Classroom experiments are effective because students are placed directly into the economic environments being studied. This paper surveys some diverse applications, e.g. speculation and multiple markets, coordination games, voting and agendas, and a simple macroeconomy, with particular attention to practical details. After participating, students bring first-hand experience to the discussion, which enhances the effectiveness of the Socratic method, as opposed to traditional lectures. The papers surveyed here also enable bright undergraduates to run the experiments on their own classmates and lead the ensuing discussions, which creates a special kind of teaching/learning environment. JEL codes: A22, C92 1.

Classroom experiments are becoming increasingly popular as active-learning exercises for courses in economics. There are many situations where technology is needed to facilitate the effective use of classroom experiments. This article examines how computers and wireless handheld devices are being used to enhance the flexibility of classroom experiments and expand their usability to larger classes. Evidence on learning gains from the use of computer-assisted experiments in the classroom is also reported.

Web-based financial commentary, in which experts routinely express market-related thought processes, is proposed as a means for college students to learn vicariously about financial markets. Undergraduate business school students from a regional university were exposed to expert market commentary from a single financial Web site for a 6week period. When compared to a control group, students in the experimental group were found to possess higher levels of financial market awareness. Degree of engagement, as approximated by measures of project exposure time and effort, was significantly related to market awareness. Finance majors were found to be more engaged in the process than nonfinance majors. Although this study should be considered exploratory in nature, findings support the notion of using Web-based vicarious learning processes in financial education. Future research can extend the generalizability of these findings, as well as shape vicarious learning mechanisms for use across business disciplines.