Using an Online Learning Environment to Teach an Undergraduate Statistics Course: the tutor-web

Abstract: A learning environment, the tutor-web (http://tutor-web.net), has been developed and used for educational research. The system is accessible and free to use for anyone having access to the Web. It is based on open source software and the teaching material is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. The system has been used for computer-assisted education in statistics and mathematics. It offers a unique way to structure and link together teaching material and includes interactive quizzes with the primary purpose of increasing learning rather than mere evaluation. The system was used in a course on basic statistics in the University of Iceland, spring 2013. A randomized trial was conducted to investigate the difference in learning between students doing regular homework and students using the system. The difference between the groups was not found to be significant.