ON COURSE Exploring the Power and Potential of Technology by Jill Clerkin
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ike shop and home ec in the 1960s, a course created in 2003 by math and computer instructor Jacques Hugon ’79 aims to teach important life skills—but with a distinctly 21st-century twist. In Computers 310: Business Applications and Web Page Design, students use the computer lab in the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library to learn the basics of two popular Microsoft programs, as well as how to create and launch a Web site. “It’s not just about the exercises they do in class,” says Hugon. “More important is a grasp of how Excel can be used to make good business decisions, how PowerPoint can influence business decisions, and how effective Web-based communications are created.” His teaching and classroom anecdotes are backed by 20 years of experience as a software engineer and project manager; he also wrote the class’s user-friendly textbook. It’s a frigid day early in winter term; Computers 310 begins promptly at 8 a.m. As Hugon reviews a homework question about how to use Excel functions to calculate a taxpayer’s federal income tax, his computer desktop is projected on a pulldown screen. Students follow along on their own PCs. Then it’s on to the day’s official topic, “the time value of money.” Hugon begins with a question: “Do you want a dollar from me right now—or a year from now? Why?” A conversation about inflation, interest, and the unknown future ensues. Hugon explains how the value of a dollar tends to decrease over time. “Based on an annual inflation rate of 3 percent, a dollar will be ‘worth’ just 97 cents in a year,” he says. “Interest is the extra payment we make for the time value of money we borrow when we buy a car or house—and what the bank pays us to hold our money.” Working with just five basic Excel financial functions, students explore the answers to some practical questions:
v What would my monthly payment be on a $520,000 mortgage? How much interest would I have paid after 30 years? v If my parents had wanted to save $200,000 for my college education and they could get a 5 percent annual interest rate, how much would they have needed to save per month since the year I was born? v If I invest $1,000 at 7 percent per year, how much will I have in 10 years? What if the interest is compounded monthly instead of annually? Hugon pauses frequently to allow students to figure out their next step. The discussion turns to cars and what kind students would like to drive someday. A Ferrari, someone says enthusiastically. A more practical Hugon does a quick Internet search for a Subaru Forester and current auto loan interest rates. “You want to buy this $21,195 car but you have no money,” he says. “You can get a 48-month loan at 6.98 percent, and you have $400 per month to spend. Can you afford it?” Excel reveals the sad truth in .5 seconds flat: no. In one of his Excel labs, Hugon gives students a jumble of corporate accounting numbers, from which they must draw conclusions. Are sales going up? Is available cash dwindling? Would you want to buy this company? Interpretation of the numbers creates much discussion. Another lab assignment requires students to use Excel to analyze the financial results of the 2002 Boston Red Sox and then discuss the pros and cons of John Henry’s purchase of the franchise. “Students create a very simplified discounted cash flow model to determine the team’s value at the time and predict its future profitability,” explains Hugon. “I’d always used Excel to construct science class graphs, but never knew it could do so much more than that,” says Walker Washburn ’08. “Once you figure out what’s going on underneath the surface, it be-
comes an incredibly powerful tool.” A few weeks later, the class delves into PowerPoint. “We’ve all sat through boring PowerPoint shows,”says Hugon.“Along with teaching the keystrokes, I also teach 10 steps to an effective presentation, including the organization of text and graphics, and the use of animation.” Each student creates a five-minute (not a second longer) presentation on a simple topic of interest. In the final three weeks of the course, Hugon gives students an overview of PC and Web hardware and software architecture, and then teaches HTML, the language of the Web. “I show them ‘what’s under the hood,’” says Hugon. “They begin to understand how HTML and the Internet work. My reward is when a student returns the following fall and tells me she created a Web site for her father’s small business. It’s happened!”