IMPLANTATION OF A VIRTUAL STATISTICS LABORATORY

Due to the use of new technologies, it is mandatory that probability and statistics teachers modify the way of teaching and evaluating these subjects. For example, before it was very important that a student reached a numerical result after processing the information, now this is not that important because if you use the appropriate software you can easily reach the numerical result, so the time spent in numerical calculations can be spent in understanding the concepts. Nowadays, they are proposing new learning styles based on constructivism. This educational theory proposes that each person learns the reality in a different way since everybody filters the information through their own past experiences. So it states that “we cannot teach, but facilitate the learner opportunities to learn, to experiment” (Brenda Mergel, 1998). We pretend to design learning environments that let the student find knowledge, manipulate it and make it theirs. Applying these theories we have developed a virtual statistics laboratory that contains the development of the corresponding topic, self-evaluation questions, application exercises to be solved with a free distribution software, study cases and a collection of small computer programs written with Java, known as applets, that the learner execute in a web page. Our hypothesis that this laboratory facilitates an easy learning environment was confirmed when we compared the results obtained in an exam applied to a group of students that were taught with this technology with the ones obtained by a group of students that learned the topic in the traditional way. The difference in the grade average obtained (9.1-7.89) was significant (P<0.04), this is a very motivating result because it demonstrates how effective it is to let the student obtain permanent reasoning methodologies when facilitating him the appropriate learning environment.