Good news – the Financial Connects Scholarship Contest will continue through June 30, 2010!

Learn more by clicking on the Financial Connects Award tab on this website.

Questions – contact Daniel Kent at danielkent@netliteracy.org

Financial Connects Contest site adds to the excitement of the Contest

While the information has been posted at the Net Literacy Alliance website, this site more eloquently depicts the excitement and potential the contest provides contestants that choose to compete. Contest updates are available at the Financial Connects Contest tab on the Net Literacy Alliance website (and take presidence over the contest website that is at http://contest.financialconnects.org.

A special thanks to Net Literacy Chief Technology Office Brian Kelley that posted this site (and posts all of our websites) – one of his many responsibilities that range from developing “one click” slipstream CDs to facilitate computer repurposing to deciding on the “best of class” technology Net Literacy programs use. Brian Kelley first volunteered in the Senior Connects program, later was selected to lead the Computer Connects program, was elected Student Chair of Net Literacy; and now serves as CTO, member of the Student Executive Committee, and member of the Board of Directors.

Supporters, grantors, and funders include:

State Farm Insurance – through their financial support of almost $100,000 allowed us to award 100 prizes and build a national financial literacy website.
Intel – through their financial support helped us significantly increase the number of prizes awarded
Bright House Networks – through their financial support and PSAs to help us build the prototype website and publicize the contest
Lilly Endowment – through their financial support that enabled us to prove the concept, fund two summer programs engaging more than 40 students, and build the prototype that resulted in additional grants from State Farm Insurance and Intel
Old National Bank – through their financial support and assistance discussing financial literacy with student volunteers
Lilly & Company – provided pro bono legal counsel that ensured our contest rules were accurate and correct
Community Development Law Center – for coordinated legal review of the contest
Josette Starks-Van – who graciously donated her time to build the site
Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett and The Indiana Department of Education – for their support and encouraging participation by sending letters to all principals and superintendents
Chairman of the House Education Committee Representative Greg Porter – who helped explain the legislation to the students and created a video for the site
Net Literacy student volunteers – that spent their summer creating 40 videos to prove the viability of the financial connects website concept
Special thanks to CTO Brian Kelley – who build the Net Literacy Alliance website where the contest rules are posted

Financial Connects

Thanks to an additional generous grant from Intel designed to encourage student success, the Financial Connects Contest has been updated.

a. The maximum any contestant has been increased to $5,000.00
b. Videos should be at least two minutes and no more than five minutes
c. Section 2, Eligibility is changed so that if an insufficient number entries are received by October 15th, Sponsor will have to right to expand those eligible to have a high school or college degree.

The rules on the Financial Connects Contest tab on the Net Literacy Alliance website supersede and take priority over any other information posted elsewhere. To keep updated, sign up for Net Literacy Alliance blog alerts and the newsletter.

Thank you Intel!

Intel

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For questions, contact donkent@netliteracy.org.

While thousands of students have donated over 200,000 hours in service to their communities and increased computer access to over 150,000 individuals, we just could not be doing this without the financial support of more than a dozen corporate and foundation funders.

Since 2007, Intel, whose leadership serves on Net Literacy’s Board of Directors and financial support has helped us scale our programs. Intel has enabled our student volunteers to increase computer access to 10,000s of individuals, increase Internet safety awareness through the production of three Department of Education approved Internet safety videos, and increase financial literacy to middle school, high school, and college students through the IDOE approved Financial Connects portal.

The Lumina Foundation For Education repeated funding of our Computer Connects programs has provided computers to schools impacting thousands of students.

Lilly Endowment has funded Net Literacy programs since 2005, and has supported our Safe Connects, Financial Connects, and Computer Connects programs.

2010 marks the first year that the Eli Lilly Company has supported our Computer Connects program that teaches homeless students and students on Off Campus Instruction life skills and job skills.

Without your support and advocacy, we would be unable to increase digital inclusion. So in behalf of the thousands of Net Literacy student volunteers, thank you!

Respectfully,

Daniel Kent
Student President

IDOE Helps Announce State Farm YAB's $98,000 Grant to Net Literacy

Click on the image above (or click here) to watch the video of State Farm Insurance’s check presentation ceremony at the Indiana Department of Education. On February 22, 2010, Dr. Schauna Findlay, the IDOE’s Director of Curriculum and Instruction, helped by serving as MC at the presentation and explained the importance that the Indiana Department of Education places on financial literacy.

Student Vice President Will Petrovic said, “We sincerely appreciate the support of Dr. Findlay, and especially the support of Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett. We couldn’t be doing this without the members of the IDOE team that champion youths and financial literacy, including John Keller, Director of Learning Technologies, and Melissa Abriani, Division of College & Career Preparation.”

