University of Auckland launches MOOC

At home in a world of big data: University of Auckland launches MOOC

With more data being generated and collected than ever before, the University of Auckland’s first official Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) will teach students how to find the stories told by statistical data.
With more data being generated and collected than ever before, the University of Auckland’s first official Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) will teach students how to find the stories told by statistical data.

The MOOC, on the UK’s FutureLearn platform, launched yesterday with 13,800 students signed up but anyone wanting to enrol can do so up until November 30.

Professor Christopher Wild from the University of Auckland’s Department of Statistics says the Data to Insight: An Introduction to Data Analysis MOOC is a great opportunity to gain free knowledge in fundamental concepts and practical skills that turn data into insights.

Professor Wild says data has become everyone’s business.

“The course caters to those who are new to the subject and those who want to experience the world of statistics from a fresh perspective and is an entirely novel approach with intuitive, purpose-built software that teaches analysis capability very quickly,” he says.

“Our goal is to help you think like a statistician so the course also teaches the limitations of data and how you can avoid being misled.”

The MOOC uses a visualisation approach to fast-track an understanding of the stories data can tell by using the brain’s ability to process visual information quickly. This allows the eye to spot messages in statistical graphics.

The 8-week MOOC begins with fundamental concepts and goes beyond Year 13. It is planned to take up around three hours a week.

For more information go to: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/data-to-insight

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