Interesting Econ Site? A tall order?

Is there any interesting Econ site out there? I ask this because one of the students suggested it.

Question 1
Do you have any suggestions to improve this class?Answer
Hi, Professor. I think you've got everything you need for the online class. The only other thing I can think of that you can add is something to make Econ more interesting to the students other than the facts. Maybe if you could find a fun link to a site that has fun facts about econ.

But as far as essentials go, you've got it down.

What does he/she means by a fun link?

Something completely different from Econ fun?
Econ Jokes?
This is a tall order from someone called dismal!

What speed? or to whom?

Teaching at the community college level one is faced with students of varying abilities and temperaments. The following two posting are by two students in a single class.
Student 1 wrote:
Question 1

Do you have any suggestions to improve this class?Answer
The only improvements i would suggest to improve our class
would to slow down the lecture a little more giving ample time for everyone to
finish writitng down key terms. on another note though i will say that your real
life scenerios really help me relate the subject matter making it easier to
understand

Student 2 wrote:
Question 1

Do you have any suggestions to improve this class?Answer
I
think you should wear a fisherman's hat and/or teach the class like old men tell
ghost stories in movies. If you had a hot girl walk through the class holding a
card displaying the current round, I would pay more attention. Also, don't
answer stupid questions that just waste time, like that one rich girl's
questions, you know who I'm talking about. Oh yeah, and that guy that said to
slow down should be shot. We have the book and the damn lesson plan on the
internet if we need to write down a definiton, if he doesn't understand
something that's different, but to write down a definition...shot.

All these postings are annonymous which brings up the question of should surveys be anonymous? But that is another posting.

---

FW: WebCT Survey -- Suggestion

I surveyed the students using WebCT (Course Management Software) and got the following.

From:
anonymous@5s_rcc_eco4_39635.WebCT.Course

[mailto:]
Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2005 11:59 AM
To: Java,
M
Subject: WebCT Survey -- Suggestions

----------------------------------------

Question
1

Do you have
any suggestions to improve this class?Answer

Overall, I
think the class is okay the way it is, but I think that you should add something
like more group work. Also, more examples like your drunk guy going up the
stairs.

It seems the students like group work, but I am not convinced that they learn. Some learn some slack. The Free Rider problem bothers me. I have read the literature on conducting group activities but still…
Group work is a good way to break up the class and refresh the students but as a learning tool!??

Repetition Good or Bad

I noticed the following post at Ratemyprofessor.com about me. I beleive that repetition of important concepts helps the students but they dont seem to like it.

very clear and helpful, but goes over the same thing too many times so class gets a little boring. he wants students to learn, not just meet requirements, which is refreshing. he does sound a little like the count.. perhaps we could try to guess zee number of zee day? hot.

Econ. Prof. What do they do?

Here is an email I received from a student at a local high school. I have only deleted the students name and email address to protect her identity.

She wrote:

Dear Mr. Java, Am am hoping for you to be one of my sources for my career project that my enghlish teacher assigned to my class. I am a senior at Paloma Vally High School and I have beeen thinking about what I am going to do after I graduate. I was thinking in getting in volved somehow in economics. I also like teaching things to people, so the obvious career for me to pick is an economics profesor. If you have the time, would you mind telling me what was that you had to do to achieve your proffesion. What schooling is needed, waht credentials to you have to obtain, what test do you have to have, so on so forth. I would also love it if you could describe your job, what you like about it the most and the least. I know that you are a bussy person, but I would be very gratified if you gave me some insoght on your job.

Sincerely,

My response to this student is as follow:

This is for an English class? First let me start with that most economists are terrible writers that is why most students think economics is difficult.

Let�s see Economics is better known as the Dismal Science. If you are an optimistic individual, you should not study economics. Economist believe that everything has a cost associated with it. You know this rule as �There ain�t no such thing as a free lunch� (Your English teacher will not like this sentence). If you are going to be an economist you must believe in this rule with all your heart. This is why it is hard to find a happy economist.

Economist working in the private industry usually work in front of a computer and manipulate numbers and formulas. Their work affects the price that companies charge for their good. For example Southern California Edison has many economists working to calculate how much they should charge per kilowatt. Pepsi and Coke consult their economist before they raise or lower their price. Do you drive? Your car insurance is calculated based on a formula calculated by statisticians and a type of economist known as �econometricians�.

The economist in the field of education can be divided into two groups. One group teach at research institutions. Most of the prestigious universities are research institutions. These professors teach and research various new ideas in the field of economics. These professors are under lots of pressure to research and publish their work in various Economic Journals. The second group teach at the community colleges or at liberal art colleges. These colleges concentrate on teaching and sometime are referred to as teaching colleges. Some economics instructors/professors at teaching colleges do investigate and publish research. However, these instructors are not required to publish, so they have more time to concentrate on their students.

If after reading this you still want to be a Dismal Scientist, then you should pay attention in your math classes. Math and statistics are very important in economics.

I hope this helps you with your paper. Again check my spelling and grammar before showing it to your English teacher.

Lets See

Lets see what a dimal educator can post? I hope to post crazy ideas that might work in teaching the dismal science to freshmen.