Project Evaluation

This website began in 1997 as a way of trying to use technology to facilitate the instruction of a Psychological Statistics course. A Fall, 2001 sabbatical allowed for a reasonable level of completion of the project. Revisions continue to be ongoing. Comments are welcome at mplonsky@uwsp.edu. Below is a summary of the advantages and disadvantages I have experienced with using this material.

Advantages

1. The amount of blackboard space and the legibility of the material presented are no longer issues.
2. If a student is absent, they can easily get the notes.
3. Since the students do not have to copy the notes word for word (or digit by digit), they can spend more time paying attention concepts underlying the material presented.
4. Since the instructor does not need to write on the blackboard, his/her time and attention can be used more freely to explain the concepts being presented.
5. The homework assignments are readily available to the students.
6. The Minitab tutorials give the students the extra assistance they need to enable practical application of what is learned.
7. The spreadsheets give the examples a level of interactivity that enables them to make the material more engaging.
8. Other instructors and students (from around the world) may find the material useful.
9. This site may be a seed for an on-line class.

Disadvantages

1. Creation of materials is time-consuming and requires an array of skills.
2. Students need computer access. On my campus these days, this is not an issue.
3. Students typically print the contents of the site (with color printer access preferred).
4. Since the material is public and no restrictions are placed on its availability, one cannot include copyrighted material that might ordinarily be presented in a more traditional classroom setting (e.g. a relevant comic strip).

In my experience, the advantages reatly outweigh the disadvantages. I am able to cover more material and have had more success with getting students to learn it at a deeper level (and in less time). There also seems to be a lot less stress to the students.