The video was taped by Net Literacy student volunteers from Thomas Carr Howe Community High School and edited by Will Petrovic. Phase I of the Financial Connects website, including the production of 20 videos with a financial literacy theme, were scripted and produced by 18 students representing six Indianapolis Public School high schools. Student Chief Technology Officer Brian Kelley and Student President Daniel Kent designed the functionality of and constructed the website. Lilly Endowment and Old National Bank funded Phase I of the Financial Connects program. Net Literacy plans to create a 30 minute video entitled “Financial Connects – the making of a youth empowered program” as this program is developed. Learn more about the IDOE’s Financial Literacy Standards by clicking here.

“The State Farm Youth Advisory Board brings youth empowerment around full circle,” said Student Chair David Johnson, a sophomore at Northwest High School. “Net Literacy was founded by middle school students and our board of directors is 50% comprised of high school and college student volunteers. State Farm has empowered a national Youth Advisory Board that is able to award $5,000,000 in grants to the over 1,000 nonprofits that apply for funding. While we received our grant only one month ago, this is a story about a student empowered State Farm Youth Advisory Board supporting a student empowered Net Literacy program. We’re grateful to State Farm and its Youth Advisory Board.”

IDOE Supports Financial Connects and Financial Literacy

TO: School Principals & Superintendents

FROM: Melissa Abriani, Division of College & Career Preparation

DATE: February 24, 2010

SUBJECT: Financial Connects Contest

Opportunity for classes to use project based learning to study financial literacy and compete for over 100 awards ranging from $250 to $1,000.

Net Literacy, an Indiana-based organization, has received a $98,000 grant from State Farm Insurance to provide a project based learning component for schools teaching financial literacy.

Using the Indiana Department of Education’s Financial Literacy Standards (http://www.doe.in.gov/octe/facs/IndianaFinLitEd-HighSchStandards.html), students and classes are encouraged to create videos and interactive games that correspond to the state’s 61 financial literacy high school indicators. The winning content will be posted on a national financial literacy website and prizes ranging from $250 to $1,000 will be awarded.

“I am proud that Net Literacy, an organization made up of Indiana students, successfully competed for
State Farm’s financial literacy grant. This is the type of service learning project that encourages
student success, and I congratulate them on this endeavor,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction
Dr. Tony Bennett.

Indiana Department of Education’s Director of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Schauna Findlay welcomed Net Literacy and State Farm on February 22 at a press conference conducted at the Department.

More information about the contest will be posted in the next two weeks at www.netliteracyalliance.org under the “Financial Connects Contest” tab.

Schools and educators interested in receiving updated information can register to receive emails on the Net Literacy website at www.netliteracy.org. Questions may be directed to donkent@netliteracy.org.

Published: February 26, 2010 03:00 pm

Duo teams up to make donation to shelter

By Ryan Palencer

DANVILLE — While Sheltering Wings is bursting at the seams with residents, Bright House Networks and Net Literacy of Indiana teamed up to offer the shelter a donation of computers.

“With the increase of our women, we need more computers,” said Maria Larrison, CEO of Sheltering Wings. “With the increase in numbers of our children, we only have one computer back there (for the teens). This will help us put one or two more back there so they can do homework, research, or whatever they need to do. We feel very blessed.”

Larrison learned about the opportunity when she was contacted by Don Kent, president of Net Literacy.

“Many years ago, there was a group of middle school students who decided they wanted to increase computer access and digital inclusion,” Kent said. “The first organization they approached was Bright House Networks. Bright House took a chance on kids, eighth-graders, who had passion. Ever since then, Bright House has supported us.”

Net Literacy is a student-run, all-volunteer, non-profit organization. In addition, students make up half of the board of directors. Bright House also has a manager on the board of directors to offer vision and guidance.

“Over the years, Bright House has provided enough funding that we’ve been able to create hundreds of computer labs and thousands and thousands of computers in Central Indiana,” Kent said.

One thing that Net Literacy and Bright House are known for is creating Internet safety videos and public service announcements.

Brooke Krodel, marketing communications supervisor for Bright House, said, “Being an Internet provider, one of our big pillars are the children. With net predators and all of that, it’s more important to educate them at a very early age on how to be safe on the Internet.”

Krodel said Bright House is pleased to assist local non-profit organizations.

“We look for worthwhile organizations in our service area who specifically are in need of computers to get net literacy,” he said.

Friday’s donation was part of a 45-computer donation to non-profit organizations in Hendricks County in the days and weeks to come. Due to that effort, the Hendricks County Commissioners at their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday are scheduled to issue a proclamation naming Tuesday as “Bright House Networks Day” in Hendricks County. Representatives of each of the groups receiving donations are scheduled to be in attendance.

ryan.palencer@flyergroup.com

In 2007, Net Literacy’s student board decided that “Net” financial literacy was becoming increasingly important with the proliferation of online banking and financial resources – and the increasing danger of identity theft. Also, the student board believed that students’ general lack of financial literacy caused them to be ill prepared for life. A series of informal focus groups comprised of high school students found most financial literacy websites to be “a yawn” and “boring.” Since increasing students’ life skills is one of Net Literacy’s core mission component; grants were proposed and a summer program was funded thanks to Lilly Endowment, the Old National Bank Foundation, and Bright House Networks. Net Literacy student volunteers reviewed more than 5,000 financial literacy websites and identified the 200 “best of class” videos, interactive games, and other content that made financial literacy relevant and interesting to post on the website.

