AAEC 2020 Computers in Agribusiness and Natural Resources
Dr. Luanne Lohr (llohr@agecon.uga.edu)
Spring 2003
Conner Hall 202 (212)

Office: 314C Conner Hall, 542-0847

Office Hours: TR 2:00-3:00 TR 11:00-12:15

Course objective is to teach basic methods of economic analysis with topical applications in agribusiness or natural resource management. By the end of the term, you should be able to: 1) develop an economic explanation of some facet of agribusiness or natural resource management, 2) locate and download relevant data from the Internet into a spreadsheet, 3) conduct graphical and statistical analysis of the data, 4) prepare written and oral analysis of the results, and 5) present the results to other researchers.

Required text: Michael Halvorson and Marjorie S. Hunt, Microsoft^® Office^XP - Illustrated Brief, Course Technology, 2002.

Project files necessary to complete in-class assignments will be provided on a CD or diskette free of charge to each student.

Required supplies: Two 3.5-inch (1.44 MB) NEW diskettes formatted for IBM computers are required of each student.

Teaching method is a combination of lecture and labs. The class is composed of several modules to teach Microsoft? Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. Assignments, quizzes, and a midterm examination are used to evaluate individual mastery of the lessons. Team projects, explained below, include a brief report and presentation on an economic topic in agribusiness or natural resources to be selected by the team. The lab is computer-based, as is much of the material for the class. Students access the WebCT course information for AAEC 2020 at webct.uga.edu for detailed information, assignments, and quizzes.

Readings are from the text. Reading assignments for the projects will be made according to the topics being analyzed by each team.

Grades will be assigned on the following basis:

Attendance is expected. You are responsible for all material covered in class and for quizzes and assignments due on days absent, unless excused by the instructor. If you must miss class, please contact the instructor by phone, e-mail or in person in advance.

Final grades will be assigned as follows:

Weighted Percentage of Possible Points Grade

Assignments are skills-based exercises. They are due by 12:00 pm (noon) on the date assigned unless otherwise indicated. Typically, this will be the day after the lab skills review. Assignments not submitted by assigned dates will receive a grade of zero. The labs are used to work on the assignments in a supervised setting, so that students may receive immediate assistance with problems. Assignments may not be turned in prior to Thursday lab of the week they are due. After graded assignments are returned, students have one day to redo them to try for a better grade. Normally, assignments are due on Friday, will be returned on Tuesday, and rewrites must be completed by Wednesday at 5:00 pm. Exceptions to this schedule will be noted in class. Rewrites must include the entire assignment. Students who do not submit the assignment by the original date cannot rewrite it for credit.

Quizzes are concept-based multiple choice questions, each with 10 questions each worth 1 point. Quizzes are taken online at the WebCT site for AAEC 2020. They are available from 9:00 am Wednesday to 9:00 am Monday subsequent to coverage of the relevant material. Quizzes may be taken during lab time on Thursdays or at another time convenient to the student. Each quiz lasts a maximum of 15 minutes, after which the computer will not accept answers. Grading is immediately done by the computer and available for student review. Students may re-take each quiz one time, and may do so any time during the available period. The higher of the two scores is used. Questions in the re-take may differ from the first attempt. Each quiz and re-take must be completed during the available time for that particular quiz.

Midterm exam is scheduled for Tuesday March 4 in the lab. The test will be taken online at the WebCT site for AAEC 2020. There is no re-take for the midterm.

Final exam is scheduled for Wednesday, May 7 from 8:00 am to 11:00 am. The final is optional. If you take the final, the score will be compared with your midterm score and the higher of the two will count 10% of your final grade.

Team projects are conducted in 2-person teams. Teams select a topic in the area of agribusiness or natural resource management and prepare a one-page research proposal. They identify, download and analyze data using Excel. Teams prepare a written report of their results using Word (3 pages of text, 3-5 pages of tables and graphs). Teams also prepare a Powerpoint presentation (7-10 minutes, 7-10 slides) of their analyses to be given in class. At least one member of each team must participate in the presentation and both team members must attend all class presentations. Several weeks in the lab are scheduled for data analysis, report writing, and presentation preparation under the supervision of the instructor and teaching assistant. Formats for the research proposal and report will be provided. Deadlines are given below.

Evaluation of team projects will be equally weighted across 1) initiative and effort throughout the project, 2) quality of the research report, 3) quality of the Powerpoint presentation, and 4) balance of effort within the team. A single score will be assigned for each team, so that each individual receives the same scores as his or her team member. The report and the presentation will be graded separately on a 100-point scale.

Computers are available to students in the AAE undergraduate computer lab in Room 202 Conner Hall. You must have a UGA myID to access necessary information on WebCT. These will be set up in the first week of class for students who do not have one. Computer staff in the lab can answer questions about the software and provide printer supplies. The instructor and teaching assistant can answer questions related to course applications of the software.

Special note: This class is fortunate to have a teaching assistant, who can answer questions and give guidance regarding all aspects of the course. Contact information is:

Teaching Assistant:

Mr. Daniel Ngugi (dmgn89@yahoo.com)
Office: Conner Hall Room 205
Phone: 542-0130
Office Hours: Monday 12:15-1:15
Wednesday 9:00-9:50, 12:15-2:30

Calendar - AAEC 2020-2020L / Spring 2003