Presentation done at EADTU 2014 Conference at Krakow, Poland.

1. Distance Learning
Transformation of a regular Master to a DL Master
2014
|
10
|
23
–
EADTU,
Kraków
(Polska)
Stephanie Verbeken
Researcher Blended and Distance Learning
CenStat / i-Biostat – Hasselt University, Belgium

2. Stephanie Verbeken
Researcher Blended and Distance Learning
CenStat / i-Biostat – Hasselt University, Belgium
Outline
1. Introduction: Censtat & Master Of Statistics
2. State of the art of the Distance Learning Program
3. Educational choices made
4. Conclusions

3. Stephanie Verbeken
§ Educational Technologist
§ Msc Educational Sciences
§ Distance Learning developer at
Hasselt University.
Who am I?
23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium

4. 1 23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium
Introduction
CenStat and the Master Of Statistics

5. § Division of I-Biostat (UHasselt + KU Leuven)
§ Research
o Applied
o Theoretical
o Commissioned research for companies
§ Education
o Statistics courses at other faculties of UHasselt
o Master Of Statistics
23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium
CenStat

6. Master of Statistics
§ International Program
§ 2-years (120 credits): 4 semesters + 1 summer
for Master’s thesis
§ Inflow typically from Sciences, Mathematics,
Medecine, Informatics,…
§ Nstudents(Ma1+Ma2)=60~90
§ 3 majors:
o Bio-informatics
o Bio-statistics
o Epidemiology & Public Health
23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium

7. ICP - program
§ VLIR-UOS = sustainable development
program of the interuniversity council
§ Master Of Statistics is selected as VLIR-UOS
program à scholarships for students from
developing countries
§ N = 16 per year
o 32 in total
o 30%~50% of total number of students
23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium

8. Student numbers
6
16
17
7
4
1
0
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
5
32
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
MA1 MA2
23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium
16
7
0

9. 2 23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium
State of the art of the DL
program

10. Motivation: why DL?
Attracting new target groups:
§ Working students: Belgium > Europe >
rest of the world
§ Students for BioInf: knowledge gap for
Bio-Engineers and Bio-Tech industry
§ Students with limited financial resources:
specifically students from other continents,
but also within Europe (e.g. Greece, Spain,
Eastern Europe)
23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium

11. Situation description
§ 2014-2015: 30 credits in DL
o Sem. I: 15 credits
• Concepts of probability and statistics
• Regression
• Statistical software (BioStat, EPI)
• Concepts of Bio-informatics (BioInf)
o Sem. II: 15 credits
• Concepts of Bayesian Inference
• Discrete Data Analysis
• Correlated and multivariate data
o Sem.I + II: Project – Learning from data
23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium

12. Situation description
§ Registration procedure is almost finished
§ Challenges so far:
o Examination: several scenarios
o Collaborations with other universities
o Input from lecturers involved
§ Challenges for the (near) future:
o 2nd semester of MA2: on-campus? Off-campus?
o Examination
o Promotion. (So far: none.)
23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium

13. Technological
§ VLE: Blackboard
§ Video platforms:
o Matterhorn
Opencast
o Camtasia
screencasting server
Situation description
Educational resources
§ Web lectures
§ Textbooks
§ Exercises,
assignments,
quizzes,…
integrated in VLE
23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium

14. Student Population
§ NDLprogram = 8 (~ 10)
§ Nsurvey = 5
23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium

15. 23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium

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19. 23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium

20. 23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium

21. 23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium

22. 23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium

23. 3 23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium
Educational Choices Made

24. DL Principles
§ Information! Blackboard’s central role
§ Clear and intuitive course structure
§ Division of the materials in chapters
§ Peer support is preferred above teacher
support
23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium

25. 4 23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium
Conclusion

26. § 2015-2016:
o remaining 30 credits of MA1
o full-time study will be possible
§ 2016-2017:
o MA2
Future plans
23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium

27. Considerations
§ More challenging course designs
§ MOOCs? SPOCs?
§ Knowledge clips vs. Web lectures
§ Interactive videos
§ Sustainable collaborations (worldwide)
23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium

28. 23-okt-14 CC-BY Stephanie Verbeken, CenStat/I-Biostat, UHasselt, Belgium
Contact
stephanie.verbeken@uhasselt.be
+32 11 268 257
www.uhasselt.be/master-of-statistics
@stephanie_vrbkn
slideshare.net/stephanieverbeken