ECO 2013 PRINCIPLES OF MACROECONOMICS
FALL 2011 (20121) , Session 2
Reference Number 412506
WESTON FAST-TRACK COURSE
The first class on Wednesday, August 24 includes an orientation to the course web site.
Your Professor
My name is Greg Lindeblom. I have been a professor at Broward College since January 2003. I have a Honours B.A. from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario (Canada) and a M.A. in Economics from New School University in New York City. My academic specialties are: Macroeconomics, International Economics and Finance, Money and Banking, Economic Development, and the History of Economic Thought.
Prior to coming to BC, I worked in banking and finance for 23 years. Throughout my career, I have had some fascinating jobs in banking. I was on the trade floor in New York for 12 years -- six years in the foreign exchange markets and six years in charge of the techology on the trade floor. Later in my career, I was responsible for web development for all my bank's trading and brokerage departments. That was at the very inception of web application development -- so I'm either a pioneer or a dinosaur depending on your perspective.
During my years in banking, I lived in Toronto; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; and New York City, prior to moving to Florida in 2001. Believe it or not, I moved into my house on 9/11/01! Since moving to Florida, I have done bank consulting work, in addition to my teaching. Some of my consulting assignments have been in Canada and Mexico.
During my tenure at BC, I have taught:
- Principles of Macroeconomics
- Principles of Microeconomics
- Money & Banking
- Introduction to Business
- Principles of Supervision
- Personal Finance
I genuinely enjoy teaching here at BC. I find the students very personable and eager. I'm sure you'll find this course challenges you, but you'll also find it rewarding and relevant to your life.
Course Description
BC's course outline describes the course as: "An introductory course in macroeconomic principles covering basic economic problems and concepts. Topics discussed and analyzed include the role of government in various economic systems, aggregate measures of economic performance, aspects of economic instability, macro equilibrium, fiscal and monetary policies, and the imparct of both the public debt and international trade."
Over and over, I've had students tell me this is a course in which they learned a great deal. Introduction to Economics I is a challenging course that blends theoretical work with practical applications from the world around us. By obtaining a good grounding in economics, students can better understand the political, social, and financial issues that confront us and our society every day. An economic issue is on the front page of the newspaper most days of the week and it would be hard to find a televised newscast that doesn't include a key story on the economy. By the end of this course, you should be able to see through the political rhetoric and journalistic simplifications to make your own decisions about economic issues and the direction of our economy. On a personal level, understanding the economic issues of our day provides students with important tools to make financial decisions that affect their own lives.
A full description of course outcomes is on hard-copy reserve in the periodicals section of the library and may also be downloaded from BC's web site.
Methods of Instruction
This course was specifically designed as a Fast-track class. This is a 3 credit hour course. Normally, a three credit hour course would meet two or three times a week each semester(during a 16 week term) for a total of 3 hours per week or 48 hours per term. In a Fast-track class, the same material is covered during an eight-week session. Typically, we would meet twice a week for three hours each meeting. However, this course is taught in a blended format, where 50% of our class work is done in a traditional face-to-face format and 50% is done through online discussions, readings, quizzes, and assignments. Each week we will meet in class on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 - 9:15 p.m. at the Weston Center. The remainder of the time you will engage in structured online activities.
There will be three tests in the course, all taken in-class. The remainder of our in-class time will be spent covering the most challenging parts of the material in the course. The rest of the course material is your responsibility.
During the periods where you will be engaging in online learning, there will be four discussion topics that will require you to read the relevant chapter(s) of the text, watch some videos, and apply the principles to the topic at hand. A significant portion of your grade will be based on the quality of your participation in these online discussions. Further, there is assigned homework and extra practice quizzes that will help you evaluate your progress in the course. You'll even do an online group project!!
Any student who earns a grade of C in this course will earn writing credit as well. Therefore, you will have to verify that your wiriting skills are at a college level during the course. You will accomplish that through the online discussions during the semester.
Learning Outcomes
This is an introduction to Macroeconomics.
BC's course outline for ECO2013 indicates the following general course outcomes:
"Course Overview -- Upon successful completion of this course, the students should be able to describe macroeconomic principles and concepts, the impact of fiscal and monetary policies, and macro-equilibrium; calculate measures of aggregate economic performance; a discuss elements of international trade.
Unit 1: The students should be able to explain the fundamentals of economic analysis, as well as the role and functions of government in the modern mixed economy.
Unit 2: The students should be able to list the various types of fluctuations (seasonal, cyclical, trend) and their impact on variou groups in society; describe and analyze how equilibrium levels of national income and output are determined, as well as their expected impact on the price-level.
Unit 3: The students should be able to evaluate methods of demand management, their shortcomings, and their impact on the deficit.