Twenty student volunteers spent 40 hours during the summer at IUPUI working very quickly to learn how to storyboard, script, produce, and edit videos. Indianapolis Public Schools believed that this website would be an important resource and the district nominated students from Northwest High School, Arlington High School, Arsenal Tech High School, Broad Ripple High School, George Washington Community School, Howe Community High School, and John Marshall High School to learn about financial literacy and produce 20 videos that mixed fact and fun together.

Net Literacy Chief Technology Officer Brian Kelley (Purdue University) and Student President Daniel Kent (Haverford College) built the website and used php to create the dynamic interface to showcase the 200 “Best of Web” financial literacy videos, interactive games, and content. Phase I of the website is at www.financialconnects.org.

Chairman of the House Education Committee Greg Porter visited the students as they were taping the videos during the summer program, and explains why the Indiana General Assembly passed financial literacy legislation in 2009.

A press conference was held at the Indiana Department of Education’s offices, and also, Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett praised Net Literacy for this service learning project.

While this was a step in the right direction, Net Literacy’s student board believed that students could learn about financial literacy and in a compelling manner, create their own videos and interactive web based games to both engage and teach students about financial literacy. Net Literacy applied for and was successful in obtaining a $98,000 grant from State Farm. Read more by clicking on the tab “Financial Connects Contest” on this website.

“State Farm supports service-learning because it combines service to the community with classroom curriculum in a hands-on approach to mastering subject material while fostering civic responsibility,” said State Farm Community Specialist Ed Perez. “The State Farm Youth Advisory Board is a prime example of State Farm’s commitment to education, our community and our youth.”

Visit www.statefarmyab.com for more information about the different projects being funded and about the Youth Advisory Board.

Net Literacy’s student volunteers and student board of directors thanks State Farm Youth Advisory Board and State Farm for their trust, support, and advocacy. Learn more about Net Literacy by visiting www.netliteracy.org.

The Indiana Department of Education is providing support to Net Literacy during Phase II of this project – but Net Literacy is solely responsible for the content and site. Additional information about the Indiana Department of Education’s Financial Literacy Standards is at http://www.doe.in.gov/octe/facs/IndianaFinLitEd-FrontPage.html

Net Literacy challenges students to create financial literacy videos and games

Net Literacy, a digital literacy nonprofit comprised of local Indiana students, along with State Farm Insurance, announced a national competition allowing students will compete for more than one hundred monetary awards for creating videos and interactive games demonstrating the importance of financial literacy. The two organizations came together after Net Literacy received a digital learning grant of $100,000 from State Farm. Net Literacy plans to align the contest with the Indiana Department of Education’s recently established financial literacy standards, which are taught to all 6th through 12th grade students.

David Johnson, Net Literacy’s Student Chairperson and a sophomore at Northwest High School remarked, “We hope that many schools will use this contest as both a class project and an opportunity to engage students to learn about financial literacy.”

Net Literacy’s student board aggregated 200 “best of the web” financial literacy videos and interactive games after a review of more than 5,000 websites. The organization then constructed a website to serve as a resource to students, parents, and educators. The website will launch in April. Following the website project, Net Literacy proposed a grant to encourage students to learn more about financial literacy and use their knowledge to create videos and Interactive games that help their classmates have fun while learning about financial literacy. “Thanks to State Farm and State Farm’s Youth Advisory Board, Net Literacy will be launching a national competition where students can compete for more than 100 awards that will range from $250 to $1,000 for creating videos and interactive games that relate to financial literacy, said Johnson. “We hope that many schools will use this contest as both a class project and an opportunity to engage students to learn about financial literacy. Afterwards, the videos and interactive games will be consolidated on a website where they will be used as a financial literacy resource for students, educators, and parents. The creators of this content will win both a bit of fame and fortune, while helping increase financial literacy among across the country.”

State Farm’s generous grant gives Net Literacy the resources to implement the contest. The student-produced videos and interactive games will be consolidated on a national website where they will be used as a financial literacy resource for students, educators, and parents.

“I am proud that Net Literacy, an organization made of Indiana students, successfully competed for State Farm’s financial literacy grant. This is the type of service learning project that encourages student success, and I congratulate them on this endeavor,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett.

“State Farm supports service-learning because it combines service to the community with classroom curriculum in a hands-on approach to mastering subject material while fostering civic responsibility,” said State Farm Community Specialist Ed Perez. “The State Farm Youth Advisory Board is a prime example of State Farm’s commitment to education, our community and our youth.”

Visit www.statefarmyab.com for more information about the different projects being funded and about the Youth Advisory Board.

State Farm will present the check to Net Literacy at a press conference in Indianapolis on February 22, 2010.

More information is available by clicking on the Financial Literacy Contest tab and registering to receive email newsletter updates from this website.