Conceived in the classroom by DePauw professor Dr. Dave Berque, DyKnow VISION is software designed to allow classroom collaboration through the use of pen-based technology.  The program links people in the classroom in a way that enables the instructor to provide immediate feedback on the notes that students take with pen and tablet technology during class.  It also allows students to share information and submit their own ideas to the instructor in a way that stimulates class discussion.  All of these materials are then saved into the students  notes.  The program also allows for easy access and integration of data on the Internet which allows students to immmediately apply a new concept to currenct or historical data.

This innovative software provides students with a permanent record of what happened in class, along with their own private comments about the lecture material.  In addition to delivering these notes to students in a convenient form, the software also allows the instructor to evaluate a student s work in a way superior to pen and paper assignments:  for example, the steps a student uses when constructing a graph can be evaluated the instructor.  As a result, this software provides a unique way to pinpoint a student s weaknesses and strengths with graphical stroke-by-stroke replay analysis.

Participants will leave the workshop with an introduction to a new tool which can greatly affect student learning, without sacrificing content or compromising one's teaching style.

We have created a customizable web-based game which can be used to demonstrate the effects of network externalities on the adoption of new technologies. The game is freely available and can be played in a networked lab setting or via the Internet.  This workshop will provide participants with step-by-step instructions for running several variations of the game which demonstrate network externality s affect on consumer utility, herding behavior and standardization. In addition, the workshop will demonstrate several ways that the game can be customized to address additional topics related to network externalities.

This game is web-based adaptation of Ruebeck et al.'s (2003) network externalities game. For this workshop, we will run the four variations of the game outlined in Ruebeck et al. In addition, we will discuss several ways that the game can be customized to address more advanced topics related to network externalities.  In the basic game, students choose one of a number of competing technologies whose utility depends on the number of others choosing the same technology. In subsequent variations, we introduce sequential choice, imperfect information, heterogeneity and switching costs.

The workshop will provide participants with all the basic information needed to obtain the programs online and to use the game in their classes and research.

In 2001, the University of Cincinnati implemented a revised general education program that respects the autonomy of the major program and allows students to move within or between colleges without losing general education credits.   Raymond Walters College's introductory economics courses, which fit under the "social science" Breadth of Knowledge distribution requirement, focus on critical thinking and are open to all students from every major and every college in the University.  However, the composition of  these classes presents a challenge.  We can have, in the same section, both graduate and undergraduate students, as well as high school students doing advanced work for college credit.          

Most students enroll because their programs require specific economics courses.  Some are fulfilling a general education requirement in the social sciences, and some choose an economics course as an elective.  The largest  group consists of business-related majors.  About one-fourth of all students must take at least one higher-level economics class after finishing the introductory courses.   

In 2001, we undertook a comprehensive review of the introductory sequence to (1) help us evaluate whether we were meeting the needs of all students and (2) help us decide whether to offer sections (or courses) specifically designed for different target groups.  This paper describes our experiences with various pedagogical methods over the past four years, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each approach.  It also provides a  review of the literature and presents an outline of what we intend to do this academic year.

Participants will be provided an overview of what worked best for us and the list of readings that we plan to use this year.

Diana L. Fortier
Economics Instructor, Business and Information Systems,Waubonsee Community College
Global Awareness: Poverty Reduction and Economic Growth Policy
Room 310

My presentation relates both to global economic issues and role play. The presentation would explain the development, implementation, and pedagogy of a capstone macroeconomic policy assignment used in my principles of macroeconomics courses. The collaborative learning experience requires students to develop policy to promote economic growth and reduce poverty in the world s poorest countries.  It requires students to develop their skills in the areas of research, analysis, critical thinking, teamwork, and oral and written communication. 

The objectives of the project are to promote awareness of global issues and the extent of and significance of absolute and relative levels of world poverty; apply macroeconomic concepts to real world situations; understand the workings of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the International Development Association and role play World Bank discussion of policy options and policy obstacles including not only economic but social and political variables. Thus, the assignment could be developed into a multi-disciplinary project. Moreover, it could easily be enhanced for upper level economics courses such as Intermediate Macroeconomics, or Development Economics.

The presentation would elaborate on the development of the project over time with student comments and feedback; the implementation of the assignment with details on individual student roles, regional discussions among countries, presentations from country representatives for funding and funding decisions for proposed growth projects; and evaluation rubrics.

