Specifics

Virtual Business - Restaurant is the latest simulation from Knowledge Matters. It is a business simulation of a restaurant. Virtual Business - Restaurant has amazing new features that make it even better than our previous simulations, while keeping the things teachers loved about Virtual Business. Some of the new features include 100% online delivery, built-in auto grading and student tracking, online content to eliminate printing, integrated reading and math quizzes, and much more. Virtual Business - Restaurant is also the first of our simulations that requires no installation and is compatible with Windows and MacOSX.


Lessons and Projects Include
Market Research, Location Selection, Financial Statements, Menu Design, Pricing, Purchasing, Layout, Staffing, Marketing, Turnaround, and Restaurant Mogul.

Auto Grading and Student Tracking
Virtual Business - Restaurant automatically grades your students. And since the simulation is online, you can track your student grades and progress from any computer that has Internet access. Not only can you see how well they are doing with the simulation, you can also see their quiz scores for the reading and math exercises. All this information is provided on one screen for your entire class.


Integrated Content and Quizzes
Virtual Business - Restaurant includes four to five pages of written content with each of the nine lessons provided (CLICK TO DOWNLOAD EXAMPLE). This content is provided online as PDF's, eliminating the need for printing. Each lesson also has an integrated reading and math quiz.


Easy Class Configuration
Getting your class started is easy. Virtual Business - Restaurant provides you with a simple dashboard to configure your class. From this dashboard you can get instructor documentation, decide whether to include the reading and quizzes in your course, give students access to lessons, and access the help center and training videos.

Stories

Teacher Uses Virtual Business - Restaurant In Her Marketing II Class

I use Virtual Business - Restaurant in my Marketing II class, which is an Entrepreneurship type course. In Marketing I, we cover marketing principles and the 4 P's of marketing and then we pull everything together in Entrepreneurship. The simulation is used as a supplement to our textbook. It's a tool for students to experience a more realistic situation. The students and I work together reviewing pertinent information and exercises prior to the students completing each lesson so that they have a knowledgeable foundation to work from before completing their work within the simulation.

The simulation is user-friendly and certain features are very helpful to me. The simulation gives me the ability to block all of the lessons except for the one we are currently working on and students are prevented from moving ahead of the rest of the class. And, having the ability to view my students' progress online is very nice. It is useful to see how students are doing on their reading and math quizzes as well as how they are doing within the simulation itself.

The students are more interested in using Virtual Business - Restaurant than reading their textbooks because Virtual Business - Restaurant is a computer simulation. It's a more hands on, realistic situation. They see the results right there and they like that. I am considering using Virtual Business - Restaurant as a marketing tool to increase the enrollment in my Marketing II course next year.

Barbie Hon, MCE Teacher, Poplar Bluff High School, Missouri



Teacher Tracks Student Progress Online!

My high school Marketing 2 class tested Virtual Business - Restaurant and it was a huge hit! The students really enjoyed the simulation itself, but also were able to draw from their experiences in the program and make connections to the curriculum. I actually had students spend extra time working on their simulations voluntarily from home.

From a teaching standpoint, this program is the best one the company has produced yet. Since it is Internet based, the students do not have to be in the classroom to complete the simulations, making "make-up" work easier. Assessment is done through the program and progress on lessons can be tracked through the instructors' computer.

This program is easy to use and a must for any teacher wanting to diversify their curriculum and add high-level learning to their classroom.

Matt Burg, Business & Marketing Teacher, Fremont Public Schools, Fremont, Nebraska



An Eye-Opening Window Into The World Of Restaurant Ownership!

I love Virtual Business - Restaurant because the students can access it online and that Knowledge Matters maintains the latest version. The fact that I won't have to manage updates any more is a great benefit. I love the fact that students can access the lessons at home, which enables students that were absent to complete their assignments at home. No more lessons to pass out and collect, this is another great bonus. We save paper and students get instant feedback. In effect, you just eliminated the bottleneck of having the school lab as the sole proprietor of simulation access. By preventing the students from accessing the full simulation until their lessons are complete, the online version helps maximize student understanding while minimizing the number of questions that would have been moot if they had completed the lessons. The students are then able to take ownership of their lessons for a greater understanding and reflection on the task at hand. The video instructions are in a format that the students can relate to and desire. I believe this type of platform will increase the number of DECA students competing in the various DECA challenges.

Virtual Business Restaurant simulates a growing industry that engages the students. The breadth and depth of the game provides an eye-opening window into the world of restaurant ownership. The lessons stimulate higher order thinking as they learn about each phase of the business. The culminating projects invoke problem solving and information management skills as they calculate and manipulate variables to achieve their business's potential. It is a science experiment wrapped in a Restaurant simulation. The simulation can be used in our marketing program as well as our consumer science program. Regardless of what type of business a student might be interested in, the Restaurant simulation has no boundaries as students learn about managing a business. Virtual Business would get two thumbs up from any simulation critic. Save me a corner booth and Bon Appétit.

