the total 43,546 business bankruptcies filed in all of 2008.

Reuters’ January 5, 2010, report on global consumer and business bankruptcies was equally bleak. They found 89,402 bankruptcy filings by businesses in 209, compared with 64,584 the previous year, and personal bankruptcies increasing to 1,357,565 in 2009, from 1,031,562 in 2008.

The Role of Consumer Debt and Unemployment

• The ABI also reported that consumer debt is consistent with bankruptcy filings, with the Federal Reserve indicating a record high ratio of household debt to disposable income in 2008. The chart of these data shows the 2005 spike in both debt and bankruptcy filings, with a sharp drop in 2006 but dishearteningly steady growth in consumer bankruptcy filings since then. Although the ABI shows complete statistics only through 2008, analysts predict that the continuing high unemployment rate will cause personal bankruptcies to grow through 2010. “While only 37.6% of consumers who filed for bankruptcy in 2008 attributed job loss, Leslie Linfield [executive director of the Institute for Financial Literacy] expects that number to rise significantly for 2009. ‘At the end of last year, unemployment hadn’t crept up as high as it is now,’ Linfield said.” Long-term unemployment, those out of work for 27 or more weeks, is at 5.4 million nation-wide and rising, nearly doubling the previous high of 2.8 million in 1983. Animated maps showing the growth of unemployment from January, 2007, through Q4, 2009 can be viewed on American Observer and Slate.

Societal Effects of Bankruptcies and Excessive Debt

MyBudget360.com expects that Q1 of 2010 will provide clear indicators of the direction of the economy as reflected in various measurements, but the picture for 2009 showed these statistics:

• US food stamp participation was at 36 million in July, 2009, from a low of 26 million in July, 2005.

• Foreclosure filings reached nearly 1.1 million in Q3 of 2009.

• Revolving credit has contracted for the first time in the history of credit data tracking. This means that just when more citizens need more financial support, credit card companies are terminating lines of credit and charging higher fees to customers in good standing, to compensate for the credit card companies’ own errors in judgment that had led them to offer too-easy financing to non-credit-worthy consumers.

Although we can’t rewrite the past, we can—and must—learn from it. Here at Sealund & Associates, we’re proud to be participating in the Real Economic Impact Tour’s nation-wide efforts to improve consumers’ financial literacy and in Florida Governor Charlie Crist’s Small Business Summit to build the small businesses that will boost employment and help our entrepreneurs and their employees increase financial stability for our citizens.

Are you involved with financial stability initiatives in your community? Let us know, so we can help spread the word.

What do you think? Please share your comments.

The “Both … And” Approach

The eLearning community has long used games as part of eLearning, the question isn’t “Which is better?” The question is “How can we use both most effectively?”

The answers need all our creativity because we assess each problem that has a learning solution for the right combination of elements that make up the most effective solution. No two answers are exactly alike because no two problems are exactly alike. That’s why we love our work, right? We get to use both the analytical and creative sides of our brains.

 The Analytic Side

One theory holds that intrinsically integrated serious games combined with standard classroom or e-learning are more effective than extrinsically integrated “edutainment” approaches.¹ “Intrinsic integration” means that the learning content is integrated with the mechanics and “fantasy context” of the game. It makes sense that intrinsically integrated games create more direct connection with the learning content, so learners are more deeply engaged and motivated to complete the learning experience, getting the most feedback and reinforcement of correct decisions.

The study that supports this theory compared learning outcomes for specific mathematical skills learning between intrinsically and extrinsically integrated versions of a learning game, Zombie Division, in an academic educational setting. It found a marked advantage for the intrinsic version of the game, with the delayed-test results (two weeks after the learning intervention) demonstrating significantly higher scores for the group that played the intrinsically integrated version of Zombie Division. The group who played the extrinsically integrated game increased their post-test scores over their pre-test scores by about 15 percentage points more than the control group did. The group who played the intrinsically integrated game, however, increased their post-test scores over their pre-test scores by about 30 percentage points more than the control group did.