The project is flexible in terms of class time and depth of concepts. It involves both individual and group work as well as presentations. Work is done in class and outside of class. As implemented the project is assigned over a two week period but could certainly be an entire semester project with the incorporation of economic systems, fiscal and monetary policy and international trade issues. It has been used in class sizes of 30-35 students with students in groups of 4-5 students but again can be adapted easily for varying class sizes, especially much larger classes. Each group is assigned one of the world s poorest countries and several countries are assigned within a given region of the world, e.g., Africa - Sub-Saharan or Latin America & Caribbean. Within each group, that is, for each country, each student performs a research task relating to one of the following: 1) data to provide an overview of the political, social, and economic status of the country. 2) obstacles or detriments to growth in the country 3) attributes of economic growth in the country and 4) a growth policy proposal. Additional students will form the World Bank, IMF and IDA and research the history and roles of the World Bank and how it is related to the IMF and IDA and how the IMF and World Bank work in providing funds for country development and poverty reduction, as well as recent criticism or issues related to the World Bank How successful is it in helping reduce world poverty? This group will also prepare questions for the country representatives to help determine how limited funds should be allocated to promote economic growth and reduce poverty.

The project can be done in many classes and over many semesters without duplication if different countries and regions are selected and of course as world events develop and impact the analysis, such as the recent tsunami in December of 2004. Thus, this project is both relevant and real in the process of focusing on the proposed pedagogical objectives for economics courses across an array of sizes and levels. 

Participants will receive an overview of the project through the presentation. They will take away handouts included in the administration of the project such as project expectations and objectives, suggested resources, discussion sheets, group assignment allocations, and grading rubrics. They should be able to walk away not only with the handouts to use with the project but implementation ideas for their own courses.

Steven C. Myers
Associate Professor, Department of Economics, The University of Akron
Using the Tablet PC to Grade in Quantatively Demanding Disciplines
Room 308

The advevnt of digital ink in instructional technology was a critical advance for teachers in quantatively demanding disciplines such as Economics.  Devices such as the SMART Sympodium and the Tablet PC allow for chalk and talk to be digitized and suffers the same complaints in the classroom that chalk and talk suffer, just now on a higher technological plane.  However, the use of a digital imput device allows so much more.   This presentation will introduce some of the uses of a Tablet PC for presentations, but will concentrate on how a Tablet PC reduces the time necessary for reading and grading of student submitted assignments.  Students can submit their hand written assignments digitally and the professor retreives them, marks them up, records the grad and sends them on their way back to the student all without ever requiring pen and paper.  The organizational efficiency alone makes this a winner, but strategies on how to use this efficiency to move your course design to a more mastery-based or proficiency-based level will be presented.

Gregory W. Arburn
Assistant Professor of Economics and Finance, College of Business, The University of Findlay, Findlay, OH
Teaching Balance of Payments using Proposed Drilling for Oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge
Room 314

Teaching the Balance of Payments in a classroom setting presents many challenges. First, getting the student to buy into as well as interact with material that may seem arcane and distant. The Balance of Payments section of many economics texts seems intimidating, at best, and, at worst, potentially unapproachable from the perspective of the traditional undergraduate student. Ultimately our goal for the student is to learn and understand the Balance of Payments at a level that they can retain and apply that understanding to evaluate real and potential changes in our national and international economic decisions, changes and performance as a country. This puts a great deal of weight on our collective economic faculty shoulders if we are to accomplish this goal.
The opportunity that we as educators have is that if we successfully accomplish this goal we will have fostered a greater understanding for these U.S. and international citizens such that they will be more successful decision makers. We must take advantage of these opportunities. The key is to use current relevant events to energize student participation and discussion. This paper addresses teaching the Balance of Payments by utilizing the current publicity and controversy surrounding the drilling for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. Potential implications to the U.S. Balance of Payments comes in many different forms including improvements in the current account by Alaskan produced displacements of imported oil and U.S. exports of Alaskan oil to the Asian market. Capital account effects include increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows to the U.S. by multinational oil companies to develop and drill oil fields. Additionally, there are possible FDI inflows from foreign oil companies desiring to purchase or invest in U.S. Oil Companies because of elevated expected future profitability. The potential implications and ramifications for the U.S. economy are vast, including reduced dependency on foreign oil and increased self sufficiency in transportation fuels.
There are a plethora of potential economic benefits to the U.S. economy including an increase in domestic economic activity, value added benefits of refining crude domestically, an increase in employment in a wide range of oil service and related companies and windfall profits to the stock holders of the existing infrastructures including the trans Alaska Oil Pipeline. The paper explores all of these, as well as global implications of reduced U.S. dependence on foreign oil, potentially reduced oil revenues to those oil exporting regions to lower energy prices and a stronger U.S. economy.
My experience in teaching this material in the classroom at the undergraduate and Graduate level has been significant increases in student participation, more lively discussions and increased scoring on this and related topics. Classroom discussions suddenly come alive when a politically controversial issue such as this comes up. What a wonderful and fun way to learn and teach about economics and this paper illustrates, evaluates and critiques the pedagogy used to teach BOP using ANWR as the example.

