Talking economics

Digital audio collections in the promotion of conversations on economic issues

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An Economics Network funded project, 2004-5

Vast quantities of spoken word recorded through the 20^th and into the 21^st century are being digitised by many agencies. Glasgow Caledonian University the BBC (Information and Archives), Northwestern and Michigan State are collaborating within a JISC/NSF Programme to make this audio available for classroom (and research) use. Uses cover many disciplines and a wide (and flexible) range of web applications and services. The materials, both historic and contemporary, are drawn mainly - but not exclusively - from the Information and Archives Department of the BBC. Rights management is an included concern. In 2003-4 audio was used for social work, history, and bio-ethics: this project will extend this to economics. Approximately 100 hours of 'collected' digitised audio will be made available to teachers and students in a catalogued collection of economics related 'mixed resources'. In the first instance, this will support the optional fourth year honours modules:

Privatisation and Regulation (ecoE404) and The Political Economy of Economic Performance (ecoE431).

Institution: Glasgow Caledonian University
Project leader: Alan Hutton

Final Report: The Talking Economics project

Output: Audio materials for economics and political economy (free registration required)

Continuation funding 2006-7

Project leader: Alan Hutton
Contact: a.hutton@gcal.ac.uk

Project will extend the previous work in four main ways:

To address the different set of issues involved in using audio resources in Level 1 and Level 2 modules taken by large student groups. Project will aim to collect, annotate and introduce into the web-based learning environments of Economics 1 [ecoe103] a Level 1 introductory module and Contemporary Economic Issues (CEI) [ecoe212], a level 2 'applied' economics module, digital audio resources, drawn largely from BBC sources
To test more fully in two Level 4 modules the use of Project Pad software
To disseminate the use of audio in economics teaching amongst colleagues in our own and other institutions and to learn from their experience
To contribute to the creation of a collection of audio items - creatively linking teaching and scholarship - relating to the history of economics.

Output: Powerpoint presentation from DEE 2007 conference