Eco 102-070
Macroeconomics on the Internet
- Instructor: Tom
Porebski
- Office: S-105, in
the Science Building
- Phone: 708-456-0300,
Extension 3509
- Home Phone:
708-579-4607
- E-mail: tporebsk@triton.edu or
tporebski@aol.com
- Office Hours: 9-12
on T, H or by appointment
Text:
PRINCIPLES OF MACROECONOMICS, 4th edition by Gottheil
The study guide for this text is
recommended but not required.
Course Description:
The course is an
introductory course in the principles of macroeconomics, which deals with the
aggregate or overall economy. Topics covered include the nature of
economics, supply and demand, aggregate demand and supply, the business cycle,
unemployment and inflation, fiscal policy, money, banking, and monetary policy,
as well as the government budget and taxes. In the beginning we cover a
general introduction to economics as well as supply and demand before moving to
the major portions of macroeconomics. Of major concern in macroeconomics
are the questions of unemployment and inflation and how fiscal and monetary
policy can be used to combat them.
Prerequisites:
There are no
prerequisites for taking this course. However, if you have already taken
Eco 103, microeconomics, then you will find that the material on the first exam
was probably covered in that course also. However everything after the
first test is likely to be new material to you.
Instructions for taking this class online
- First, you are responsible for carefully reading all the information
in this syllabus before proceeding with the course. If you have any
questions, please contact me immediately at the phone numbers or emails
given.
- Should I be
taking this class?
If you are not familiar with the use of computers and the internet, or do
not have access to a computer that is connected to the internet, then I
would not recommend that you take this class.
- It is important to note that THIS CLASS IS NOT SELF-PACED
INSTRUCTION. THE EXAMS AND OTHER MATERIALS WILL HAVE DEADLINES
THAT YOU ARE REQUIRED TO KEEP.
- The course uses the WebCT program
online. You can access the Webct log-in
screen off the Triton homepage. Go
to www.triton.edu and click courses
and registration, and you will see a link to WebCt on the menu at the left. Or you can access the log in screen by
going to the following address:
- You should get a page on which you click "my WebCT". This will open a box that will ask
for your username and password. Your username is your full name,
first and last, as you are registered here at Triton College.
All the letters should be typed in lower case, with no spaces. Your
password is the first letter of your first name, the first 3 letters of
your last name, and the last 4 digits of your social security number,
again in lower case with no spaces.
- Once you are in WebCT, you will see
various icons representing different elements that instructors can use in WebCT. The icons that we will be using are as
follows:
- Syllabus: This of course contains
this syllabus for the course that you are reading now!
- Course Contents: Here you will
find overviews for each section of the course, as well as the powerpoint notes for each
chapter. If you click on the chapter notes, you will be able to
view the powerpoint
slides, however I do not believe that you can print them out from WebCT. If you wish to have a printed copy of
the powerpoint notes,
check out my web page, mentioned below. The powerpoint notes are ones that I have used in
class, but I am in the process of revising them to go with the newer
edition of the book. You might
find the authors powerpoint
notes, mentioned below in the section on the Gottheil
website, to be more useful. They
follow the book quite closely and use many of the same graphs from the
book. You will also find a review
sheet for each exam.
- Bulletin Board: In the bulletin
board, I will be posting the discussion questions that are used as extra
credit. See the explanation on
grading later in this syllabus.
You can respond to these and also use this area to discuss with
other people. This is a public area, meaning everyone in the course
can read anything you put here so do not put private messages in this
area.
- Private Mail: Just like it
sounds, a message posted in private mail will go to the addressee
only. You can click compose to write your mail, and click browse to
see a list of people in the course and the instructor (me!). You can
send mail to one or more people at the same time. YOU SHOULD CHECK YOUR MAIL ALMOST
EVERY DAY!!!
- Online Quizzes: All exams,
multiple choice and short answer quizzes, as well as the practice
questions, are in this area. As
noted earlier, DO NOT BEGIN ANY QUIZ UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO TAKE IT
FOR A GRADE. The practice questions are just that: practice, they do not count for points
but should be helpful in preparing for the quizzes and tests. The practice questions can be taken
over and over. The multiple
choice quizzes can each be taken 2 times and the highest score will be
used for your grade: however the
quiz will NOT contain exactly the same questions each time. The short answer quizzes can be taken
only once. You will receive your
score immediately after taking the quiz for the multiple choice quizzes,
but the short answer quizzes have to be graded by me first before you get
your score.