Participants will learn an innovative new way to successfully teach:
- Balance of Payments
- Merchandise and Services Imports and Exports
- Foreign Direct Investment
- Investment inflows and outflows
- Economic analysis of domestic industry changes
Participants will learn a key strategic method to teach a whole multitude of economic concepts and have fun a get great evaluations from students, faculty and administrators.


Fahima Aziz
Professor, Department of Management and Economics, Hamline University, St.Paul, MN
Engaging Students in Economic Research and Writing: A Multi-Staged Semester Long Project in Labor Economics
Room 310

Educators and employers often emphasize the importance of college students ability to communicate effectively both in oral and writing forms and to gain knowledge in methodology of research. In addition, problem solving,team- work, collaborative learning, and peer assessments are also emphasized in higher education and there are expectations that students would be able to acquire these skills in their college experiences. Enabling students to think critically is a core objective of a liberal arts education. Implementing writing or speaking intensive skills, collaborative learning, peer feedback and with critical thinking jointly in a curriculum can be a more meaningful educational experience than the pursuit of these goals separately. Most instructors would agree that such goals as stated above are worthy and useful in any educational experience, but they also have the first and foremost obligation to teach discipline specific material in core and elective courses in a semester-long time period. Trying to satisfy multitude of educational and instructive demands can at times be rather overwhelming, nonetheless an efficient pedagogical strategy would be to incorporate both goals, such that, learning content of the discipline and developing research skills and writing can co-exist and serve to complement each other. With this purpose in mind, I developed a multi staged research and writing assignment that would enable students to write (communicate) effectively without compromising the discipline-specific learning in my course. A critical factor in this process is that students receive feedback both from the instructor and peers at various stages of their writing. This multi staged writing process allows for appropriate intervention, assessment and modifications (fine tuning) of their work at various stages of the writing process. Peer evaluation promotes co-operative and collaborative learning, which are often cited as essential skills in both academics and workplace. Thus, an alliance of these pedago
gical strategies along with students involvement in the writing process have been cited as enhancing students engagement and performance in a course
This paper will illustrate a semester long assignment that allows students to write an in-depth research paper in economics, fulfilling the writing intensive component of the course, utilizing collaborative/cooperative learning with peer evaluation to enhance their critical thinking abilities.


Participants will benfit from learning how one can actually incorporate both goals:learning content of the discipline and developing research skills in students in a semester. Handouts of research assignments, timeline of the research project, peer review forms, tools of asessments,and grading breakdowns will be shared so that one could incorporate this assignment in their courses. This presentation will share insights into an efficient pedagogical strategy for students'learning in a semester.


Nozar Hashemzadeh and Loretta Wilson
Professor and Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Radford University, Radford, VA
Student Engagement and the Use of Audio-Visual Technology: An Empirical Assessment
Room 314

The major objective of our research is to explore the extent to which the use of technology for classroom instruction enhances or impedes student engagement. Although available research indicates that technology can make positive contributions to at-risk students who often need remedial instructional assistance, it may negatively impact the learning experience of the average student. Studies that have examined this hypothesis, though scant in number, suggest that intense use of technology can interfere with certain aspects of student learning, such as conceptual problem solving, classroom interaction, and in-depth examination of open-ended concepts. To test this hypothesis, we have designed a survey that will be conducted in several economics principles classes. Classes to be surveyed will consist of two distinct groups. The first group will include classes in which technology is used intensively while the second will consist of classes in which the "talk-and-chalk" pedagogy is routinely employed. After subjecting the data to rigorous statistical analysis, we expect to provide a meaningful assessment of the relative effectiveness of alternative instructional strategies in freshman economics courses.

The study provides some guidelines in regard to the use or overuse of technology in creating an active learning environment in the classroom. In recent years, it has been routinely assumed that "chalk-and-talk" is an obsolete pedagogy. This study is designed to critically examine this assertion.


