Overview
The ClassCents Investment Market lets students take a portion of their classroom currency and invest it in a simulated stock market. Students buy and sell shares, track their portfolio performance, and experience real-world concepts like market volatility, diversification, and profit and loss — all in a safe, consequence-free environment.The investment market is completely separate from a student’s main classroom balance. Students choose how much to transfer in, so there’s no risk of accidental overspending.
How the Market Works
All classrooms share one set of asset prices. When SNKCO is trading at 8.93 in every classroom. This means:- Teachers manage one company catalog that applies everywhere
- News events fire across all your classrooms simultaneously
- Each classroom has its own session — when you open a classroom’s market, the % change resets to 0% from that moment. Prices don’t reset; only the reference point does
- Prices only drift while the market is Open. Closing the market freezes prices exactly where they are
Enabling the Market
The investment market is disabled by default. You must enable it per classroom before students can access it.Open the Investments Section
Click Investments in the left navigation panel. You’ll see a card for each of your classrooms.
Enable the Market
Toggle Enable on any classroom card. Students in that classroom will see the Investments tab in their navigation immediately.
Granting Starting Balances
Students start with a $0 investment balance. You need to grant them a starting amount before they can invest.Click Grant Funds
Select Grant Funds in the left sidebar. Enter an amount, then choose:
- Create Accounts — Sets up investment wallets for students who don’t have one yet and seeds them with the amount
- Top Up All — Adds the amount to every existing investment balance (useful for weekly investment allowances)
Managing Assets
Assets are global — they apply across all your classrooms and share one price. Go to Settings → Classroom Settings → Investments to manage the company catalog.Per-Classroom Enable Controls
The Investments settings page shows a card for each classroom with a stats strip at the top (how many classrooms are enabled, how many are currently open). Toggle Enable on each card to control which classrooms have access. A direct link to the Investments Dashboard is shown at the top of the page.Adding an Asset
Click Add Asset
Fill in the asset details:
- Ticker — Short symbol (e.g.,
APPL,GOLD) - Name — Full display name
- Sector — Category (Technology, Energy, Consumer, etc.)
- Asset Type — Stock, Commodity, or Luxury
- Current Price — Starting price
- Base Price — The “fair value” price used as an anchor for news events
- Volatility — How much the price drifts between ticks. Low = barely moves (stable blue-chip feel). Medium = noticeable ticker movement. High = clearly volatile, bigger swings each tick.
- Icon — An emoji or image URL
Asset Types
Stocks
Traditional company shares. Price responds to sector-wide and company-specific news events.
Commodities
Physical goods like gold, oil, or lumber. Often move opposite to stocks, teaching diversification.
Luxuries
High-volatility prestige assets. Bigger swings, higher risk and reward.
Editing Prices
You can manually edit an asset’s current price or base price at any time from the Companies tab. This is useful for correcting prices or simulating a specific market scenario.Resetting Prices
In the Investments settings section you can click Reset All Prices to Base from the per-classroom panel to return all assets to their base price.Firing News Events
News events let you trigger instant, dramatic price changes on top of the automatic drift. When you fire a news event, the system applies percentage changes to affected tickers or entire sectors — across all your currently open classrooms at the same time.Choose a Template
Pre-built templates cover common scenarios — tech booms, energy crises, commodity spikes, and more.
Creating Custom News Events
In the News Events view on the Investments Dashboard, click + New Event to create a reusable custom scenario:- Set a title and description students will see
- Add one or more price change rules targeting a specific ticker or an entire sector
- Use positive or negative percentages (e.g.,
+15%boom,-20%crash)
Teacher Market Hub
The Investments page on your teacher dashboard gives you a real-time view of your market. Use the pill tabs at the top to switch between classrooms.- Class Overview — Total market value, number of active investors, and overall class P&L for the selected classroom. Click any company row to open a price chart.
- News Events — Fire templates or create custom events that instantly move prices
- Grant Funds — Create student investment accounts, top up balances, or grant funds to individual students
- Student sidebar — Lists every student with their total value and P&L. Click a student to see their full holdings breakdown
- Market Open / Closed toggle — Top-right button to open or close trading for the selected classroom
Frequently Asked Questions
Do investment gains affect a student's main classroom balance?
Do investment gains affect a student's main classroom balance?
No. The investment account is completely separate. Gains and losses stay within the investment wallet unless a student transfers funds back (which is not currently supported — money only flows in).
Do prices change automatically?
Do prices change automatically?
Yes. When the market is Open, a background engine runs every minute and applies small price drifts. Prices oscillate gently around the price they had when the market was opened that session — a 20-minute session and a 1-hour session will look similar in scale. The Volatility setting on each asset controls amplitude: low-volatility assets (Consumer, Real Estate) barely move, while high-volatility assets (Crypto, Gems) show visible swings each tick. Prices do not drift when the market is Closed — closing the market freezes prices exactly where they are.
Are prices the same across all my classrooms?
Are prices the same across all my classrooms?
Yes. All classrooms share one global price per asset — it’s the same market. However, each classroom has its own session. When you open a classroom’s market, the % change display resets to 0% from that moment’s price. Prices themselves carry over from the previous session (they don’t reset to base price on open). This means two classrooms can trade simultaneously and see the same drifting prices, while each class’s % changes reflect their own session start.
Can students go into negative investment balance?
Can students go into negative investment balance?
No. Students can only spend what’s in their investment account. The system blocks purchases if they have insufficient funds.
What is 'base price' used for?
What is 'base price' used for?
Base price sets the floor and ceiling for how far a stock can move. Prices can never fall below 25% of base price or rise above 300% of base price, no matter how many news events you fire. It is not shown to students.
Can I reset a student's portfolio?
Can I reset a student's portfolio?
Currently, portfolio resets require deleting the student’s holdings directly in your Supabase dashboard. A teacher-facing reset tool is planned for a future update.