PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9mlsChWi_g&w=640&h=390]

This course is designed as an eight-week introduction to the study of economics. Participants will be exposed to the economic way of thinking and learn about the functioning of a modern market economy. The early part of the course focuses on microeconomic analysis including the behavior of consumers and firms. We analyze markets for goods and services and policy choices that affect these markets. The later part of the course moves on to macroeconomic concepts such as national production, employment, inflation and interest rates. We explore models that determine long-run growth and short-term fluctuations in national economies. We then discuss the role of government regulation, monetary policy, and fiscal policy.

How to Learn Math: For Students

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD5QR5R6b8E&w=560&h=315]

How to Learn Math is a class for learners of all levels of mathematics. It combines really important information on the brain and learning with new evidence on the best ways to approach and learn math effectively. Many people have had negative experiences with math, and end up disliking math or failing. This class will give learners of math the information they need to become powerful math learners, it will correct any misconceptions they have about what math is, and it will teach them about their own potential to succeed and the strategies needed to approach math effectively. If you have had past negative experiences with math this will help change your relationship to one that is positive and powerful.

The course will feature Jo and a team of undergraduates, as well as videos of math in action – in dance, juggling, snowflakes, soccer and many other applications. It is designed with a pedagogy of active engagement. The course will run from roughly mid June to the end of December, 2014.

Technology Entrepreneurship

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb-5Ktx-aKI&w=380&h=213]

This course introduces the fundamentals of technology entrepreneurship, pioneered in Silicon Valley and now spreading across the world. You will learn the process technology entrepreneurs use to start companies. It involves taking a technology idea and finding a high-potential commercial opportunity, gathering resources such as talent and capital, figuring out how to sell and market the idea, and managing rapid growth. To gain practical experience alongside the theory, students form teams and work on startup projects in those teams. This is the second offering of the class. Last time, nearly 40,000 students from around the world participated and worked in teams together. The top teams were matched with Silicon Valley mentors, and the best teams at the end of the class pitched their ideas to investors. Many of the alumni of the last class are continuing to build their startups and will be mentoring teams this time. By the conclusion of the course, it is our hope that you understand how to: 1. Articulate a process for taking a technology idea and finding a high-potential commercial opportunity (high performing students will be able to discuss the pros and cons of alternative theoretical models). 2. Create and verify a plan for gathering resources such as talent and capital. 3. Create and verify a business model for how to sell and market an entrepreneurial idea. 4. Generalize this process to an entrepreneurial mindset of turning problems into opportunities that can be used in larger companies and other settings.