Tim Kochanski
Term Assistant Professor of Economics, Department of Social Sciences, University of Alaska Southeast, Douglas, AZ
Moving Economic Models From the Chalk Board to the Computer: a microeconomic example of a computer based assignment
Room 316

I present a simple homework assignment that incorporates computer based modeling into the undergraduate economics classroom. In most undergraduate courses, economic models are constructed on the chalk board and on paper with a combination of algebra, graphs, and maybe colored pencils. With a minimal investment in time students can learn to construct these same models on computers. By doing this, students not only build practical technical skills but given the range of control provided by a computational environment may also be more likely to see the relationships between the algebraic functions and graphs or mappings of those functions.
I begin by demonstrating how to construct simple supply and demand curves and how to graph those curves on the computer. I then move on to a duopoly example typically discussed in intermediate microeconomics classes, although these methods can be applied to any model in high school or undergraduate economics. The homework assignment allows students to examine the effects that lower costs for one firm will have in a duopoly setting.
Duopoly is usually introduced in introductory and intermediate texts as a more extreme case of oligopoly. The key point being that the actions of one firm affect the performance of another firm in an industry with so few producers. Typical classroom examples include oil cartels, the kinked demand curve, and all the problems associated with trying to organize and maintain a system of collusion. Other examples may include the airline industry and how the interactions of a changing business environment with differing cost structures can drastically shift each firm s respective market share as was the case with Pan Am in the 1980 s.
Within the computational environment students can easily adjust the costs of one firm vs. the costs of another firm and solve the model repeatedly over a few time periods arriving at the resulting levels of output, price, profit, and market share. This particular assignment gives students a better understanding of how one firm s actions in a duopoly can affect the other firm. This creates a deeper understanding of how Pan Am could be stripped of its market share and ultimately is existence during the 1980 s. Additionally students see the powerful price cutting incentive that is always at work in a cartel such as OPEC.

Participants should gain an appreciation for the creativity allowed when building economic models on a computer as apposed to on paper. They will also be introduced to the many programs available for this type of modeling including the widely available Microsoft Excel. This should also serve to spark the imaginations of those who have considered creating computer based assignments in their undergraduate courses.



Posters (On Display in the Technology Showcase)   (return)


Steven Dickey
Associate Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY
The Use of Group Discussion in the Principles Class

While it may be that group discussion is a normal method of instruction in the principles course, it does not seem to have achieved much popularity. Because this instructional technique provides reinforcement of other instructional efforts (reading and lecture) in the auditory learning style, it potentially relieves an imbalance toward the visual learning style in the overall learning program. However, there are pitfalls and problems that must be overcome by procedures and safeguards in conducting and administering this instructional method. This paper addresses the expected reader interests of how to structure a course for effective group discussion, how to structure assignments to promote fuller participation and how to avoid adverse strategic response from students in incorporating group discussion into the student's accountability.


Tim Kochanski
Term Assistant Professor of Economics, Department of Social Sciences, University of Alaska Southeast, Douglas, AZ
How I Use Technology To Teach Economics

This is simply a multimedia presentation that includes all the technologies I have implemented for class use over the previous two years.  It was created with Tech Smith’s Camtasia Studio.  First, Blogging is a useful alternative to traditional course management systems such as WebCT or Blackboard.  I have a more detailed write up of this available online at http://www.economics.ltsn.ac.uk/showcase/cit.htm . 

Next, Mathematica is a powerful program that among other things can be used to create animations.  This allows me to animate supply and demand shifts or pivots and it allows me to demonstrate how multiple graphs move simultaneously. 

There are also many resources available at the publisher’s accompanying site.  I especially like the PowerPoint slides for lectures, the java applet animations of the models, and the video series that accompany the texts that I currently use for my intro and intermediate courses.  On the topic of video, the Feed Room is a great source of online newscasts for quick under two minute video stories on relevant business topics.

In addition to the items mentioned above, many other professors have developed online tools such as java applets that give more interactivity and flexibility to economic models.  These are freely available on the web and can usually be found with a quick Google search.

Microsoft Excel spreadsheets can be saved as an HTML file that allows interactivity.  So, when students see their scores online they can type in hypothetical scores for their upcoming homework or exam and get a forecast of their course grade at any time.  This greatly reduces administrative questions students may have about grading and allows them to see their own performance relative to the rest of the class.

Finally, Camtasia Studio can be used to create low file size video tutorials that can be stored on the web and referenced at any time by students.         