Frank Rosa, Marketing teacher, Apponequet Regional High School, Lakeville, Massachusetts



My Numbers Are Up - My Classes Are Full!

I use Virtual Business - Restaurant within my class as a way for the students to learn about consumerism, products and business financials. I use the simulated restaurant as a typical business that students can try to learn how to operate. Students are also able to focus on the advertising and marketing of the products that they sell within their restaurants. They research the demographics of their simulated city and learn how to market themselves to the public. Some students really don't understand about the cost of a meal and just how much it can vary based on how efficient the whole operation of the restaurant is. This simulation is kind of a new aspect of marketing and the way the students are learning how to do it.

The new online format is really nice. The way Knowledge Matters is able to keep the simulation updated with any technical fixes or upgrades the company needs to do without causing teachers to have to go from computer to computer to do the updates themselves is wonderful. It would be ideal if all of the Virtual Business simulations were available in the online format. And, the automatic grading is really a big help for instructors as well as the students. Students are able to see specifically within which area(s) they are having difficulty and this truly helps them. It's a good guideline for them.

The fact that this program is offered within my class makes it more likely that students will enroll in my course. The product poster for this program is on display in the school and the students want to know which class offers this simulation. My numbers are up - my classes are full. I really do think one of the reasons is because students enjoy doing these simulations online. They like the animation and they identify with the whole concept - it's like Sim City.

Michael Dwyer, Business Teacher, Eisenhower High School, Yakima, Washington



Online Simulation Is Fun And Engaging

I use the Virtual Business - Restaurant simulation within my Sports & Entertainment Marketing, Small Business Entrepreneurship and Marketing classes. All of the lesson and project topics that are available within the simulation are applicable to all three classes throughout the course of the semester. For all three courses, students need to know how important pricing is, how to choose products, how to choose a location, etc. and the simulation addresses and illustrates these concepts nicely.

The new online format has introduced some very helpful new features. The automatic grading and the ability to reset students’ lessons have both proven to be extremely useful. After reviewing the students’ work, I can go over the material if students didn’t do well and I can reset students’ lessons or quizzes and allow them to redo the work. It’s important for students to learn from what they have done wrong and get better at making those decisions. Limiting the student’s ability to move ahead and forcing the students to complete the lessons within a certain order is wonderful. The other, installable, Virtual Business programs let the students skip around and sometimes the students aren’t learning the basic concepts. They think they can manage the entire business right away and they can’t because they haven’t gone through the tutorial or learned about the necessary concepts throughout the lessons. It’s great to be able to keep the students on task.

There is no comparison to using this simulation versus a text because this is real life learning and the students really like the software. Textbooks really seem to be supplemental now in a lot of courses. The software is very addictive and it’s easy to learn. In today’s world, with today’s kids, it’s all about technology and the use of just a textbook is not going to teach them anymore.

Lisa Houser, Marketing Instructor, Crest High School, Shelby, North Carolina

Standards

Grading

Virtual Business - Restaurant comes with a complete suite of teaching tools designed specifically for high schools. The assignments and projects are all online, allowing for extensive student tracking. Student's progress and grades may be easily monitored online by the instructor. There are even charts and reports to help compare a student's progress to other students within his/her class.

There are also plenty of assessment tools to make sure you and your students understand how they are doing. Students are quizzed as they proceed through all assignments and projects, and are automatically graded. The hands-on portion of the simulation is also auto-graded. The student's grades may be seen inside the simulation, so students know how they are doing. All the student's grades may be viewed online by the instructor. There is even an actions journal that logs every action and decision that a student has made, with a timestamp.

Teaching Tools Include:

• Student Tutorial
• Step-by-Step Student Instructions
• Topic Focused Lessons and Projects
• Student Grade and Progress Tracking
• Detailed Student Comparison Charts
• Certificates of Completion

• Built in Reading and Math Quizzes
• Over 100 Pages of Content
• Auto Grading of Student Simulations and Quizzes
• Student Actions Journal
• Student Grade and Progress Tracking
• Exportable Grading Information for use in Learning Management Systems

FREE Demo

In this trial lesson you will explore how to price menu items to maximize profit. This requires some trial and error as you learn about the price elasticity of demand for each of the products in your product mix. You will examine customer comments and management reports that will guide you through altering prices to improve revenue and profit. Please review the Student Pre-Reading before starting the assignment.

Click to Start Assignment

Ordering