The Ohio SMC:
Stock Market Challenge

Welcome to the Ohio Stock Market Challenge! We are delighted you recognize the value of the program as a powerful experiential learning tool. The OSMC is a great way for students to be exposed to the stock market, without the fear of losing real money! We encourage you and your students to research stocks that interest you and attempt to build the best performing portfolio. There are a number of lessons, activities and linked resources designed to help with the process. Then sit back and watch the market in action! In addition to being a great team building activity, the SMC is a resource that reinforces concepts and build skills within Mathematics, Social Studies, Economics, Language Arts, Business Education and Technology curricula. And it’s fun!

How does the Challenge work? Students in grades 4 through 12 form teams to create and manage a hypothetical portfolio of stocks and mutual funds over a ten-week period. Each team has $100,000.00 in “imaginary funds” to invest in stocks and mutual funds listed on the major stock exchanges. You’ll research stocks, obtain quotes, look up ticker symbols, submit trades, and review your team's ranking. Stocks are traded via personal computer by simply typing in the ticker symbol and the transaction (buy, sell, short-cover, or short-sell). Trades are filled in real-time using the latest available bid/ask prices from the market-not delayed or end-of-day pricing like other simulations use. In addition, the platform provides players a real-time glimpse into the performance of the top players through a streaming leader board component. Your students will be drawn into the action by seeing how the top players are doing on a position-by-position basis that is refreshed every few seconds. Picture the trading floor of the NYSE - but with a little less noise! Team activity and team rankings are updated every business day on the OSMC website.

Registration: The cost per team is $5.00. Thanks to a special grant, schools in Delaware, Franklin and Licking Counties get the first ten teams free! Please enroll only the number of teams needed as you will be invoiced for the number of teams you enroll. We recommend 3 – 5 students/team. To access the registration form and register your teams, visit the OSMC website – http://ohiosmc.stocktrak.com and follow these steps:

• Click on the red “Registration” tab in the left corner of the home page
• Complete the fields as requested
• After you have reviewed the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, click the “Create My Account” button
• Log-in information will be e-mailed directly to you
• Be sure to visit the Teacher Resources links. You’ll see great information on how to manage the program in your classroom and maximize its effectiveness as a teaching tool.

Thanks, and have fun!