I am one of three educators who created an online learning conference to introduce students to the concept of macro economics as it relates to technology. I’m very interested in economics as the social science has contributed to my decision making and is present in every action I take. Take the concept of opportunity cost as an example. Opportunity cost is the loss we incur when we choose one action over another. Time is an excellent example, as it will “cost” you time simply to read this post. An economist has to then ask himself or herself, is the value I gain from reading this post worth the loss in time. I hope so!

The attached online learning conference, The Economics of Educational Technology, will take you through a 7 day collaborative inquiry-based learning activity. You will learn key terms to further develop your understanding of macroeconomics. You can read two academic summarizations, “The Economics of Educational Technology” by Puryear, J.M. (1999, September), and “Some Simple Economics of Open Source” by Lerner, J. and Tirole, J. (2002), that I wrote.  You will also have the opportunity to participate in discussion forums and online activities to further your understanding.

Please click on the image below to visit the online learning conference,
The Economics of Educational Technology.

I’m curious, do you consider the opportunity cost of every decision you make? Might you start? This is how economics creeps into everything we do. You may find yourself asking, what could I have been doing if not this, and what is the benefit as well as the loss that I will be subjected to for making this decision?

I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about the economics of technology. Moreover, I hope you find pleasure in weighing the pros and cons of your decisions and consider them as an economist would.

Reference

Avenia, T., Campbell, G.,  & Chen, J. (2012). The economics of educational technology [website]. Retrieved from https://etec511dlg9.wordpress.com/