Using Online Video Examples in Introductory Business Statistics

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Using Online Video Examples in Introductory
Business Statistics

• Monnie McGeeAssistant Professor, Department of
  Statistical Science
• Robert Skinner, Ian Aberle, and Steve Snider
• Academic Computing Services, Office of the
  Provost
• Southern Methodist University

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Outline

• Motivation
• Static vs. Dynamic Examples
• Equipment
• Recording the Videos (live!)
• More Example Videos
• Going Further

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The Problem

• She never gave us enough examples on how to work
  the homework problems
• I fail to see how this course will ever be
  useful to me in the future

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Possible Solutions

• Class example day
• Teach by example
• Work all homework problems in class
• Get creative

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Why Videos?

• Solutions posted on course website are not
  dynamic
• Important for students to see thought processes
  involved in working the problem
• Digital video allows placement on the course
  website

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Typical Problem and Solution

• Employers may ask job applicants to take an IQ
  test if the test has been shown to predict
  performance on the job. Score on one test for
  the 20 to 34 age group are approximately Normally
  distributed with mean of 110 and standard
  deviation of 25. Use the Empirical Rule to
  answer the following questions
• a) About what percent of the people in this age
  group have score above 110? Since 110 is the
  mean, and the mean is equal to the median for a
  normal distribution, 50 of the people in this
  group will have scores above the mean.
• b) About what percent have scores above 160?
  160 is 2 standard deviations from the mean. That
  means that there are 2.5 (5/2) of the scores
  above the mean.

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Video Version
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Equipment

• Document camera (Elmo Desktop Presenter)
• Lavelier microphone
• Macintosh Laptop Computer
• Sony Media Converter audio mixer
• iMovie software (free with mac)
• Snap Z Pro software
• Apple Xserve and Quick Time Streaming Server

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To Stream or Not To Stream

• Streaming server allows play of the video while
  it is still downloading
• For on-campus connections, a regular server is
  probably fine
• Over a modem at a students home, the videos
  would take all day to download.

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Document Camera

• Elmo DT-150AF PAL Desktop Presenter
• Portable (1.9 kg)
• Zoom capability
• Remote Control

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Media Converter

• Canopus ADVC-100 A/D Converter
• Converts analog video audio to a DV stream
• Captured by Firewire connection
• 299

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Snap Z Pro Software

• Captures activity on screen
• Used to capture Excel and PowerPoint
• 69

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Equipment

• Document camera (Elmo Desktop Presenter)
• Lavelier microphone
• Macintosh Laptop Computer (1200 iMAC)
• Sony Media Converter audio mixer
• iMovie software (free with mac)
• Snap Z Pro software
• Apple Xserve and Quick Time Streaming Server
  (2000)
• Autodesk Cleaner Software (549)

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Recording the Videos

• A simple work by hand problem
• Concept problems
• Incorporating PowerPoint slides
• Incorporating Excel

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Typical Problem Solution

• Cause of death is an important issue for life
  insurance companies especially identifying the
  most likely causes of deaths for various
  demographic subgroups of the population. The
  number of deaths among persons aged 15 to 24
  years in the United States in 1997 due to the
  seven leading causes of death for these age group
  were accidents, 12,958, homicide, 5793 suicide,
  414 cancer 1583 heart disease, 1013 congenital
  defects, 383 AIDS, 275.

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Solution

• Make a bar chart to display these data. Your
  chart should look something like this one,
  although the order of the bars is not important.
  It should be labeled correctly and clearly.
• What additional information do you need to make a
  pie chart? We need to know the total number of
  deaths in this age group in 1997. We need that
  information to convert the numbers into
  percentages to be graphed into the pie chart.

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More Examples

• Using Snap Z Pro to capture manipulations on
  Excel
• Concept question with PowerPoint

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Going Further

• Assessment of student attitudes
• Creating a CD of examples that students can
  purchase with their textbooks
• Virtual Guest Lecturers