How does motivation figure into this outcome? One iteration of the study demonstrated that the participants showed a significant preference for the intrinsic version of the game when they had the option of switching between versions. It appears that intrinsic integration of content with the game translates into learners’ intrinsic motivation to achieve deeper learning, too, because such games offer motivators we’ve known about since studies in the 1980’s: clear goals, achievable challenges and immediate, accurate feedback, with both the challenges and the skills becoming more complex.² So we might conclude that intrinsically integrated learning games work best for reinforcing specific skills introduced by standard e-learning or instructor-led training.

 Th  e Creative Side

How can we apply these findings to our corporate learning solutions?

We have to consider the same factors we always do, with optimal engagement in mind. Now we know that optimal engagement can be achieved with game elements intrinsically tied to two other factors – the learning content and the learners’ motivations. So we can ask ourselves:

• What does our audience need to learn? (content)
• How will they be applying it on the job? (game structure)
• What do they find rewarding about using this content on the job? (competition with others, out-performing their previous personal best, accumulating points for a reward like a 100% Score certificate, praise-feedback from a mentor during the learning process itself – or a combination of several of these)

Then we can get creative in thinking about how to measure skill transfer to the job immediately and after several time intervals. And based on those results, we can creatively improve the learning experiences and subsequent reinforcements. The creative opportunities never end!

What do you think? Please share your comments.

Resources

1. Habgood, M.P.J., doctoral thesis: “The Effective Integration of Digital Games and Learning Content.” (http://hiddenlevel.co.uk/zd/Habgood%202007%20Compact.pdf)

2. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1988). “The flow experience and human psychology.” In M. Csikszentmihalyi & I. S. Csikszentmihalyi (Eds.), Optimal Experience (pp.15-35). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

This year, we at Sealund were honored to contribute our annual Sealund Education Scholarships to several children whose families are served by the Feed Our Children Ministries in Tampa, Florida. Feed Our Children founder and community minister Pastor Moses Brown, Th.D., also distributed the Sealund Thanks-Giving packet in the holiday baskets given to every family that participated in the Ministries’ 17th Annual Pre-Thanksgiving Dinners in Tampa and Plant City, Florida.

Dr. Brown focuses his efforts on Tampa Bay’s most precious resource, its children. Recently, he spoke to the local media about the economy’s sad effects on the availability of foster care. During our long association with Dr. Brown’s ministry, the Sealund & Associates family has been blessed to be able to support his organization’s efforts to “raise the tide” for all members of our community.
During this season of gratitude and giving, we like to remember that education is a gift that keeps on giving, both locally and globally.
What do you think? Please share your comments.

 I am so excited about the Real Economic Impact Tour that I have to write this blog live from the tour. It’s such a hopeful experience for improving financial literacy for those who need it the most. The representatives from the cities on the REI tour have tremendous passion for their role in supporting people with disabilities, which the National Disability Institute prefers to call differences – and that’s what they really are, after all.

The National Disability Institute can be proud of the tour’s grand kickoff in Jacksonville, Florida. The organizations represented on the Tour include Walmart, AT&T, CSX, Bank of America, The Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, 54Freedom, Darden Restaurants, and the IRS. And, of course, we at Sealund are honored to be donating, with USA Funds, over $300,000 of Alaris Financial Literacy eLearning products to the differently-abled community in 100 cities throughout the US, and to add mini-grants to contest winners for completing the eLearning programs.

Let me share a few highlights of the many financial literacy initiatives with you.

Unity One credit union offers a free program for Teen Financial Literacy program that uses the update National Endowment for Financial Education’s NEFE curriculum, and speakers on many topics for adult financial education.

Tom Sullivan of the 54Freedom Association put on an amazing performance. Tom is greatly talented, and everyone enjoyed his presentation on his 54Freedom’s business start-up and expansion services for differently-abled entrepreneurs.

And, of course, Sealund is presenting Alaris in over 40 cities. We hope all our session participants get pretty excited about that.

The 2009 REI Tour has had many successes so far, and is winding up the year in fine style. To follow the REI Tour in nearly real-time on Facebook or Twitter, or to receive weekly tips on saving and asset building sent directly to your cell phone or email, see the Follow Us! Section on the REI Tour website.

