E-learning or blended learning – enriching statistics for business students

Abstract

There has been much interest within the scientific community to use the potential of new technol- ogies for teaching since they have become widely available. We will deal with two questions: What has emerged out of e-learning endeavours? What are vital issues for their success? The specific situation for learners within an e-learning setting will be analysed in the light of two “events”: First, the general discussion of the impact of technology on teaching at the ISI con- gress in Lisboa in 2007, and second, a series of papers on blended learning in the International Statistical Review published in the same year. Our long-term experience with a blended learning course on introductory statistics for business students will serve as background to respond to key questions for the success of e-learning. As an interactive exchange of feedback between students and staff has proved to be essential in the evaluation of our course, this paper gives support for blended learning enrichment of courses to assist the students in their learning process.