Unit 4: The students should be able to define the importance of the U.S. monetary and banking system.
Unit 5: The students should be able to evaluate alternative macroeconomic theories and policies."
Practically speaking, the course can be logically divided into the following sections:
- Introduction to Economics
- Fundamentals of Economics
- Fundamentals of Macroeconomics
- Macroeconomic Models
- Fiscal Policy
- Monetary Macroeconomics
By the end of the course you should understand the following basic economic principles:
- The definition of economics and the economics perspective
- The production possibilities model
- The circular flow model
- The laws of demand and supply
- A brief economic history to illustrate some current debates in economics
- Market and market systems
- The role of government in the economy
- Key measures of national income accounting, such as GDP, CPI, unemployment, etc.
- The significance of unemployment and inflation
- The Aggregate Expenditure Model
- Aggregate Demand-Aggregate Supply Model
- Fiscal policy and its resulting deficits or surpluses
- Money and banking
- Monetary policy
The general outcomes from this course are also available from the BC website (BC course outlines).
Course Requirements
There are no special requirements or admission criteria for this course.
The student must have regular access to a computer and be comfortable working online.
We meet each week for three hours. Attendance is expected for all meetings. However, I recognize that job and family matters can make that difficult.
All email in this course must be sent within Blackboard. the hardware or software requirements of this course are the BC standard for distance learning. Students must be able to open/save files, surf the internet, send and receive email, and post to discussion topics.
Students who are using Blackboard for the first time should visit BC's Flexible Learning Page . While there: Click on the "Is Online for You" link to take an online learning readiness evaluation.
Click on the "Computer Checkup" link to review BC's hardware and software requirements for taking an online course and for important information for AOL users.
Course Technology Requirements
If you are taking an online course for the first time, you must review BC's Online Student Support Site, which is located at http://www.broward.edu/elearning/eLearning/student/getStarted/page12594.html
The only unique software you require for this course is a PowerPoint viewer, which can be uploaded at no cost. Refer to the Blackboard Plug-ins document to get find the link for the viewer.
Some discussions require you to watch and make a report on videos. Your PC must have speakers or headphones that allow you to hear the videos.
Course Materials
The required text for the course is Miller, Roger Leroy, ECONOMICS TODAY, 16th edition, Boston: Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2011
If you plan to take both ECO 2013 and ECO 2023, purchase the full version hard cover text (ISBN: TBD) or a loose-leaf "a la carte edition" (ISBN: TBD). As an alternative, you can also purchase an eBook that is good for both ECO 2013 and ECO 2023 (ISBN: TBD). You must take ECO 2013 and ECO 2023 in successive semesters if you purchase the eBook. Please note, the bookstore will buy back the hard cover text, but WILL NOT buy back the a la carte or eBook versions.
If you are just taking ECO 2013 at Broward College, you can purchase ECONOMICS TODAY -- THE MACRO VIEW, 16th edition in an "a la carte" edition (ISBN: TBD).
Whichever version you purchase, be sure to get the Student Access Kit. This gives you access to MyEconLab, which has excellent tools that will be necessary for you to have for the course. Your assigned homework comes from MyEconLab as do videos and news articles we use for discussions. In addition, there are many extra study questions to help you prepare for your tests.
Within Blackboard, you will have access to online tutorials, practice quizzes and additional information from the textbook publisher. In addition, you will have access to the professor's lecture notes. The lecture notes are in PowerPoint, and you can print them in handout format (3 or 4 slides to a page), so you can print them out prior to class and make your own notes right on the slides themselves.
So between the resources I have provided on Blackboard and those that Pearson Addison-Wesley has provided, I am confident you will have the tools you need to succeed in this course. Of course, resources are only valuable when they are utilized. One of the key premises of economics is that resources must be allocated (used) efficiently to maximize satisfaction (your grade).
How to Register for this Course
To enroll for the course, please refer to BC's Student Online System. Students must be paid before they will be able to log into the course. If you register late, it may take 36 hours for you to gain access to the course after paying.
Information Contact
Students can reach me at glindebl@broward.edu to obtain more information about this course. If you wish to meet with me prior to enrolling in the course, please send an email to make an appointment with me.
How to Access the Course once you are Enrolled in this Course
Once you are enrolled and have paid, access to the course will begin on the first class on Wednesday, August 24. During the orientation, we will review login and access procedures, requirements for the course, and begin our study of economic principles.
In the meantime, refer to the BC Flexible Learning page for email lookup and login instructions.
All students must obtain and use a BC email address for this course, so please obtain a user ID and PIN code before attempting to login to Blackboard.
You can access this class during our orientation in our first class session, not before. Once you've logged on in class, you can access the course any time thereafter.
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