Resources for Higher Education

Many of Biz/ed's resources are applicable for lecturers in Higher Education; this section aims to highlight a few of the best and point you in the right direction to discover more.

The Virtual Worlds are perhaps the best place to start. These large scale resources, particularly the Virtual Economy and Virtual Developing Country, will challenge first year economics undergraduates. The Virtual Learning Arcade encompasses a series of simulations, such as the inter-relationships between markets, and the Virtual Farm game, where students can run a business over a ten year period.

The Data section includes a number of resources with sample datasets for UK and global variables. TimeWeb provides datasets and materials to help develop effective data-handling skills. Key Economic Data enables students to look at some basic data on key economic variables and analyse the extent of the relationship between them.

There is also a resource on fixed income markets. The resource has been written by an expert in the field and is designed as an introduction to this type of market. The resource is divided up into different elements and encourages you to work through the principles of each section to build your understanding of the different aspects of trading in bonds.

The site also has a number of small-scale simulations which can be found through the Learning Materials section. The most recent additions are:

• Interest Rate Transmission Mechanism
• Cash Flow Simulation
• Interactive Markets

The Learning Materials section is also useful in pinpointing exactly the resource you need. Detailed listings show Biz/ed resources available in a range of topic areas.

Current Topics is a useful area of the site to improve students' application of economics and business principles to current events. Of particular interest is the Problem Based Learning section, which includes guides for teachers and students.