Paul J. Kubik
Visiting Professor, Department of Economics, DePaul University, Chicago, IL
Teaching Economics: Metaphors from Natural Science

The American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce suggested that new ideas may spring from what he termed a process of abduction.
A significant element of this process was the application of metaphors from one field of study to another distinct discipline.  Following in that tradition, this poster presentation attempts to use several teaching tools from the natural sciences to help explain economic phenomena.

Participants will leave with a new teaching tool that may resonate with students from the natural sciences. A fresh and somewhat startling way to help place macroeconomic issues in an understandable context.

James A. Kurre
Associate Professor of Economics, Black School of Business, Penn State University Erie, Erie, PA
Dealing with Failure: Creating a New Learning Strategy After the First Exam

I've found the day I return the first exam to be a crucial point in my classes. Students typically do worse--a lot worse--than they expect, and they make a decision about whose fault it is. That sets their attitude for the rest of the semester with me. To help turn this potentially dangerous energy into a positive direction, I use the Learning Strategy After the First Exam assignment. Although it is a short, simple assignment, it accomplishes four important things: 1) It helps students determine if they're overcommitted in terms of time, as many are. 2) It leads students to have a talk with themselves about their level of effort so far compared to what they'll need to do to be successful, and to make an explicit decision about whether this class is worth that work or not. 3) It requires them individually to identify--and commit to--specific changes in their behavior that will help them be more successful. And 4) it provides feedback to me on potential problems in the class and suggestions on how I can improve.

I will have available a short paper with my actual "Learning Strategy" assignment, as well as my thoughts on what it has accomplished for me, and how to use it successfully.


Ed Miseta
Lecturer In Economics, Black School of Business, Penn State Erie, Erie, PA
Rewards For Students - Great ways to reward students and make class more fun...all for a few dollars a week.

Economics is called the dismal science for good reason - many students believe the material is dull and the classes boring. I was looking for ways to make the class more fun and enjoyable to students. I felt that a rewards program would be one way to do that. I now regularly hand out CDs, t-shirts, and other gifts in class to students giving a right answer or correctly analyzing a situation. Although it seems like this would be expensive to me, it is not. I have become an expert at securing great gifts that the students love for pennies per gift (in some cases, no cost at all!) Some are actually joke gifts that really get the students laughing and having a good time. This poster will showcase some of the great gifts I have secured and how others can do the same. Feedback from my students has been great, and they tell me they actually ENJOY coming to class. Some of the gifts are even used it what I call the eBay Game, which helps students learn about supply and demand.  Participants will be able to immediately go out and procure items to hand out in class. These gifts will cost very little (or no) money and will immediately make the classes more fun and enjoyable for all students.


James B. Mosby
Assistant Professor, Departmetn of Economics, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, MI
Teaching Capital Investment Analysis

Capital Investment is the dynamic that drives the economy through the process of "creative destruction". To their multiplier effects, at least 60 percent of which occurs in the first year, capital projects also provide venue for current and future production of goods and services. Students need to have a feel for capital project evaluation. Based on Industrial Engineering and Cost analysis techniques, in this session we review the nature and significance of the pay-out period in capital budgeting.

Participants will learn how to compute the pay-out period of a project and how to determine the inpact of policy variables such as lower interest rates, accelerated cost recovery systems, investment tax credits, etc.

Sanjay Paul
Associate Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA
Three Exercises in Market Structure: Perfect Competition, Monopoly and Imperfect Competition

DESCRIPTION
We develop three interactive exercises to illustrate the analysis of profit maximization in markets with varying degrees of concentration. The exercises require students to assume parameter values, sketch graphs and obtain optimal combinations of price and output. The provision of a calculator (with the aid of Javascript) enables students to conduct comparative statics with ease. Each set concludes with a series of questions involving economic principles and analysis.  In the first exercise we consider a perfectly competitive industry and show how firms make output decisions in a price-taking environment. We consider the shutdown case, compute profits, and derive the supply curve.  In Exercise Set 2 we analyze the optimal price-output combination for a monopolist and show how it is affected by changes in cost.  We look at imperfect competition in Exercise Set 3. We calculate the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index and show how mergers cause the index value to change. We consider implications of changes in industry concentration for antitrust policy.

GOALS AND METHODOLOGY
Each Exercise Set shares the following elements:
1. A set of learning objectives. This section clearly identifies the important terminology and concepts (e.g., Industry Concentration)
2. Data to be used for the main problem. This section includes the equations, variables and parameters used in the model. This section also includes the interactive calculator (using JavaScript) and explains how it is to be used.
3. In this section, we pose a series of questions based on the data in the preceding section. These questions require students to select values for certain parameters, draw sketches, solve equations, and obtain certain endogenous variables. Furthermore, students are required to change parameter values and conduct comparative-statics exercises.