- Course Calendar: Obviously, this is a
calendar!! I will use this to post deadlines, etc. Learn to navigate in the calendar if I
do use it. You can look at the course schedule month by month or
you can use the compile feature to see all the important dates for the
course in a list.
- Gottheil Website: This takes you to the author’s
website. You can download the powerpoint notes that go with the book here, and also
take more practice quizzes and check out other materials.
- Tom Porebski’s
Home Page: Obviously this is my
home page! You will find a link on
that page for my powerpoint
notes and it will be easier to print them from here rather than inside webct.
- After reading this syllabus, click the
various other icons to familiarize yourself with the WebCt
program!!
NOTE: Get used to signing into the program often to look for
new assignments, or mail, etc!!!
GRADING PROCEDURE : NOTE, THERE HAVE BEEN SIZEABLE CHANGES IN THE
STRUCTURE OF THIS CLASS IN THE PAST YEAR SO READ CAREFULLY.
Basically the course will be divided into 4 parts: each part will have a Multiple Choice quiz
(can be taken 2 times), a Short Answer Quiz (can be taken only once), and an
Exam. And as stated earlier, there are
practice questions for each section of the course, which do not count in your grade. Thus there will be 4 exams, 4 multiple choice
quizzes, and 4 short answer quizzes that make up your grade, as well as an
extra credit option.
·
Exams:
There will be 4 exams,
including 3 regular tests and a comprehensive final exam. The lowest of
the first 3 tests is dropped. The exams are usually multiple choice
exams, but can possibly include short answer questions or problems. I will let you know in private mail the exact
form of the exam. You will have at least a 24 hour period of time in
which to take the exams. Sometimes
exams might be on weekends, so check the calendar carefully. THERE ARE NO MAKE UP TESTS!!!! In addition to the calendar, the exam
dates appear later in this syllabus and are often announced through private
mail in webct.
NOTE THAT THE FINAL EXAM IS COMPREHENSIVE, HOWEVER AT LEAST HALF OF
THE MATERIAL WILL COME FROM THE CHAPTERS COVERED AFTER EXAM 3.
- Multiple
choice quizzes: There will be 4 multiple choice quizzes,
with the material corresponding to the 4 exams discussed above. Basically these quizzes are like
pre-tests that should help you see the kinds of concepts you need to know
for each exam. Each quiz is worth
30 points. As noted earlier, the multiple choice quizzes can each be
taken 2 times and the highest score will be used as your grade: however the quiz will NOT contain
exactly the same questions each time.
Once again, THERE ARE NO MAKE UP QUIZZES.
- Short
Answer Quizzes: There will be 4 short answer quizzes,
each worth 20
points. The lowest of the 4 will be
dropped. THE SHORT ANSWER
QUIZZES CAN ONLY BE TAKEN ONE TIME.
The titles of the quizzes will give you an idea of the topic
covered on each quiz. There will be
one short answer quiz prior to each of the 4 exams.
- Bulletin
Board Extra Credit: There will also
be a maximum of 20 points of extra credit that students can earn by
responding to questions that I put online in the bulletin board in Web Ct.
Each question is worth a maximum of 5 extra credit points, and there will
be 4 such questions posted during the course of the semester. Give a thorough answer to the short answer
questions. In order to received the maximum of 5 points for each
question, you must do the following:
- Thoroughly
answer all parts of the question.
- Read
other students responses and find at least one student you agree with,
and one student you disagree with, and explain why you agree or disagree.
Your extra credit score on each
of the bulletin boards will depend heavily on how well you answer the question
and your comments on other people’s answers.
Point Distribution:
|
Top 2 exams (100 pts
each)
|
200 pts
|
|
150 pts
|
Top 3 Multiple
choice quizzes (30pts each)
Top 3 short answer
quizzes (20 points each)
|
90 pts
60 pts
|
|
|
|
500 pts
|
Grading Scale
|
|
= A
|
|
= B
|
|
= C
|
|
= D
|
|
= F
|
For each exam, students should of course read and study
the assigned chapters in the text. You also have to take the assigned
quizzes for the corresponding chapters. Do not begin a quiz unless you
are prepared for the material and can finish it. You will also find that
the powerpoint lecture notes
that I use in my regular classroom classes are available to you online in WebCt. I recommend that you study these notes as well
as the material in the text. Check the bulletin board for the extra
credit and check private mail often for messages I may send you.
