We have collected the information below to clarify some important issues that new users often encounter. A careful reading of this information may enhance your experience with the system.

Registering as New Student in EconX

To register as a student for EconX, you will need to have:

1. the course admit code assigned by your instructor
2. a debit or credit card to pay the $15.00 access fee during the registration process.

Once you have these two things, follow these step by step directions:

1. Complete the online form for New Student Registration
   (this link can also be found on the EconX Home Page at: www.econx.com)
   
2. Enter the correct information in the fields provided:
   • Enter your first name
   • Enter your last name
   • Enter you email address
   • Enter your country
   • Enter your institution (school or university, optional)
   • Choose an account ID
   • Choose a password 6 - 32 characters
   • Re-enter the password
   • Click Signup
     
3. Confirm or change your account profile.
   
4. You will be prompted to register for your course. Enter the course admit code given to you by your instructor and click the submit button.
   
5. You will be prompted for your course payment method. Click pay by credit card and follow the on-screen prompts.
   
6. You will be notified that your registration is successful and you will be presented with the course title and instructor name.
   
7. Click on the course syllabus link. From the syllabus page, you can:
   • In Module 1: Before You Begin, click the View link next to Test and Configure Your System.
   • In Module 1: Before You Begin, click the View link next to Important Information for New Users.
   • Participate in your class experiment by clicking the Join Experiment link in Modules as they become available. The Join Experiment link will only appear when the experiment is available.
   • Work on the workbook by clicking the Go To Workbook link in Modules as they become available. The Go To Workbook link will only appear when the workbook is available.
   • Check your grade by clicking on the My Scores tab.
     
8. Now that you have an account and have registered in the course, to enter the course in the future, go to www.econx.com and enter your ID and Password. You will automatically be presented with your syllabus.

If you have technical problems send questions to: oli-help@lists.andrew.cmu.edu

Your Syllabus

Your syllabus page will allow you to easily keep track of, and participate in, ongoing course activities. The links to the right of each activity change depending on what you should be doing next. You can check your grades for the course by clicking the "My Scores" tab.

Participating in Experiments

Experiments take place over a set period of time (usually a few days---check your syllabus for the actual dates and times). When you join an experiment you will be given some basic background information and the option to join various sessions. You should make sure that you participate in all available sessions. While each session is based on the same background information, your role and other conditions will vary across the sessions. Each session is independent -- that is, what you do in one session has no direct impact on what happens in any of the other sessions.

While an experiment is ongoing, you can enter and leave it as often as you like. (Any actions you take, such as offers to buy or sell, will remain on the system even if you sign out.) Most students visit each session at least a few times while it is ongoing.

In each session of each experiment, you should always strive to earn as much profit as possible. (Your instructor can track your profits and may be willing to offer a reward to the top performers.)

Completing Your Workbooks

You are allowed to access and change your workbook up until the due date given in your syllabus. Once the due date has passed, the workbook will be automatically graded based on the most recently saved set of answers. To save your current workbook, use the "Save" button at the bottom or top of the workbook. Make sure to save your workbook at least every half hour while you are working on it. Whenever you open your workbook, you should see all of your previously saved answers. You can always modify these answers until the workbook due date. Each workbook is based on the data generated by your experiment -- the correct answers may differ among students.

The workbooks are relatively text intensive (for the web), so you may want to print it out (via your browser's print command) and initially work on it offline. For each workbook you will need to complete a serious of questions found throughout the workbook (question types include multiple choice, graphing, and fill in the blank).

There are questions that require you to manipulate the lines in the graphs. Sometimes it is a bit tedious to get the graphing points in the exact position, but alas the grading mechanism requires proper placement. (There are instructions at the base of each graph for how to manipulate the lines.)

If the graphs do not appear on your web browser, then there is a problem and you will not be able to complete the workbook. Try using a different browser on a different computer. (The graphs require Java, and older browsers or machines may not have Java enabled. Also, we have had some scattered reports of problems related to some MACs using the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser.)

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