International Trends and How They Affect You - Intro

The Global Trends class is split up into 3 parts:
1. 1-week intro class - (The class you are looking at now) Gives students an idea of if this class is for them or not
2. 8-week part 1 - Gives students information on 
            a. Demographics
            b. The Environment
            c. Digital Lives 
            d. Technological Innovation.
3. 8-week part 2 - Gives students information on 
            e. Money and Markets
            f. Consumer Behavior
            g. Geopolitics
            h. Summary of all topics from all classes.

This intro class is free if you sign up for the main "Global Trends" course after you complete it(I will refund the price of this course off the price of the main course once you sign up). This one time class is meant as an introduction for students thinking about joining the Global Trends main class. This class will help students understand more about the course as well as introducing the main topics of what will be studied.

This class's format will be a 20-minute introduction to the book we are using as well as the class in general. That will be followed by question and answer time where students can make sure they clearly understand what the course will be like. Students will be introduced to the textbook and it's use of charts and graphs to help make complex data easier to understand.  We will also go over the 7 areas of study and how they effect life in the places students live.

Students should have some knowledge of basic Economics to get the most out of this class(or be willing to have a crash course in it as homework during the class). You don't necessarily need it as we will explain things in class a lot but it will definitely make it easier.

In the main course students will learn about the Global Trends in the following areas:
1. Society and Demographics - How the trends of migration, healthcare and other things are changing populations.
2. Environment - How development and technology are changing the environment in good and bad ways.
3. Digital World - How the digitization of our lives is affecting everything.
4. Technological Innovation - How the rapid development of new technology changes affects the world.
5. Money and Markets - How countries and individuals are spending and saving money.
6. Consumer Behavior - How the way consumers act affects the world economy.
7. Geopolitical Landscapes - How countries and their policies effect the world economy.

The main course, and this one is focused on learning the following things:
1. Global Trends in the areas listed above
2. How to correctly read and analyze graphs and charts