What do you think? Please share your comments.

This is the season for giving, and I think the best gift I can give you is peace of mind, or at least suggest some resources that can help you find it. First, let’s talk about today’s tough financial realities, put them in perspective, and then take a look at some resources you can use and share with others.

Scary Times

In America, and world-wide, the recession is hurting consumers. Let’s call consumers what we really are – hard-working, tax-paying citizens, trying all our lives to give our children more education to prepare themselves to thrive in the world and lead productive, caring lives. We don’t just “consume” – but this recession is consuming us. It has consumed more than 10% of our jobs, large chunks of the equity we thought we had in our homes, and no small part of our peace of mind, even if we still have jobs and mortgages we can afford. Scary times affect our health, too, with anxiety weakening our immune systems and making us vulnerable to illnesses that require medical attention. How does that relate to bankruptcy? A recent study suggests that more than 60 percent of people declaring personal bankruptcy are driven into it by medical bills.
As more of us are being driven into bankruptcy, that creates a critical “financial health” issue. CNN Money reports that Chapter 7 bankruptcies have increased markedly in 2009, reaching a four-year high because of rising unemployment and the housing crisis. The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) reported that personal bankruptcies in the first nine months of 2009 were 35% higher than the same period in 2008. The ABI’s raw numbers are 1,046,449 consumer bankruptcies in January-September, 2009, based on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center. People claiming bankruptcy look just like us – “more individuals earning $40,000 or more per year and those with associate or bachelor degrees to file for bankruptcy in 2008 than in years past, according to the annual Consumer Bankruptcy Demographic Report released by the Institute for Financial Literacy in June, and the organization expects the trend to continue.” Leslie Linfield, executive director of the Institute described bankruptcy filers as “middle class” and “overextended on their credit” (a combination of credit card and mortgage debt), and predicted that unemployment will continue to drive bankruptcy claims higher until they “peak in late 2010 or 2011 before leveling off.”
Maureen Thompson, legislative director for the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys in Washington, observed that “People end up in a bankruptcy attorney’s office as a last resort. …They are people who have been laid off, have tried to hang on with their savings thinking they could weather the storm, and are doing whatever they can to pay off their debt,” until they face legal action from creditors. The threat of foreclosure on your home is one of those legal actions, and the third quarter of 2009 was the worst foreclosure quarter on record.

Unemployment at today’s level of over 10% effects everyone. If you have job, and it’s great that nearly 90% of us still do, you probably either know someone or have a family member who has been laid off.  Besides the personal pain associated with each person’s job loss, the worst news is that the “long-term unemployed” category (27 weeks or more) is now the largest category. As educators, we realize that long-term unemployment reflects likely permanent job losses – types of skills that have been outsourced overseas or that have been replaced by new, different skills – so many of the 8,000,000 jobs lost since the recession started are gone forever. There are on average six applicants for every job opening, and several of those probably need to upgrade their skills to qualify for it. That’s an opportunity for educators, but not the subject of this discussion.
Another indicator of financial distress related to bankruptcy is the rise in food stamp use. Over 35,800,000 people, 11 percent of our entire population, are receiving government assistance through the SNAP (food stamp) program

Knowledge, an Antidote to Fear

Having acknowledged that many aspects of this recession legitimately trigger worry, let’s focus on how our friends, families, co-workers and employees can know more and, using what they know, do better. We know that information and purposeful action are the steps on which we walk through and past our fears.
Information resources that can help people address their financial worries include those embedded above, repeated here, and others:

