By Michelle Hines , University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-5371
Posted 10-23-06
ECON 201 focuses on an alien race and their economic challenges.
GREENSBORO, N.C. - A videogame economics course designed by the Division of Continual Learning at UNCG continues to earn national attention. ECON 2O1 was featured Oct. 19 on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”
Dr. Jeff Sarbaum, a UNCG economics professor and academic advisor for development of the course, was interviewed on air.
ECON 201 teaches microeconomics by following an alien species that must learn to survive after crash-landing on a futuristic, post-apocalyptic earth. It launched this fall as part of UNCG’s growing portfolio of online courses and degree programs. Through the game, students learn to deal with economic principles from scarcity to sustainable growth.
ECON 201 also integrates a variety of interdisciplinary subjects that go beyond economics – such as biology, history and anthropology. For example, students must make ethical decisions as they play the game. They face disease outbreak. They review historical examples of how the earth faced similar problems before.
Course content is delivered through a series of problem-solving tasks that are part of the overarching game narrative. To evaluate progress, students must prove they firmly grasp the information covered as they move from level to level within the game – answering questions and making decisions that indicate they can apply what they’ve learned in a variety of situations.
“What we need to do is explain to them exactly what it is they are experiencing,” Sarbaum told NPR, explaining how ECON 201 differs from a conventional videogame. “You know, ‘This is what you are experiencing, and this is how an economist would describe the situation.’”
For more information on ECON 201, visit:
http://icampus.uncg.edu/ and click on ECON 201.
To hear the NPR interview, visit:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6342324.
