It has been (and still is) lots of work putting this course together, but I’m incredibly excited about the opportunity to teach (and learn from) the masses! Course starts tomorrow (Feb 17, 2014) at noon EST.
A huge thanks also goes out to my student collaborators who helped develop, review, and revise much of the course materials (and who will be taking the role of Community TAs on the course discussion forums) and to Duke’s Center for Instructional Technology who pretty much runs the show.
I was at the vet yesterday, and just like with any doctor’s visit experience, there was a bit of waiting around – time for re-reading all the posters in the room.
And this is what caught my eye on the information sheet about feline heartworm (I’ll spare you the images):
The question asks: _“My cat is indoor only. Is it still at risk?” _
The way I read it, this question is asking about the risk of an indoor only cat being heartworm positive.
For some reason I was compelled to update my Mac’s OS and R on the same day. (I know…) It didn’t go well on several accounts and I mostly blame Apple. Here are the details.
I updated R to version 3.0.2 “Frisbee Sailing”
I updated my OS to 10.9 “Mavericks”
When I went to use R things were going fine until I mistyped a command.
I’m working on the 2nd edition of our textbook, Gould & Ryan, and was looking for some examples of bad statistical graphics. Last time, I used FBI data and created a good and bad graphic from the data. This time, I was pleased to see that the FBI provided its own bad graphic.
This shows a dramatic decrease in crime over the last 5 years. (Not sure why 2012 data aren’t yet available.
There’s a statistical meme that is making its way into pundits' discussions (as we might politely call them) that is of interest to statistics educators. There are several variations, but the basic theme is this: because of the government shutdown, people are unable to benefit from the new drugs they receive by participating in clinical trials. The L.A Times went so far as to publish an editorial from a gentleman who claimed that he was cured by his participation in a clinical trial.
Just finished a stimulating, thought-provoking week at SRTL —Statistics Research Teaching and Learning conference–this year held in Two Harbors Minnesota, right on Lake Superior. SRTL gathers statistics education researchers, most of whom come with cognitive or educational psychology credentials, every two years. It’s more of a forum for thinking and collaborating than it is a platform for presenting findings, and this means there’s much lively, constructive discussion about works in progress.
The other day I was painting the trim on our house and it got me reminiscing. The year was 2005. The conference was JSM. The location was Minneapolis. I had just finished my third year of graduate school and was slotted to present in a Topic Contributed session at my first JSM. The topic was Implementing the GAISE Guidelines in College Statistics Courses. My presentation was entitled, Using GAISE to Create a Better Introductory Statistics Course.