• American Bankruptcy Institute – This site includes a Consumer Bankruptcy Center with links to pages on answers to common questions, “Should I File for Bankruptcy?” and pro-bono resources for legal steps.
• Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies – Here, you can begin finding a local counseling agency.
• Bankrate.com Debt Management and Financial Literacy – From this page, you can also find links to debt management calculators, dealing with old debt, and the answers to various “How do I …?” questions
• Consumer Credit Counseling Services – This site contains pages with articles on financial crisis topics, financial worksheets, planning tools, online counseling, and informative blog posts.
• Consumer Federation of America – The Consumer Information page contains links to understanding credit and your credit score, savings strategies, debt management, and other consumer issues relating to general safety as well as financial prudence.
• Institute for Financial Literacy – The Bankruptcy Related Services page is a portal to information on bankruptcy and the services people may need for filing.
• National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys – The home page displays lead-ins and links to news articles you may find interesting and a search capability for attorneys near the address you enter.
• National Bankruptcy Research Center – This site for financial analysis professionals allows you to access limited information about most recent studies, such as the Credit Counseling Value Study and the November 2009 Bankruptcy Filings Report.
• National Foundation of Credit Counseling – The home page is a portal for finding a credit counselor, bankruptcy education, housing advice, and general financial education, including a list of publication resources in Spanish as well as English.

Of course, if you’re an employer, a human resources or workforce development professional, or the leader of a community organization, our Alaris™ financial literacy curricula can help your team gain skills and peace of mind in dealing with credit card debt, budgeting (including increasing thrift for greater savings), and identity theft.
What do you think? Please share your comments.

The business of Florida is …

Business! On November 5, I attended the Florida Small Business Summit, at Governor Christ’s invitation. The summit’s theme, Road to a Brighter Future, had an ambitious agenda, including topics such as The Unique Challenges of Florida’s Small Businesses, Florida’s Economic Gardening Program, Cutting Red Tape for Florida’s Small Businesses, Finding Strength in Numbers, Connecting Small Business Owners with Florida’s Workforce. There were also brainstorming sessions on, first, trends and environmental factors unique to Florida’s small business community, and, second, on identifying a vision for Florida’s small business future and specific recommendations for the Governor to consider toward facilitating a path to greater prosperity.

In addition to Governor Crist, the Summit speakers included Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, and the Governor’s Director of the Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development Dale Brill. We participants knew that key state government officials were listening to us. You find out more about the sessions and participants here.

Each presentation session included a lively question and answer period. And the brainstorms were milder than our hurricanes, but a few “inside the box” ideas got their roofs blown off!  Many small business owners spoke up on issues important to their business growth, their employees’ wellbeing, and their customers’ expectations.

I left with great energy and hope for the growth of small businesses in Florida. Of course, I couldn’t help thinking … the more small businesses and the more employees they have, the more we at Sealund & Associates can help them with courseware and learning games. And our Alaris™ Financial Literacy curricula can help them manage the “business” of their personal lives.

You can read more about the summit on the Governor’s Florida Small Business Summit page. If you want to see all, or any part of the full six-hour proceedings, click the here. (You’ll need RealPlayer. Download it free if you don’t already have it.)

What do you think? Please share your comments.

Boom in eLearning, On-campus … and Off

With nearly 12 million young adults taking some or all (1.25 million post-secondary learners) of their classes online today, and that number is projected to exceed 22 million by 2014, according to the research firm Ambient Insight, it seems logical to me that these learners will extend their comfort with eLearning to their personal and business interests.

The Ambient Insight report “US Self-paced eLearning Market” focuses on the growth of eLearning from 2009 to 2014. Healthcare was targeted for the most growth in that period. K-12 and higher education came in at second and third places, but with a combined projected growth (26%) exceeding that of healthcare(20%).

Somewhere within that projected expansion of students using e-learning, I feel safe in predicting that today’s high-school and college students will soon begin exploring the answers to their financial questions if they’re not already doing so. Beginning with responsible management student loans, and on to first car loans, budgeting, credit card management, 401(k)s, IRAs, and other savings planning, young adults will need targeted answers to their “questions of the day” for each step along their path to financial security. That’s where our Alaris™ curricula can help them.

With courses targeting specific financial concerns that arise throughout adults’ lives, Alaris™ can deliver the knowledge and resources lifelong learners need, with time-proven engaging learning techniques to ensure that the knowledge sticks and the learners can apply it effectively.

Do you see an opportunity for your employees, young adult learners in your business or community, or other adult communities you know to benefit from the Alaris™ advantage?

What do you think? Please share your comments.