Important Notes:
- WATCH THE TIME DEADLINES
ON ALL QUIZZES, EXAMS, ETC. IF YOU
GO OVER THE ALLOWED TIME, YOUR SCORE WILL NOT COUNT.
- There is no other extra
credit in this class except as outlines above. Your grade is
entirely based on the assignments as described in this syllabus.
- Dates given for the exams
and quizzes must be followed. There
will be no make up exams or quizzes.
- The final exam is
mandatory, regardless of your performance on other assignments in the
course.
- ANY ATTEMPT TO CHEAT, SUCH
AS RECEIVING OR GIVING INFORMATION FROM OR TO OTHER STUDENTS IN THE CLASS,
WILL RESULT IN A FAILING GRADE IN THE COURSE. IN ADDITION SUCH STUDENTS MAY BE
PERMANENTLY EXPELLED FROM TRITON
COLLEGE FOR SUCH
ACTIONS.
- The dates
below for quizzes are subject to change if necessary: Check the calendar and private mail for
any changes in these dates.
- THE LAST DAY
TO DROP A 15 WEEK CLASS THIS SEMESTER IS APRIL 12TH. STUDENTS CANNOT DROP THE COURSE BEYOND
THIS DATE.
WEEK OF:
|
MATERIAL COVERED
|
COMMENTS
|
Jan. 22
|
Chap. 1,2
|
Begin reading
chapters 1 and 2. Make sure you can navigate around in the WebCT program, and look for mail messages!
|
Jan. 29
|
Ch. 3
|
Continue reading and studying chapter 2, begin chapter 3.
|
Feb. 5
|
Ch. 3
|
Take the first multiple choice quiz on chapters 1,2,3. Review
answers before taking a second time.
|
Feb. 12
|
Review chapters
1,2,3
|
Take short answer Quiz 1, by Feb. 13.
Take the multiple choice quiz for the second time by Feb. 16.
|
Feb. 19
|
Ch. 4,5
|
Take exam 1, ch. 1,2,3 on Feb. 19th. Begin reading chapters 4 and 5.
|
Feb. 26
|
Ch. 5
|
Continue reading and studying chapters 4,5.
|
Mar. 5
|
Ch. 6,7
|
Read and study
chapters 6 and 7. Take second multiple
choice quiz on ch.
4,5,6,7. Review answers before taking
a second time.
|
Mar. 12
|
Review chapters 4,5,6 and 7.
|
Take short answer
quiz 2 by Mar. 11. Take the
multiple choice quiz for the second time by Mar. 14. Take exam 2, ch.
4,5,6,7 on Mar. 16th.
Begin reading and studying chapter 8.
|
Mar. 19
|
Ch. 8
|
Spring break, but keep studying!
|
Mar. 26
|
Ch. 8, 10, 11
|
Continue chapter 8, begin chapters 10 and 11. Omit chapter
9.
|
Apr. 2
|
Ch. 10, 11
|
Continue studying chapters 10 and 11.
Take the third multiple choice quiz for the
first time. Review answers before
taking a second time.
|
Apr. 9
|
Ch. 11
|
Take short answer quiz 3 by Apr. 11th. Take the multiple choice quiz for the
second time by Apr. 13th.
|
Apr. 16
|
Review ch. 8,10,11: begin
ch. 12 and 13
|
Take exam 3 on chapters 8, 10, and 11 on Apr. 16th. Begin reading chapters 12 and 13.
|
Apr. 23
|
Ch. 13, 14, 15
|
Continue studying chapters 12 and 13. Begin chapters 14 and 15.
|
Apr. 30
|
Ch. 14, 15
|
Study chapters 14, 15.
Take the 4th multiple choice quiz
for the first time. Review results
before taking a second time.
|
May 7, 14
|
Review ch. 12-15
|
Take 4th
short answer quiz by May 8th.
Take the multiple choice quiz for the second time by May 11th.
|
May 15-18
|
Final exam on all
chapters May 16: Review all materials
|
Final exam, on all chapters, with extra emphasis on
chapters 12,13,14,15 will be on May 16th.
|
NOTE: IN THE EVENT
THAT ANY CHANGES ARE NECESSARY TO THIS SCHEDULE, I WILL INFORM YOU VIA PRIVATE
MAIL INSIDE WEBCT. THUS CHECK YOUR MAIL
OFTEN.