ASSESSMENT
The questions posed in the exercises provide students ample opportunities to practice solving problems dealing with decision making by firms finding optimal price and output combinations and showing how they change as a result of varying market conditions.

In my Principles courses, I use these Exercise Sets in the class as a means to assess the students' grasp of basic concepts in profit maximization, their ability to perform arithmetic calculations, and engage in economic reasoning.  I make it quite clear that the Exercise Sets also form the basis for homework assignments and tests thereby encouraging students to attend to the exercises with greater vigor.

I shall provide copies of the Exercise Sets used in the Poster exhibit. The take-away will include salient features of the interactive online exercises, along with the learning objectives and the questions designed to further understanding of profit maximization under varying degrees of competition.

Francesco Renna
Assistent Professor, Department of Economics, University of Akron, Akron, OH
Senior Project for BSLE Majors

Students at the University of Akron need to complete a Senior Project to satisfy the requirements of the Department of Economics. The motivation for this choice rests on the idea that doing research in economics is the best way of learning economics. The senior project gives students the chance to bring together the skills they have acquired in previous courses (analytical, problem-solving and quantitative skills) and to apply them to an economic issue. For those with a major in Labor Economics, the senior project is conducted in a capstone class. The goal of the class is to show that the student can master all of the Hansen proficiencies, with a particular emphasis on the last proficiency Create new knowledge . During the semester, students have to (1) identify a research question; (2) review the existent literature on the selected topic; (3) formulate a model; (4) use data to test the validity of their modell; and (5) derive the implication of their findings. Finally students need to prepare a poster of their work and present their final product in front of an audience. Examples of students work will be presented.

Participants will leave with a copy of the Senior Project Handbook

Liang Tang
Assistant Professor of Finance, Department of Business, Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA
Seeing is Believing! Economic Principles in Action in a Study Tour to China

We have developed a two-week study abroad (China) program to let our students see economic and business issues in action.

Goals and Methodology:
Our goals are for the students to apply their economic and business principles to the real world, in particular, to China where the economy has been growing rapidly; and to let the students experience first hand the development of the Chinese economy. We employ a combination of lectures and field trips in the program. There are a total of five lectures taught by faculty from the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in Beijing, China. The lectures on China s Economic Environment and Business Systems expose students to the basic structure of the Chinese economy. Students learn about the factors of production land, labor and capital and understand the source of China s comparative advantage in the production of labor-intensive goods. They also note that comparative advantage can be dynamic a visit to the Beijing Hyundai Motor Co. illustrates the use of relatively skilled labor in a capital-intensive industry.

Students note signs of rapid economic growth in Beijing and Shanghai e.g., the large number of ongoing construction projects. They understand how rising incomes translate into increased demand for all kinds of goods and services houses, appliances, mobile phones. The booming economy also drives the demand for energy, which in turn leads to increases in the price of oil in the global market.

Other lectures in the program describe the role of foreign direct investment in China and the reform of state-owned enterprises. Students see the dismantling of state barriers in economic activity and increased participation by the private sector in various sectors of the economy.

Assessment:
We require each participant to write a paper about their experiences in China and about how the economic theories which are learned in the USA can be applied to China. 

Observers of this poster will be able to see economic principles in action via a study tour to China.  Thhey will see how this helps greatly a student s learning. We shall provide copies of the program description used in the Poster exhibit and student feedbacks upon request.

Chris Collins, John Hirschbuhl, John Kelley, Andrea Snell, Evangeline Varonis
Design and Development Services, Department of Psychoogy, The University of Akron
Using Technology to Increase Interest in the Federal Budget: 
An Exercise in Hard ChoicesSM

Created by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, www.crfb.org, for over 20 years An Exercise in Hard ChoicesSM has challenged citizens in small groups to create their own budgets in a traditional, face-to-face format. Through a congressional appropriation, The University of Akron has developed electronic technologies to increase access to the Exercise over Internet2. Last year, our target audience was high school students, who experienced the same hard choices faced by the President and Congress, alternately debating, conceding, or prevailing as they worked on achieving group consensus. Our research has shown that students who participate in electronic versions of the Exercise demonstrate gains in three areas:

1. A statistically significant increase in their knowledge of the federal budget and budget process.
2. A statistically significant increase in their interest in the budget process and how government works, including their intentions to read about and discuss these topics in the future.
3. Satisfaction with the experience of using technology to achieve a goal.

  (return)