Current Projects
Department of Education FIPSE Project
Through a $443,000 grant from the Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE) the University of Iowa College of Business has designed the Iowa Electronic Markets Inter-Disciplinary Educational Alliance (IEM*IDEA). This project will enhance the business and economic literacy and political awareness of students at minority colleges, 4-year teaching colleges and community colleges across the US.
To date we have worked in partnership with 87 Professors at 38 institutions across the US. Through this initiative over 4,500 hundred students have registered for IEM accounts at our partner sites. This access to the Iowa Electronic Markets (IEM) as a learning and research tool is an effective way to give them a hands-on and interactive setting to learn about technology, economics and business concepts, which in turn will promote literacy in these areas. To that end the grant will funds $5.00 trading accounts for students at partner institutions. Through this experience we hope these students will pursue graduate degrees in Economics, Accounting, Finance and related disciplines.
Since the project started in 1998 87 faculty from these schools have attended IEM*IDEA sponsored conferences where they learned the history of the IEM, how to use the IEM,and how to integrate it into the classroom as a teaching and research tool with undergraduate students.
National Science Foundation
In this project funded by the NSF, faculty from the University of Iowa, HBCUs, HSIs and rural community colleges will develop, test, and implement curricular materials to support using the Iowa Electronic Market (IEM) in a range of economics and business courses. We will develop complete, internet-accessible instructional materials, which will adapt to a wide range of learning approaches including distance and web-based education. Thus allowing active learning in much the same way laboratories facilitate learning in other sciences. This helps overcome the abstract nature of economics while giving students incentives to learn technical concepts. During this project, over 60 faculty from more than 30 HBCUs, HSIs and rural community colleges will learn to use the IEM with their specific student populations and learning environments. Materials will introduce students to the Internet (through IEM trading) and encourage students to use it as an information source to make more informed economic decisions. This project places a strong emphasis on the integration of technology into the classroom.
NASDAQ Stock Market Educational Foundation
Currently, the Nasdaq Foundation supports two IEM outreach initiatives. One involves a plan to conduct on-site trainings at six selected Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and/or rural community colleges. The other supports the IEM*IDEA Nasdaq Securities Markets Conference which will be held on the University of Iowa campus April 12-14, 2002.
The on-site workshops will include: conduct two half-day sessions, one for faculty and one for graduate students, during which we would introduce the IEM and discuss its classroom use. Meet directly with students and give them hands-on training in our markets within the context of their courses, through their student organizations (e.g. the local chapter of a financial management organization), and by means of general information sessions. Partner with Nasdaq personnel to conduct a panel to give a general overview of current events in business and security markets. Conduct a demonstration of the Nasdaq Head Trader software, which students and faculty might find of interest as an alternative active learning environment. Overall, we believe this approach will help to institutionalize the use of the IEM and enhance student's ability to use technology to conduct research and be involved in a self-directed, hands-on learning experience.
The IEM*IDEA NASDAQ Securities Markets Conference will bring students and their faculty mentors from our partner institutions together with the IEM directors and conference presenters April 12-14, 2002. Faculty invited from these schools will include both those who have had previous experience with the IEM and who have expressed an interest in learning more about the IEM. They will each be invited to bring one student from their institutions with them.
This conference will let us fulfill a number of objectives. First, faculty attendees with IEM experience will demonstrate to other, less experienced attendees various ways in which they used the IEM in their classes. Second, the participants will discuss and identify "best practices" of integrating the IEM into instruction. Third, we will bring in members of the practitioner and scholarly community to discuss "current issues in financial markets" with this audience. We plan to include topics in financial markets literature and choose ones that participants can relate to through their experience trading in the IEM. Finally, we will include a special session targeted at student attendees that will increase their knowledge about possible paths leading to careers in the financial sector as well as graduate school opportunities in finance.
Through these two projects we hope to increase the use of the IEM in the classroom. We believe the IEM is beneficial in helping students gain an advanced understanding of topics concerning Securities Markets and other business topics.
Microsoft Corporation
Currently, the Microsoft Corporation supports the IEM through a generous donation of personal computing software, including Microsoft Windows 2000, Office 2000 and Window Millenium Edition (ME). We are distributing this software to the institutions who are our partners on the above projects to support their use of the IEM and other innovative technology in teaching. This donation is a vital link to helping students become prepared for todays' employment market by having positive and skill building experiences with computers and technology. Many schools in higher education do not always have the resources available to purchase the latest technolgy and this gift from the Microsoft Corporation provides them the ability to use the resources they have more efficiently while still giving their student and faculty access to the most current technology tools.
